I always believed I would have to leave the country due to economic hardship since everything cost was high. Gas was high, and the price of groceries was off through the roof and it was not easy starting a family as a young Nigerian. To make matters worse, the unemployment rate in Nigeria was crazy and the Japa syndrome was the order of the day. I was a web developer and had never made money via my website. I never knew the power of monetizing my website through affiliate links.
Is Affiliate Marketing worth your time? The short answer is YES. In this post, we will start with the fundamentals and get you to the point where you’re ready to make your first commission. To learn how to start affiliate marketing for beginners in a country like Nigeria, allow us to begin by answering some common questions.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a revenue-sharing marketing model where a third-party Affiliate or publisher earns a commission for recommending or promoting a business’s services or products to friends or readers.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?
There are a lot of different ways to track affiliates these days, but nearly all of them are based on someone clicking your special tracking link. When an affiliate link is clicked, a small file called a cookie is stored on the user’s computer. Then they buy a product, the merchant can see that they were referred by you.
How Much Money Can You Make With Affiliate Marketing?
I know you are currently wondering just how much money you can make in affiliate marketing. The great thing about affiliate marketing is the sky is not the limit, but the beginning. I can guarantee you as an expert in this field that you can make as much as you want because there are all sorts of products out there that need promotion. I as a person promote multiple products daily and the commissions on each product are higher than the minimum wage of level one civil servants.
Types of Affiliate Products
There are three different types of affiliate products you can promote as a marketer
- Physical Products
- Information Products
- Services
How to Start Affiliate Marketing
Choose a niche
I know you are probably wondering why I need to focus on just a niche or an area of expertise. When I can just do products from all industries for a start. But have you heard the old saying? “Jack of all trades, master of none”. This also applies to affiliate marketing. I always advise beginners to start with just a field or a product niche. So start by focusing on a topic or industry that you’re passionate about and that has the potential to generate high-paying commissions
Select an affiliate program
Next, you have to select a program or series of programs from the niche you choose in step one.
1. Create content
The third step is to create content to detail the product you are pushing. The good thing about this is that the content can be in written form, video format, or wait for it podcast. Yes, podcasts are getting popular these days, especially among young Nigerians.
2. Build an audience
You need a base. Not just a base, you need your own dedicated base. These are followers either on your social media platforms or video content creation channels. If you must start however as a beginner, I will advise you to start with your own website. Creating a website nowadays is not as hectic as it used to be. All you need is a good domain name, a hosting plan, and a CMS (content management system), for that, I would recommend WordPress.
3. Include affiliate links
This is the major instrument in the business. Without affiliate links, there is no business going on for you as an affiliate. Your Affiliate links are the shortcode you are given within the affiliate program and are usually backlinks, that lead back to the website of your affiliate partners. These codes usually include a sort of cookie. This cookie is unique and usually lasts for almost a month.
4. Track results
This was a major mistake I made when I first started with affiliate marketing. I used to think tracking results was not necessary or even a waste of time. However, I would recommend you track your results. That way you get to know your wins and your losses. That way you can properly adjust.
Best Affiliate Networks in Nigerian
The major affiliate networks that I’ve used in Nigeria are:
- Flex Offers
- Commission Junction
- ShareASale`
- Rakuten
- Impact
How to Promote an Affiliate Offer
1. Affiliate Marketing with Tutorials
This is where being a coach comes in. To excel in this field you must have sound teaching skills. Youtube and TikTok videos are the best to be applied here. Are you aware that you get paid when you make and upload videos on YouTube for instance? The more the number of impressions you have per video, the more revenue you make.
2. Affiliate Marketing with Product Reviews
We all use different products every day and that applies to everyone around us. The truth is that we want to know testimonies from other users who previously used the product we intend to use before we can trust the product. This first method of promotion is very simple, all you have to do is write reviews on the products you already used either on your website or on your social media platforms.
3. Affiliate Marketing with Comparison Posts
I was always used to HP laptops on Windows software and I always thought that Windows was the best. That was until I tried Mac. That was when I realized, there are always better options for every product we use daily or at least that can serve as alternatives.
4. Using an Email Series to Start Affiliate Marketing
Do you know those emails you get every day from companies telling you to try out their products? What if I told you most of those emails are constantly being sent by individuals in their bedrooms and they get commissions every time you buy the product they marketed to you?
