Start Affiliate Marketing

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1 — What affiliate marketing is (simple)

You promote other people’s products. When someone clicks your affiliate link and completes the required action (usually a purchase), you earn a commission. You don’t handle product, shipping, or customer support — you focus on recommending and driving buyers.

Key terms:

  • Affiliate link — your trackable URL.
  • Cookie length — how long the merchant remembers a click.
  • CPS / CPA / Rev-share — pay-per-sale, pay-per-action, or recurring percentage.
  • EPC — earnings per 100 clicks (useful to compare offers).

2 — Pick a niche that converts

Actionable: pick one narrow niche you can talk about for months (not “health” — try “budget home solar in South Africa”).
Good niches have:

  • Clear buyer problems and products to solve them.
  • Price variability (so commissions matter).
  • Search demand and communities (forums, groups).
    How to validate quickly:
  • Search for “best in South Africa” and check if there are ads and buying-intent pages.
  • List 25 content ideas (if you can’t, niche may be too narrow).

3 — Choose your main platform (own an asset)

Begin with one primary asset you control — ideally a website or email list. Social channels (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram) are great, but you should own at least one asset so platform changes don’t wipe your business out.

Platform pros:

  • Website/Blog = best for long-term SEO and email capture.
  • YouTube = strong for reviews/demos.
  • Short-form (TikTok/IG) = fast reach + brand awareness.
  • Email = highest ROI for repeat sales.

4 — Lightweight technical setup (what you need)

Minimum for a beginner:

  • Domain name (short, niche-relevant).
  • Hosting and WordPress (or site builder).
  • SSL (https), basic theme, one landing page template for product posts.
  • Essential plugins: SEO, caching, backups and a link cloaker (e.g., Pretty Links).

Also create these pages: About, Contact, Privacy Policy, Affiliate Disclosure.

5 — Find affiliate programs & offers

Where to look:

  • Affiliate networks (one login, many merchants).
  • Direct brand affiliate programs (often higher payout).
  • Marketplaces and SaaS.

How to evaluate an offer:

  • Commission amount or percentage.
  • Cookie length.
  • EPC (if available).
  • Payment method (local bank / PayPal / Payoneer).
  • Conversion rates & payout thresholds.
  • Promotion rules (allowed channels, coupon use, PPC restrictions).

6 — Get approved (how to apply)

Make applications short and clear:

  • Say who you are, your platform, audience and 3 planned content titles.
  • Mention compliance (you’ll use clear disclosure).
    Template snippet:

“Hi — I run [site/channel], which focuses on [niche] for a South African audience. I plan guides like: ‘Best X in South Africa’, ‘X vs Y comparison’, and a buyers’ checklist. Traffic via SEO + social. Happy to comply with your promo rules.”

7 — Publish your first “money pages” (priority content)

Create these page types first:

  1. Best-of list (e.g., “Best in South Africa”)
  2. Comparison (e.g., “X vs Y: which is best for load-shedding?”)
  3. Buyer’s guide (explains specs + how to choose)
  4. How-to / tutorial that naturally uses the product
  5. Deals or where-to-buy page (keep updated)

Each page should include: short summary, comparison table, top pick box, pros/cons, CTA buttons linking to affiliate offers, FAQ and update date.

8 — Content & keyword basics (write to buyers)

Find keywords with buyer intent like:

  • “best in South Africa”
  • “ under R…”
  • “ review”
    Structure each post around one primary keyword and these elements:
  • Clear H1 with year and SA if relevant.
  • Short intro that answers the question.
  • Comparison table near the top.
  • Deep, honest mini-reviews.
  • Strong CTA buttons (“Check price in SA”, “See warranty info”).
  • FAQ and internal links.

9 — SEO & on-page essentials

  • Put main keyword in title, URL, H1 and meta description.
  • Use schema (Review/FAQ) where relevant to increase chance of rich snippets.
  • Compress images and add alt text.
  • Interlink: link to relevant posts and cluster content by topic.
  • Add E-A-T signals: author bio, about page, show testing/criteria.

10 — Drive traffic (first promotion moves)

Do a few consistent promotion channels:

  • Organic SEO (long-term).
  • Short videos (TikTok/YouTube Shorts) to funnel to long-form assets.
  • Email (build an opt-in: “Top 5 picks for X”).
  • Community answering (forums, FB groups) — be helpful, don’t spam.

Repurpose long posts into video, carousels and short clips.

11 — Track, tag and protect links

  • Use a link cloaker (example path): /go/product-name/
  • Add UTMs to measure channels. Example UTM: ?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=review_aug2025
  • Track clicks, then compare clicks → conversions in merchant reports.

Quick example math (illustrative earnings calc — I’ll show step-by-step):

  • Start numbers: 1,000 pageviews; link CTR 15% (0.15); conversion rate 3% (0.03); commission R300.
    1. Pageviews × link CTR = clicks
      1000 × 0.15 = 150.
    2. Clicks × conversion rate = sales
      150 × 0.03 = 4.5 sales (you can round to 4 or 5 depending on time).
    3. Sales × commission = earnings
      4.5 × 300 = 1350.
      So with these inputs the expected earnings ≈ R1,350 (illustrative).

12 — Conversion rate optimization (CRO)

Small changes move revenue:

  • Add a visible “Top Pick” box near the top.
  • Use action-focused CTAs: “Check Current Price” / “See Warranty in SA”.
  • Include real photos, test notes and update dates.
  • Add trust signals: delivery times, warranty, return policy info for SA buyers.

13 — Legal, privacy & tax (must-do)

  • Affiliate disclosure (clear & visible): “This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.”
  • Data privacy: get consent for emails and cookies (POPIA in South Africa context).
  • Taxes: track affiliate income; declare to tax authorities (e.g., SARS) and keep records. Get professional advice for specifics.

14 — Metrics to watch

Start tracking:

  • Organic traffic by page.
  • Click-through rate (CTR) on affiliate links.
  • Conversion rate (merchant reports).
  • EPC (earnings per 100 clicks).
  • Revenue per visit (total revenue ÷ visits).
  • Email list growth & email conversions.

15 — Common beginner mistakes (avoid these)

  • Spreading across too many niches at once.
  • Not owning an email list or website.
  • Hiding or skipping affiliate disclosures.
  • Ignoring tracking — if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.
  • Relying on one traffic source only.

16 — How to scale (next moves)

  • Create topic clusters: 10–20 posts that link to each other around one buyer intent.
  • Negotiate better deals with merchants once you show sales.
  • Add lead magnets (buyers’ checklists, comparison PDFs) to capture emails.
  • Outsource content production while you handle strategy and QA.

Templates & quick copy you can paste

Simple affiliate disclosure (site-wide):

“This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through these links we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.”

Outreach pitch to a merchant:

“Hi [Name], I run [site/channel], focused on [niche] for South African buyers. I’d like to promote . My plan: [3 content titles]. Can you share affiliate sign-up details and promo rules? Thanks, [Your name].”

Review post outline (copy/paste):

  1. H1: [Best X in South Africa — Year]
  2. Short verdict + top pick box (button)
  3. Comparison table (specs + price)
  4. Individual mini-reviews (image + quick pros/cons)
  5. Buyer’s guide (how to choose)
  6. FAQ (shipping, warranty, returns)
  7. Final CTA

CTA examples:

  • “Check current price”
  • “See warranty & delivery in SA”
  • “Compare latest deals”

Launch checklist (instant copy)

  • Pick niche and validate 25 topic ideas
  • Register domain + hosting + install WordPress
  • Create About, Contact, Privacy, Affiliate Disclosure pages
  • Apply to 2–3 affiliate programs for your niche
  • Publish 3 money pages (best-of, comparison, buyer’s guide)
  • Add email opt-in (lead magnet) and welcome email sequence
  • Add tracking: link cloaker + UTMs + analytics
  • Promote across one or two channels and collect feedback

Final tips (to keep you sane)

  • Start with one niche + one main platform. Focus beats busywork.
  • Be honest: negative points build trust and improve conversions.
  • Build an email list on day one — it’s the compounding asset.
  • Measure everything and double down on what works.