The Perfect Online Business Model for Beginners

In 2024 and beyond, there are thousands of different ways that you can make money online.

But, many business models come with either…

• high risks

or

• high costs

…which put off a lot of entrepreneurs.

Despite this, there’s one popular business model that has neither:

Affiliate Marketing.

Anyone can start this, and today, I want to take you through:

• What is Affiliate Marketing?

• The benefits of Affiliate Marketing

• What you need to succeed.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate Marketing means:

1. Advertising other brand’s products.

2. Earning commission for each sale you make.

Anyone can start Affiliate Marketing.

There’s no limit to the amount that you can earn, depending on your audience, ability & work ethic.

There are thousands of brands that use Affiliate Marketing as a marketing method.

Here’s how it works:

1. A company partners with an affiliate (you).

2. An affiliate promotes the company’s product to a customer.

3. The customer buys the product through an affiliate link.

4. The company rewards the affiliate with commission.

The process is simple:

1. Identify a business or product that you want to advertise, and find out if they have an affiliate program.

2. Apply to the affiliate program, and if accepted, you’ll receive an affiliate link.

3. Promote this link using various marketing methods, and receive commission for sales made.

It’s a popular way to create an extra income for yourself, or if you have the time, earn a full time income from it.

Different companies offer different commission rewards depending on their products/services.

It can vary anywhere from 1–99%, but your average program will offer 5–20% commission on a sale.

The more commission, the more likely that a company will attract more affiliates.

It’s obvious to target higher commission rates, as long as the business is trustworthy.

Take Amazon, for example.

Amazon has an affiliate program called “Amazon Associates”.

It enables affiliates to promote any product on amazon, & generate commission.

Affiliate Marketing is a simple concept, and a very popular marketing strategy.

It’s a legitimate win-win for both parties involved.

• Companies get their products promoted for a cut of the revenue.

• Entrepreneurs can make an income by promoting products they don’t need to provide.

Benefits of Affiliate Marketing

Zero Costs

Affiliate Marketing is a risk free venture when it comes to money.

You don’t need any money to start, at all.

Compare it to other business models like a high street store, which can take a lot of money to start.

• Products

• Storage

• Rent

You don’t have this barrier to entry with Affiliate Marketing.

There’s no need to buy:

• Stock

• Software

• Expensive equipment

You can start Affiliate Marketing with $0, assuming you already have a smartphone or laptop.

You’re monetising attention. All you need, is an audience.

Can Walk Away Easily

Have you ever heard about a gambler who lost money, and then began to gamble more money to try to recoup their losses?

As a result, they lost even more, and ended up in a downward spiral of losing money.

I’m not saying this is comparable to other business models.

But the point here, is learn when to walk away if something isn’t working out.

Take a high street shop. A coffee shop for example.

How much money do you need to open a coffee shop?

You’ll need to pay for:

• Rent

• Staff

• Produce

• Furniture & more.

It’s not something you can walk away from, too.

This is why we emphasise the risk/reward ratio when it comes to starting a business venture.

If it goes wrong, that’s okay.

But, if it’s something that you’ve invested a lot into, it’ll be hard to walk away.

And you’ll find yourself chasing your losses.

This will only end up going wrong…

Can Become Passive

Let’s say you have a niche social media page, and affiliate for a company that sells products within your niche.

You may get to a point where you don’t even need to advertise the product/service.

People within that niche that come across your brand will use your affiliate links.

As long as they’re in the right place.

It’ll take a fair amount of work to get to this position.

But, building something that can serve you for a lifetime is something to get excited about.

Again, if it doesn’t work, it isn’t like you will have lost your initial investment, because chances are, there isn’t one.

Time, sure, but money?

Not essential, as explained earlier.

Range of Products to Promote

You can become an affiliate with companies within any niche you wish.

The benefit?

Stick to an industry that you have an interest in, or that you’re already building a brand in.

Name a company, and chances are, there’s an affiliate platform that you can sign up for.

From the perspective of a company, Affiliate Marketing is a great marketing strategy.

Put yourself in the position of the business for a second…

You’re signing up “affiliates” to promote your products, for ZERO upfront cost.

Remember. You only get paid if you generate a sale, so for the business, it’s great as they pay for the marketing, AFTER you make the sale.

As a result of this, Affiliate Marketing is everywhere, and much more popular than you think.

Think of a company, and chances are, it has an affiliate program that you’ll be able to apply for.

From a company’s POV, it’s like “buy now pay later” but for marketing.

Again, it’s all free.

You don’t need to pay the company a subscription to be a part of the program, as the partnership is complementary.

The benefits are crystal clear, and it’s the ideal model for a new entrepreneur to build a brand around.

What You Need to Succeed

As discussed earlier, the beauty of this model is in its simplicity, and also how accessible it is.

To remind you, the aim here is to make money, through commission.

To get to this end goal of earning commission, you only need two things:

1. An affiliate link. (easy)

2. A customer. (not so easy)

All you need is a buyer who has an interest in whatever product/service you intend on selling.

Whether it’s a social media audience, a business client, or even a family member.

It can be anyone or anything with money to spend on a product/service that will provide them with value.

Of course, though, it’s easier said than done.

The biggest asset you can have when it comes to affiliate marketing, is a brand that you run.

A brand with an organic, loyal following that finds value in whatever it is that you’re doing.

It could be anything.

A podcast, a blog, a social media page, a YouTube channel.

Anything!

• A YouTube channel talking about football.

• A fitness influencer on TikTok.

• A blog/newsletter who writes about economic issues.

This is super important in finding customers to give your affiliate links to.

Sure, you can start Affiliate Marketing without a brand, but this will limit you.

You will find it harder to be accepted into a lot of programs, and also, getting customers to earn commission from.

Take it from us.

Start a niche brand if you haven’t already.

Let your creative side free, and build a following that finds value in yourself & your content.

If you don’t have a brand, you will still be able to find programs that you’ll be accepted into.

And yes, you’ll still be able to find customers.

But a brand that you’ve built, is something that makes connecting customers to your links much easier.

Having a brand with Affiliate Marketing is like taking steroids at the Olympics. Only, completely legal.

You would if you could, right?

Take some time building a brand, before you look for affiliate links.

It will definitely benefit you in the long term. A constant stream of potential customers enabling you to earn commission.

What’s not to love?

I want you to think of a brand (YouTube channel, blog etc.) as a factory.

A factory designed to create organic, potential customers that can make you money.

Every follower, subscriber, or viewer is a potential customer.

The more work you put into building this “factory”, the greater chance you have of success.

The process is simple:

• Identify a brand that you would like to become an affiliate for. In other words, find a brand whose products that you would want to promote/advertise for a commission.

• Apply to their affiliate program, if they have one. If not, this isn’t an issue, as you can search for similar brands within a specific niche, or industry.

• Next, get an affiliate link, which you can then promote for your audience to sign up for.

• If a customer buys a product/service through your link, you earn commission.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to subscribe (it’s free!) for more financial wisdom every week.