Digital Affiliate Marketing is an online business model where businesses and individuals partner with one another to promote products. The affiliate receives a commission for each product sold from their efforts. The physical equivalent is a store salesman or real estate agent that makes a % commission once he sells a product or home.
In Ireland, Digital Affiliate Marketing has grown in popularity due to incredible advances in technology over the last decade – and more people taking advantage of its potential to generate ‘passive‘ income.
But make no mistake, Affiliate Marketing is HARD – especially during the first 6 months. The only upside is that if you are serious about starting an online business, affiliate marketing has incredibly LOW start-up costs compared to a physical business.
Today, Digital Affiliate Marketing typically involves identifying a good product or service to promote, setting up a website or digital store, and using various digital marketing techniques to drive quality traffic to the website. These techniques may include but are not limited to
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – which this website uses
- Pay-per-Click advertising
- Email Marketing
- Content Creation
- Social Media Marketing and plenty more.
What is a Niche?
A niche is a specific topic, industry or market which a particular business operates in. For example, if you’re targeting the travel market for Affiliate Marketing then this could be considered your niche.
However, in marketing terms – the ‘Travel Market‘ is considered a very global and broad niche, is also very competitive and is dominated by several large companies.
So if you are a little guy with few resources like me, you want to find an area within the Travel market that is even more specific and make it your focus. For example ‘travel for Irish citizens with pre-existing medical conditions – Age 50+‘.
Having a niche:
- allows you to focus on a particular area
- makes it easier to identify and promote good products within that niche, and
- makes you the go-to person /expert online for that particular product.
Though it isn’t impossible, it is extremely difficult to succeed in affiliate marketing if you are trying to sell to every type of customer as a small business owner. This is because if you are trying to sell to everyone, you will sell to no one. So narrow that shit down.
What Should I Consider When Choosing a Niche?
1. Affiliate Marketing is NOT a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme.
Many people fail because they have ridiculous expectations once they start as affiliates. It is very important to do research in your niche so that you can set very realistic goals.
My goal when I started Affiliate Marketing was to get my first online sale within 6 months, with a total maximum investment of about €1200.
After investing €1200 (to set up a website, pay for keyword research tools, and not counting the many hours of blog writing I did myself), I finally got my first sale after 5 weeks and my commission was less than 2 euros for the sale. There are far better success stories but I just want to shed light on what you should expect so you can manage your expectations and stick to the process until you see better results.
2. Affiliate Marketing is NOT for the Lazy or Preoccupied.
It is very important that for the first 60 days, you dedicate your focus purely on your affiliate business and your niche.
I mean Every. Single. Day.
Life may not be easy for you right now if you’re reading this, and I empathise. But I’ll be honest. If you cannot commit because you have important responsibilities and duties such as family, another job, sickness, lack of commitment etc, then do not start. You will only be in your own way.
This is a full-time job, so you need to treat it like one if you are to get any real momentum.
3. Your Passion Will NOT make you Money in Your Niche.
Often, you will hear that it is important to identify your interests and passions first. And if you’re passionate about something then it will be easier for you to dedicate time and money that particular area.
While that is very true, it is a dangerous approach to affiliate marketing. This is because passion does not pay the bills. You may be very passionate about something that the market has absolutely zero need for. For example, you may enjoy polishing copper coins. That does not mean you should start a business focused solely on that, because no one cares.
Countless people have tried out their passions in affiliate marketing – only to be met with bitter disappointment after months of sacrifice and incredibly hard work.
This could be due to many reasons:
- the market for your passion may be very saturated,
- fiercely competitive
- or just not profitable at all.
Finding this out late can be very discouraging and has led to very serious mental and emotional health problems for some marketers.
At the end of the day, affiliate marketing is about helping the client 1st and earning an income 2nd. So the most important thing when choosing a niche/service/product to promote is to choose one that is RELEVANT first, then PROFITABLE second.
This is about the customer, NOT YOU.
Leave your personal feelings and emotions at the door. Because no one cares.
If you do your initial research and you find out the niche you love happens to be profitable, GREAT! If not, ADAPT!
Once you choose a niche that you believe is profitable, ONLY THEN… and I repeat, ONLY THEN, do you work as damn hard as you can to make it your passion. Not the other way around.
This change in mindset is extremely important for a beginner affiliate marketer, as it could save you a LOT of money, time and heartache!
Once you start having success in the profitable niche, you can then divert some of that profit into your passion niche – provided you still want to give it a try.
Affiliate Marketing Ireland – How to Search For Profitable Keywords.
Now that you have found your niche, it is now time to create content around your niche (or niches). This is where keyword/keyphrase research becomes extremely important. In order to find keywords, you need keyword research tools such as AHREFS or SEMRUSH as an example.
PS. Unfortunately, the above tools are both the best and most expensive in the market right now. This is because they are extremely thorough and far more likely to help your business succeed. If you do not have 120 euros to sacrifice each month, try the Google Keyword Planner or Google Trends to have a broad idea of what keywords might be relevant or profitable for your niche.
Remember – It is nearly impossible to have an effective affiliate marketing strategy without the use of a keyword research tool. So it is a must have.
Without it, any and all ‘strategy’ you carry out will be based purely on guesswork – which guarantees a near 100% failure rate.
Which Affiliate Program or Network Should I Join as a Beginner?
Affiliate Marketing works when you send potential customers (traffic) to a merchant’s website. The customer then makes a purchase and the affiliate (you) receives a commission for bringing them there. This commission is typically a percentage of the sale or click-through rate (CTR).
But first, you have to join a merchant’s affiliate program to be able to promote their products and services for a commission.
For beginners, there are several affiliate networks online such as Clickbank, Shareasale, Amazon and Awin that make it very easy to join. So you do not have to limit yourself to just Ireland.
- COMPETITIVE COMMISSIONS – These networks provide access to many merchants with competitive commission rates. You can easily sign up for whatever merchant you want and start promoting their products on your social media or blog.
- VARIETY WITH LITTLE BARRIERS TO ENTRY – The number of affiliate programs you can join is limitless. There are affiliate marketers out there that have joined more than 300+ affiliate networks!
(PS. The Amazon afiililiate program is my favourite recommendation for a starter as it has many high quality products for you to promote. However, their commissions are low (3%-15%per sale).
Clickbank, on the other hand, has very high commissions (up to 50% sometimes or more) but encourages the promotion of incredibly low-quality/scam products which I truly hate. But that’s just my opinion).
Responsibilities of a Digital Affiliate Marketer.
1. Traffic
As an affiliate, you are responsible for driving quality and relevant traffic to the merchant’s website through various online marketing techniques.
These may include SEO, content creation, email campaigns, social media outreach, and more.
2. Integrity
Follow a simple rule of thumb : Do not promote a product you would not buy for yourself.
You should also ensure that you are promoting the merchant’s products in an ethical and honest manner. This means no misleading headlines or clickbait titles as well as adhering to all of the affiliate network’s terms of service and abiding by all applicable regulations.
3. Reporting
Sometimes, you may also be responsible for reporting any traffic sources, transactions, and any other data that the network may require. This helps merchants know where their traffic is coming from and can help you with optimisation.
In Ireland specifically, Digital Affiliate Marketing is often used by individuals or businesses looking to make money from their websites or blogs. It can be incredibly lucrative if done correctly, and there are several niches to target within the Irish market alone.
However, it is important to remember that this type of marketing requires dedication, hard work and patience before you start to see any real results.
What are the Benefits of Affiliate Marketing?
1. Very Little Startup Capital.
The greatest benefit of affiliate marketing is that it requires very little startup capital – compared to a physical brick-and-mortar business which can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of euros to simply open up. With digital affiliate marketing, all you need is a domain name, website hosting, and a few digital marketing tricks to get started.
This can cost you anywhere from a few hundred euros for a simple blog to a few thousand euros for a very serious affiliate business.
Simply reach out to me in my Contact Page if you need help starting a basic simple affiliate business.
2. Earn Passive Income
You can also benefit from passive income generated by your efforts as well as recurring commissions on sales made through your referrals. Take note, there is NO passive income business model out there that does not rely on affiliate marketing.
In fact, there is no such thing as passive income in the first place.
This is because in order to earn extra income while you maintain your main job or while you sleep, you always have to be active setting up your side business during your ‘free time‘ in the first place. This means that passive income for most people is simply payment for unpaid overtime work – which is no different from the job you’re trying to quit right now.
Today, you have several ‘Instagram & Youtube gurus’ trying to teach you how to earn money while you sleep. While you can make money while you sleep, all these gurus try to do is sell their course to a sucker and make a quick buck. Do not fall for it!
Stay away from these vipers and learn from FREE Youtube Videos like I did. Your luck is FAR better there.
3. Global Reach.
Depending on your niche and the demographics you have chosen, the global reach of affiliate marketing is another great benefit.
You can target customers from all around the world, giving you access to a much larger market than you would if you were just promoting your products or services locally in Ireland. This also means that you can tap into different cultures and markets that have different buying habits.
4. No Warehouse or Storage Costs.
This is HUGE. Owning and maintaining a physical business location is risky and expensive. Basic accounting knowledge and budgeting will tell you that.
As an affiliate marketer, you don’t have to manage product inventory, which greatly simplifies your business operations. Fixed & Variable costs such as Rent, Electricity, Heating, Wages and Storage costs make up a huge part of a physical business’ costs. And unless you are a big and efficient company like Tesco, you never know how much stock to buy in advance.
As an affiliate, you don’t need to worry about any of this because the merchant will take care of all the logistics for you. All you have to do is bring customers to them.
5. Convenience.
With digital affiliate marketing, you can work from anywhere in the world and at any time that fits your schedule. All you need is reliable internet connection and a laptop or computer.
This makes it perfect for people who do not want to be tied down to a desk job, commute daily or have the capital to set up a traditional brick-and-mortar business like a corner-shop or restaurant.
6. No Customer Service Management
As a digital affiliate, you are simply a middleman that connects the buyer to the seller. You don’t have to manage customer service, customer complaints, returns or any of the queries that come with running a retailer.
This is the responsibility of the merchant.
7. Flexible Working Hours
Besides the convenience of working from anywhere, you can also work at any time that best suits you. You don’t have to work in strict business hours – as long as you put in effort and time, you will attract relevant customers and make money.
You can start small and build up your business over time. This makes it perfect for anyone who is looking to supplement their existing full-time income.
Do I need a Website to Become an Affiliate Marketer?
NO. You do not.
Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and other social media accounts make it easy for you to earn affiliate income if you are not camera shy. However, I am camera shy. That is why I rely on Search Engine Optimisation.
You don’t need a website but it is a huge advantage if you do have one – or some. The main reason for this is that with a website, it is much easier to create transactional blog content using keywords that can be picked up by Google.
- EASY TO MAINTAIN – A well-drafted blog post does not need regular maintenance and can earn you passive income for many years to come. However, it is advisable to update it once every 3 months for the post to stay relevant. However, this is not possible with video content, where you have to create a new one each time you want to address a new development.
- BABYSITTING – With social media marketing, you need to make reels and post every regularly if you want to stay relevant in the marketplace. This can be very tedious and time-consuming if you do not have a team. But with recent advances in AI marketing and a thorough strategy, it can be very profitable for the marketer.
NOTE – Some people choose to build email lists from landing pages instead of using SEO and website traffic. Many influencers simply use their social media platforms to drive sales through their affiliate links. However, you have to be quite popular to achieve this.
The best affiliate marketers will use multiple streams including a website to drum up affiliate sales. So whatever strategy you choose is up to you.
What are the Best Affiliate Marketing Courses for Starters in Ireland and the UK?
There are several FREE courses and videos on Youtube for beginner affiliate marketers. However, a huge problem is the abundance of information.
So how can you save valuable time and only use information that is simple, relevant and concise? Well, this is where I break this down for you.
I have spent hundreds of hours and euros on both FREE and paid courses so that you don’t have to. God knows that led me nowhere. However, in the summer of 2022, I finally found the most comprehensive FREE Youtube course.
1. AdamEnfroy.Com | Blog Growth Engine FREE on Youtube by Adam Enfroy.
Adam Enfroy is one of the most prolific affiliate marketers today. After starting his first affiliate marketing website in 2019, he has used the most efficient FREE and paid SEO tactics to become an affiliate juggernaut in only a few years – earning millions of dollars in the process.
You can visit his website HERE to see more.
Now, before you get overly optimistic – Adam’s success as an affiliate marketer is not only possible because of his work ethic, but also because of his previous digital marketing experience which most us do not have. It also helps that he put some money into the RIGHT software and the RIGHT assistance.
However, a VERY BIG difference between Adam and most Youtube affiliate marketing experts I followed is his IMMENSELY informative and FREE Youtube resource. I was able to set up my digital affiliate marketing business by watching as many of his free Youtube videos as possible. Most digital marketers would sell you that information for thousands of €s or $s.
If you are an aspiring affiliate digital marketer with ZERO experience or little money to startup – I highly recommend that you watch AS MANY videos on his Youtube Channel and NOTHING ELSE. Follow & Commit to everything he says for 60 days. SERIOUSLY.
You will need only need about €300 initial investment for yourself. This will be split into the following for the First Month.
- Get a month’s Business Plan subscription on WordPress (you can start with a Free plan but the business plan comes with many useful plugins accelerate growth)
- Sign up for an AI-aided writing software to help you (I prefer ChatGPT as it is cheaper and more robust)
- 500-600 monthly credits worth of keyword research on Ahrefs
- 1 Month’s Subscription to Surfer SEO (Useful but not entirely necessary in my opinion)
- A Bing and Google Search account (FREE)
- At least 2 hours a day of your personal time to research keywords and write blog posts.
Assuming you have put in the time and effort for 30 days, if you are not happy with the progress you have made after, you can simply pull the plug and STOP. Trust me, losing only €300 is NOTHING when it comes to starting a business. So you have nothing to lose, except 30 days to try.
Also, I am recommending Adam because his free Youtube videos really helped me. Only God knows how much time and money I lost in previous marketing courses and Get-Rick-Quick schemes to that point.
Try it out for yourself. Youtube is FREE, guys.
How Else Can Adam Enfroy Help?
Adam has a more intensive Blogging Masterclass you can purchase which costs a maximum of $3000 at this time, depending on when you sign up. Other times, the course is on offer for only $997 (around Black Friday). Although I didn’t buy the course myself because I got a lot of value from the FREE Youtube videos alone, I recommend you buy it if you can afford it.
Otherwise, simply watch as many of his FREE Youtube videos as you can and apply the knowledge. Also remember to be realistic with you goals.
My goal when I started was to make just 1 sale within 6 months of constant effort. If nothing happened after that, then I would be happy to give up knowing that I tried my very best at something for once in my miserable life. However, I made my first sale after 5 weeks, and after that, I was hooked.
If you approach digital affiliate marketing with a pessimistic mindset like I did, you would probably have even quicker success than I did. Many digital affiliate marketers have made their first sale on their 1st day! But also depends on your niche… I wasn’t that lucky unfortunately.
VISIT HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE For FREE
2. Income Stream Surfers.
Income Stream Surfers is a Youtube one-man army consisting of Hamish Davison, an SEO and AI Content Optimisation expert. To be honest, his content is more high level and will better benefit a software developer with an interest in digital marketing. However, even as a dummie like myself, you are guaranteed to learn something new from the numerous tests he conducts. This could in turn benefit your strategy and business for FREE.
Hamish is a very down-to-earth content creator that I trust. He has a lot of real-time videos about creating and running a successful affiliate business on Google. All his SEO affiliate methods are battle-tried and tested, and he uploads results of all his successes and failures.
Not a lot of teachers are willing to show you their failures. And despite his successes, Hamish has had a lot of real-time frustrations and many lows – all of which he is willing to share on his Youtube Channel.
So if you are tight on money, kindly follow his channel and just like you would from Adam’s channel, try to apply what you learn from Hamish’s channel.
Final Words.
Digital Affiliate Marketing is a tough, yet attractive option for marketers because of its low overhead costs and potential for high ROI. While it does require time, effort, and patience to build a successful affiliate business, the rewards are well worth it.
With the right strategies in place, affiliates can generate recurring commissions on autopilot while they focus their efforts elsewhere.
In summary, it is a sure way of generating passive income from the comfort of your own home.
By taking the time to set up a website and study FREE material on SEO, email marketing and social media marketing, you can turn your new passion into a profitable business.
