We wish we could say that everyone makes a fortune from affiliate marketing, for very little effort. And while you can essentially make money while you sleep once you’ve got your networks up and running, when you’re starting out, it can take some work and you may not see a large return for a few months. Perhaps don’t quit your day job straight away!
So how much can you make from affiliate marketing? There’s no simple answer to this question – some people really can comfortably live off the profits, while for others it’s a small side income. We’ve explored a few of the factors that often influence how much income you can generate from affiliate marketing below.
Does Affiliate Marketing Work?
In a word, yes. Affiliate marketing is a great sales model, which benefits both the company selling the product or service, and the affiliate promoting it. But as mentioned above, it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. You need dedication and commitment to make affiliate marketing work. To get started, you’ll need:
- To do a lot of research into things like the interests of your audience, the products you’ll be promoting and web traffic patterns
- To build strong relationships with your audience. You may have already created such networks through your website, a podcast or via social media, but you will still need to maintain and deepen these relationships
- Frequent and consistent engagement with the products or services you’re endorsing – you can’t simply mention them once and hope you’ll get a huge result
- An understanding of things such as search engine optimisation (SEO) to reach a wider audience
When it comes to making money through affiliate marketing, it’s also important to remember that commission rates can vary drastically, especially when it comes to the type of affiliate agreement you have with a company. You could be paid per click, per sale, or per lead. You may only earn around 5% of a sale, or you could earn as much as 50%. Or perhaps you will decide to work on a flat rate basis.
How Long Does it Take to Make an Income Through Affiliate Marketing?
Unfortunately few people become an instant success with affiliate marketing. The average amount of time it takes to earn a steady income, and hopefully live off of the profits you’re making, is six months to a year.
The length of time will depend on factors such as how large an audience you had to begin with, and how much you have grown your following whilst working as an affiliate. This latter factor will be influenced by your ability to create engaging content and drive traffic by using SEO.
Essentially, your overall success and the time it takes for you to earn a sizable amount of money from affiliate networks will be the result of making consistent and frequent content of good quality. You’ll also need to find creative ways of reaching a larger audience, and a solid marketing strategy.
How Much Money Can You Make?
For a lot of people, this is the big question. Sadly there is no easy answer. You may have heard of particularly successful affiliate marketers like Pat Flynn, who grew his affiliate business from $8,000 to $100,000 per month, but not everyone will see this level of success.
The amount you can earn as an affiliate marketer is basically limitless, but you will need to work hard to achieve your goals. You probably won’t become an overnight millionaire! As mentioned above, it can take several months for you to start seeing a significant profit, but if you’re determined and able to keep your audience engaged, you can become an affiliate marketer full time and live off this income.
Ready to Get Started?
If you’re ready to start making money as an affiliate marketer, Leadtree Global would love for you to get in touch! Affiliate marketing benefits the business and the promoter, so we’re always happy to build new relationships with affiliate partners.
Worried about not having any previous experience as an affiliate? Sometimes the most innovative and successful marketers are people who are new to the business – if you’re not fully versed in how it ‘should’ be done, it’s much easier to think outside the box. Get in touch today to discuss your next big adventure in affiliate marketing!