How To Do Affiliate Marketing Without A Website Or Blog

October 9, 2017 Dawn-Marie

I am an affiliate with links to an online retailer in this blog post. When you read what I have written about a particular product and click on that link and buy something from the retailer, I can earn a commission. Please note that I only recommend products that I truly believe in and use in my business. Please read my full disclaimer here

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I have touched on the topic of affiliate marketing in my blog post How To Start Affiliate Marketing for Beginners. Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular and sought after ways for people to earn money online as you are not required to create your own product.

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is when you promote other people’s products and earn a commission when the product is sold.

You can also earn a commission when someone takes a specific action, such as opt in to an email form or make a call.

This type of affiliate marketing is called CPA marketing or Cost Per Action marketing.

Let’s say you are not good at creativity, then you can still make money online by leveraging the creativity of others.

If you are looking for places to find high paying affiliate products to promote then read my article The Top 10 Places To Find High Paying Affiliate Programs.

Why Use A Website Or Blog?

Many of those who are making a decent income with affiliate marketing use websites or blogs to drive sales.

The reason why having a blog or website is so crucial to being successful with affiliate marketing is because it is not just about sending people to an affiliate link and hoping that they buy or take action.

Surely you can get one or two sales that way, but to create a sustainable income and plenty of it, you need to offer your visitors something in return for their sale and what really matters to people is the value that you give to them.

By value, I mean the information that you give to them, so they can understand why they should buy the product or opt in and what’s in it for them.

Let’s Consider An Example

An advertisement that asks people to sign up for a credit card may get a few interested people knocking at the door.

But an advertisement explaining how you can travel the world for free from the miles that you earn when you sign up for the credit card will get more people wanting to know more. Why?

Because one, you are doing them a service by showing them how to travel for free. Who doesn’t like free travel right?!

And two, if they can get free travel just by completing a credit card application and being accepted then there’s no reason why they will not want to sign up.

Essentially this is using the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) method. People will only willingly consider an idea or proposal, when they know that there is something in it for them.

And you can clearly set that out explicitly in a blog or website.

Does that make sense?

However if you really do not want to take the time to build a traditional website or blog, like this one that you’re reading, there certainly are other ways to get your affiliate links out there and provide valuable content at the same time.

Oh yes there is!

And that’s the reason for this post. So keep reading to the end.

How To Do Affiliate Marketing Without a Website Or Blog

Where To Find Affiliate Products

First of all let’s talk about where you can find affiliate products.

For my top 10 high paying affiliate programs read this article.

1| Brands Affiliate Programs

You can find affiliate products just about anywhere. Most companies these days, have affiliate programs. Your favourite brands like Nike, ASOS, Canon, Nikon etc all have affiliate programs.

If you have a brand that you love, simply go to Google and type in the brand + “affiliate program” and see if there are any search results. Like this one for example.

2| Affiliate Networks

If you are not interested in branded affiliate products but have a specific niche you want to get into, then you can use affiliate networks to find products related to your niche.

Affiliate networks are places that host several affiliate programs all in one place. This makes it easier for you to find the ideal affiliate product you’d like to promote.

A side note: affiliate networks are free to join however some networks may require you to have an established website or blog to participate in their network. If you do not have a website or blog then you may not get accepted.

If you do have a website or blog ensure that there is content on it. If not, then you will more than likely be rejected from the network. A few of my favourite affiliate networks are below:

Related Article

3| Affiliate Programs

If there is no specific niche that you are interested in and simply want to make money then there are affiliate programs that help you do so with minimal set up. These programs do require you to own the product so you must pay a membership fee to join and promote their product.

Before you join and promote any of these programs make sure that you research the company well.

A few things to consider:

Do they provide training to their affiliates?
Do they provide real products to sell? Watch out for any program that has no real product that they are selling. If you get paid, on the condition that you refer someone to become a member, then this can be classed as a pyramid scheme.
What do other people say about them? You can always do a Google search to find out.
Do you have to invest thousands of dollars for “coaching”. Be careful of affiliate programs that ask you to invest thousands of dollars to move up different levels in the company.

To help you decide on the best products to promote here are a few things that you should consider:

Is the product in a profitable niche? See this article for my most profitable niches
The percentage commission you will receive. Any product that pays me $20 and above per sale is a good product in my view. However read this post to see how I earned over $10k in affiliate sales from $6 commissions.
Is the product highly convertible?
Are people looking for this product?

I am sure you are asking how in the world would you know whether people are looking for this product??

Well there are a few ways to find out, but here is one way that helps me find whether people are searching for a product and how many people are searching for it.

Keysearch, is an SEO Keyword finder tool that helps you to find keywords that people are searching for.

If you are not a Google Adwords user and you are unable to use the Google Keyword Planner tool, then you can use this search tool, to help you.

So for example, if I wanted to promote the Super Affiliate System by John Crestani, an affiliate marketing course, I would use Keysearch, to find out how many people are using Google to search for this product.

Here are the results.

I know from Keysearch, that approximately 880 people are looking for this product.

This tells me that the product is well-known and if people are searching for it in the search engines, then there are people out there who want this product.

If the product that you want to promote is popular, as you can see in the image, it is a good product to start with, because there is some trust already attached to that product.

Try it for any product that you are thinking of promoting. This can be an affiliate product, a network marketing product or your own product.

Now that you know which product you’d like to start with, you need to grab your affiliate link. When you join an affiliate program or network, you will always be provided with an affiliate link so that any sale you make through that link is credited to you.

Promoting An Affiliate Link Without A Website Or Blog

1| Facebook

Create a Facebook fan page and start using your affiliate links within your posts.

You can post about health and fitness, relationships or money – the three most profitable niches.

Do not only post your affiliate link. You also need to provide value within your posts. So you may write a short post about How To Lose Weight In 2 Weeks. Add a few bullet points with some great tips and advice, then at the end of the post add your affiliate link for the recommended product that you want the user to try.

Be careful when posting a direct affiliate link on Facebook as it is likely that Facebook will ban that link.

Also affiliate links are ugly.

So here’s what you can do to mask or cloak your affiliate link so that it is not blacklisted by social media platforms like Facebook, and it appears “pretty” to the reader.

I use a link cloaking tool called Clickmagick.

2| YouTube

If creating written content isn’t your forte, then what about video content?

Create a YouTube channel and speak about topics that are of interest. YouTube is owned by Google so it also tells you what people are searching for.

One piece of advice I can give to you, is focus on what people want. No one cares about what you like. Remember the WIIFM method.

You are likely to get more sales when you answer to someone’s problem.

For example if you have a product in the relationship niche go to YouTube and search for a topic of interest.

In the example below I started my search with the keywords “How to get back with…” I had not finished typing my keyword but look at the results.

This tells me that many people are searching for advice on how to get back with an ex. You can therefore find a product that answers to this problem and recommend it in your video.

When using YouTube there are a few rules that you MUST follow:

Value first, financial gain after. Make sure that your content is useful, helpful and full of value. If you set up a channel merely to advertise a product, people will see right through this and move on to the next channel.
Provide genuine advice. Do not be misleading. Therefore do not make claims that are unsubstantiated.
Show your face. When using YouTube I would strongly recommend that you show your face and present yourself as the speaker and allow others to connect with you. You gain more credibility and trust this way.

Another way to earn affiliate sales with YouTube naturally, is by providing reviews of products. People value other people’s opinions so they want to know what yours is.

A perfect example for this is weight loss products. If you have used a product and lost weight and now want to promote it, speak about your trials, your triumphs then include your affiliate link in the description of the video. Make sure and mention that the link is in the description so other people will use it.

You can also include affiliate links to other related products like work out gear, books or equipment which you can find from Amazon Associates.

Another example is with marketing tools like the LeadPages.

A great way of promoting these types of products, is to do a walk-through of the program. Make a video and record yourself logging into the program, talk about the features, benefits, what you like and do not like about the product.

Most people love this! They want to see what they will be getting for their money and if you can be that channel of finding out before they buy, they will love you for it!

To record your video you can use Screencastomatic, or Loom which are free video screen recorders.

3| Blog and Forum Posting

Because of affiliate spamming some of the reputable blogs and forums have banned users from using affiliate links in their posts or comments.

Some blogs or forums do however allow you to provide affiliate links in your signature or profile so there is always a way to use these avenues to drive traffic to your affiliate products.

Of course you have to be very smart about it.

With blog or forum posting, you must establish yourself as a credible source by providing help to people.

Forums like Quora or Warrior Forum allow you to answer other people’s questions. Do this regularly and establish a profile where forum users see you as an authority in your niche.

When you are seen as an authority and you gain the respect of other users, you are more likely to attract visitors to your profile where of course you will host your affiliate links and then potentially get clicks to your affiliate products.

Ensure that your posts or comments provide value, are useful and interesting. Do not spam as you run the risk of your account getting banned and deleted.

Another good point to mention is that using the blog or forum posting method requires you to promote relevant products therefore you should not answer questions related to health and wellness, when the product you are promoting is in the make money niche.

4| Create An Ebook

Whilst this way does take time to write the content, it is very helpful as it reflects you as an authority.

Most people see books containing a wealth of information as a valuable resource.

You can create a 30-40 page eBook about a specific topic and include affiliate links within the content.

This method is kind of like a mini blog. So it is important that when you write, your content is useful and helpful.

Do not just add affiliate links for the sake of adding affiliate links. Provide value within the book and then recommend a product that backs up your theory.

For example if you are an affiliate for a dog training product, your eBook may be titled Tricks And Techniques For Teaching Dogs New Tricks. Within that book you may have 10 tricks and techniques but then you recommend the affiliate product which may help the reader.

Another example is if you are an affiliate for a marketing product, your eBook may be titled Internet Marketing Success. Within the book you may have ten secrets to help the reader make money but also recommend the tools that you use to set up an online business to make money.

If your book is informative and useful as opposed to laden with affiliate links then you will find that it is more likely to be shared by others.

People will also appreciate the amount of value that you are giving away and will be more than likely to trust your recommendation and click on your affiliate links.

Useful Resource

Grab my free eBook that shows you how I consistently make $3k per month online.

5| Pay Per Click Advertisements

This method is probably the one that I see often and I cringe because it is the worst way that you can do affiliate marketing without a website or blog.

When you direct link to an affiliate product through advertisements you are likely to lose a lot of money this way.

Why?

Because a lot of the traffic that the sites provide could bounce from the affiliate merchant page without you seeing a good return on your investment.

This could mean that the affiliate merchant page is not attractive or of a low quality.

It could mean that the viewer is probably just not ready to buy.

A better way is to create a lead capture page or a bridge page, which then directs to the affiliate merchant page. I use LeadPages for all my marketing pages.

On the lead capture page it is best to give away an item for free so that you have a higher chance of capturing the viewer’s contact details.

Once the viewer provides their contact details, you can direct them to the affiliate merchant page. If the viewer does not buy the product on the first run, you can then follow up with them by email to remind them of the product.

This way does require a few other tools to ensure that you get the highest conversions. This includes:

If this is a method that you would like to use then Clickfunnels, Aweber, GetResponse and LeadPages all provide lead capture page builders with email autoresponders built in, that you can use to effectively capture your viewer’s information.

Related Articles:

If you still insist on direct linking, then you can use pay per click websites like Google Ads or Bing Ads. Be careful of the product you are promoting and ensure that it complies with their terms and conditions.

6| A Mini Blog

Ok, so I know you wanted to do affiliate marketing without a blog or website but hear me out.

You can create a one-page mini website or blog and promote an affiliate product.

To do this you will need a few tools like:

Web Hosting and Domain
WordPress

Creating a mini blog using WordPress is very simple. Check out this blog post here on how to get started. You can also get web hosting with WordPress and Bluehost for the super low price of $3.95 a month with my referral link.

For this method to work, ensure that your domain contains a keyword so that it is easily searchable in the search engines and if promoting this blog post using social media traffic, then it can easily relate to the niche.

You also want to ensure that your blog contains several keywords to increase your search engine optimisation.

For example, if you are promoting a diet plan that helps brides lose weight for their wedding, your keyword would be wedding diet plan or bride diet plan.

Make sure that those keywords are in the domain like this www.weddingdietplan.com or www.bridedietplan.com.

You also want to scatter those keywords in your blog post and offer some tips on how people can lose weight in time for their wedding.

Again offering value is key, so do not simply add affiliate links without it being useful to the reader to click on it.

You can write a 500-1000 word blog post with tips and techniques and then insert affiliate product recommendations for the reader towards the end of your article.

Related Article: How To Do Affiliate Marketing With A One-Page Blog

7| Hubpages

If you are not keen on building a mini blog or website then Hubpages is a great place to start without you having to build a website from scratch.

Hubpages is hosted on the Hubpages website so you do not need to worry about getting your own hosting. The only thing to be aware of, is that unlike having your own blog or website you will not own the content published on Hubpages, so it can be removed at any time.

To get started with Hubpages click here.

A Few Things To Remember

Whilst affiliate marketing is a great way to make money on the internet there is a difference between those people who make a lot of money with affiliate marketing and those who make little to nothing.

With affiliate marketing, your income is pretty much uncapped but to reach that point you must keep in mind a few details.

Time

The examples I posted above require time to implement. If you are trying to establish yourself as an authority in the marketplace, you need to always show up for people to take you seriously.

To gain someone’s trust may take months, sometimes years but if you want to be successful you have to give your effort sufficient time to produce results. It is not an overnight thing.

Consistency

You also have to be consistent in your marketing. That means posting content consistently.

So you cannot create great content one day and then produce another piece of content next month. People will forget about you.

If you are writing content or uploading videos, aim to create content once a week. This keeps you fresh in your reader’s and viewer’s mind.

Eventually You Will Need A Website

You may now be entering the affiliate marketing arena and that’s ok. You are obviously looking for the fastest way to get you set up and running.

This is great but is not a good strategy for long term success.

If you want to be successful long term, then it is a good idea to have a home on the internet where people can navigate to get to know more about you.

Having a home on the internet, is where you can store all your valuable content in an organised and structured manner.

You can create categories and menus on your website or blog, like this one. People can also bookmark it as a useful resource.

I would therefore strongly urge you to create a website and work on it whilst you put into practice the methods I have listed here. Finally ready to get your blog started? This awesome post will help you get everything set up.

Affiliate Marketing Best Practices

No matter where you decide to promote your affiliate links there are a few practices to keep in mind.

Value before sale

Before you start to promote your affiliate link, ask yourself whether your content is helpful. Always have the reader in mind.

People do not like being sold to. So if your post is filled with affiliate links and there is very little useful information, you are less likely to be trusted.

Track your affiliate links and avoid using affiliate links directly

The biggest mistake you can make with affiliate marketing is not tracking your links. Do not ever use affiliate links directly in your posts since this prevents you from tracking where your sales are coming from.

If you are using social media, avoid this at all costs. Most social networks do not like affiliate links. Also affiliate links are long and ugly.

Therefore, before pasting your affiliate links on social media sites, make sure you wrap them in user friendly links like link shorteners or tracking links.

The following companies allow you to cloak your links and track the number of clicks that you get to the link:

When shortening your links with Google, Bitly or Tiny URL, make sure that you check on them often as sometimes the links stop working.

For better link management and to get email updates when your link is not working, I would strongly recommend Clickmagick.

Whilst Clickmagick is a paid product, it helps you to avoid wasting clicks by notifying you when a link does not work. It also tracks sales conversions for you and tells you which traffic source is giving you the most traffic.

Legal Requirement

As an affiliate you must also ensure that you are being compliant.

According to the Federal Trade Commission you must disclose that you are an affiliate and that you will earn a commission from any affiliate link that you post if a user purchases a product through that link.

By following the FTC guidelines and sharing valuable information with your audience you are being transparent. This will lead to more trust and credibility and naturally your audience will value your opinion.

To see my affiliate disclaimer have a look here.

That’s All Folks!

You can do affiliate marketing without a blog or website.

I hope that my suggestions gives you some great ideas.

If you are excited about this but want a step by step process on how to start with affiliate marketing and you really don’t have the time to start blogging you should check out my guide on How To Do Affiliate Marketing Without A Huge Blog or Website

It’s the perfect solution for those who are looking to promote an affiliate or network marketing product, but really don’t want to create a traditional blog. This guide teaches you exactly how I do affiliate marketing or promote any product with small valuable blog posts or money pages as they call them.

Just like I did when I earned over $10k in affiliate commissions from a small blog post.

Plus it comes with a bonus freelancing guide that teaches you how to get other people to pay for your business costs and how to use free traffic methods to promote your content fast for incredible results.

You can check it out by clicking here!

Remember that the most difficult part of any business is showing up. Make sure and show up today to get the best chance at success.

Don’t wait too long to invest in you.

Cheers,

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