10 Easy Steps to Starting an Affiliate Marketing Website in South Africa
Affiliate Marketing in South Africa is one of the BEST ways for South Africans to create digital assets that earn dollars passively! That said it takes a lot of hard work in the beginning and you will not make money overnight, it will take between 3 months to 1 year depending on your skill level and dedication.
Jump straight to the 10 Easy Steps to Starting
However, once you make the first dollar (in your sleep) from a blog post you did 3 months ago you will fully understand the power of this digital asset you have created.
One of the best side effects of this journey is that you will learn skills that are in huge demand in South Africa. Since I learnt how to Affiliate market, I have built websites for companies and begun creating SEO-optimised content for them that has increased their sales. It has allowed me to consult on best-practice digital marketing strategies too.
In this blog post, I will discuss how to start an affiliate marketing website in South Africa. I will go over the basics of affiliate marketing, and provide you with some tips to get started. So, if you are interested in making money online, read on!
Fun Facts about Affiliate Marketing :
- In 2018, affiliate marketing spending in the United States reached $6.8 billion
- By 2022, affiliate marketing is projected to grow to $8.2 billion
- In 2015, 15% of all digital orders were placed through affiliate links
What does the average affiliate website make?
The average affiliate website earns between $100 and $500 per month
However, some affiliate websites make over $100,000 per month.
Experienced affiliate marketers, can create an affiliate site with 30 Articles that will make 4000$ per month. They will then move on to the next Affiliate site and Keep growing their assets.
Now that we have discussed some facts about affiliate marketing, let's move on to how you can start an affiliate marketing website in South Africa.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts.
In basic terms affiliate marketing is when you promote a product or service on your website and earn a commission for every sale that you generate.
An Example of how affiliate marketing works
For example, let's say now you decide that you want to start an affiliate website.
More than likely you will jump onto google or youtube and type this exact phrase in
"What is the best website platform for affiliate marketing"
We all have heard about WordPress, Wix, Square Space and Shopify. If you jump onto any of these companies' websites, they will all say they are the best. Which leaves the searcher with a problem. Making an informed decision will take hours of research.
But what if, When you typed in "What is the best website platform for affiliate marketing"
another website popped up and that website was neutral. The creator took the time to weigh all the pros and cons for you and could give you a decisive answer.
You got precise answers like
The best website builder for a travel page is WIX
The best website builder for a Tech blog is Wordpress
The creator took the time to research and review all these products and helps the buyer connect with the best platform.
Can you see now, that the research and content the blog created, did 2 things.
It Helped Wix or Squarespace get a sale
It Helped the searcher make an informed decision!
In this scenario, the blog has helped Wix make a sale if they click the blog's link and then go on to purchase their product. In return, WIX will pay you 100$ for helping them get the sale.
And here is what is powerful about affiliate marketing, If your article ranks on google new people will keep reading the same article. Thousand of people will be making that search and of those many will click your link and get Wix.
1 Good Article or Youtube video will keep bringing in passive income (Dollars) in your sleep! Now imagine you doing multiple articles about other products in your niche.
So I've given away my game plan here, I've done years of research to help you best make a decision. If you decide you want to use Wix because of this article, then click my link and it will take you to their site. You'll pay exactly the same price, just Wix will pay me a commission which allows me to make more informative articles. #affilaiteInception
Seriously though, this website and all my other websites have been built on Wix after doing tons of research.
City of Cape Town (Travel Magazine)
SoCoMunity (Agency Website)
HighTeaCBD (e-commerce)
African Safari Mag (Safari Magazine)
How does affiliate marketing work?
A company looking to use affiliate marketing will create a program designed to promote their product or service. They will then find websites, bloggers, and other online influencers who are willing to promote their product in exchange for a commission on sales generated.
For example, let’s say you are an affiliate for Company XYZ’s widget. Company XYZ has given you a special link to their website that you can share with your readers. When someone clicks.
Steps to Start an Affiliate Website in South Africa
Step 1: Choose your niche
The first step to starting an affiliate marketing website is to choose your niche. Pick something you are passionate about or have extensive knowledge of. This will make it easier to write content and build a following of people who are interested in what you have to say.
If you are having trouble choosing a niche, here are some ideas to get you started:
- Technology
- Travel
- Health and Fitness
- Parenting
- Food and cooking
- Home Improvement
Think about what you know a lot about, what have you googled a lot, what hobbies you have, and what past jobs have you had. That's the best clue for your niche website.
Step 2: Pick a name for your page
a good place to start is just using your own name unless you are wanting to sell the page in the future. Keep the URL short and memorable.
Step 3: Buy a Website Domain
The next step is to buy a domain. You can do this through a number of different companies such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Google Domains. Just choose the company you want to use and follow their instructions for buying a domain.
Make sure you get a .com extension if possible as this is the most recognizable and will be the easiest for people to remember.
Step 4: Choose your website platform
Now it’s time to choose which platform you want to use for your website. Some popular choices are Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, Weebly, and Shopify.
There are pros and cons to each platform so do some research on which one would be the best fit for you and your affiliate website.
I personally recommend Wix.
Step 5: Set up your website
Once you have chosen your platform, it’s time to set up your website. This will involve choosing a theme or template for your site, as well as adding content and plugins.
If you are using WordPress, there are plenty of resources online to help you get started with setting up your website. Once you have a basic understanding of how it works, it will be much easier to add content and customize your site to suit your needs.
Step 6: Starting Writing Blog Posts about topics in your niche.
Your content should be helpful and informative, not just a sales pitch for the product you are promoting.
Learn about Search intent, SEO and keyword analysis
This will help you write blog posts that people are actually searching for, and make sure they find your post.
Step 7: Sign up for the appropriate affiliate program that pertains to your Niche.
Once you have some content on your site, you can start promoting your affiliate links. You can do this in a number of ways such as through social media, email marketing, or by writing guest posts on other websites in your niche.
Just make sure you are not spamming people with your affiliate links and that you are providing value in whatever content you are sharing.
Step 8 Create Video Content on Youtube and TikTok
Video content is becoming increasingly popular and is a great way to promote your affiliate links. You can create videos on YouTube or TikTok demonstrating how to use the product you are promoting, or giving a review of the product.
Make sure you include your affiliate link or your blog link in the description of the video so people can click through to purchase the product.
Step 9: Create Graphics for Social Media
Another great way to promote your affiliate links is by creating graphics for social media. People are more likely to click on an affiliate link if it is accompanied by a visually appealing graphic.
You can create graphics using Canva, PicMonkey, or Adobe Photoshop. Just make sure you include your affiliate link somewhere on the graphic so people can click through to your website.
Step 10: Keep track of your affiliate links and Keep Improving your Website and Content
Make sure you are keeping track of your affiliate links and which ones are performing well. You can do this by using a tool like Bitly or Google Analytics.
Also, keep improving your website and content. This will help to keep people coming back to your site and increase the chances that they will click on your affiliate links.
By following these steps, you can start your own affiliate marketing website in South Africa and begin earning commission from the products you promote. Just remember to choose a niche that you are interested in, write helpful and informative content, and promote your affiliate links in a way that is not spammy.
That’s it! These seven steps will get you started on your affiliate marketing journey. Just remember to be patient, and consistent, and always provide value to your audience and you will be successful.
How to Choose your affiliate products?
Now that you have chosen your niche, it’s time to choose the affiliate products you want to promote. More and more companies now have an affiliate program.
Some companies offer multiple products and services, so you can promote different items to your audience and earn a commission on each sale. For example, if you have a travel blog, you could promote travel packages, flights, hotels, and other related products.
Here are some affiliate programs to get you started:
Amazon Associates
ClickBank
Booking.com
Affiliate Marketing South Africa
Takealot
Superbalist
OneDayOnly
Faithful to Nature
As an affiliate marketer, you need to write compelling content
Now that your website is built, it’s time to start writing content. This is where most people fail with affiliate marketing. They create bland, boring content that doesn’t capture the attention of their readers. As a result, they don’t make any sales.
To be successful with affiliate marketing, you need to write compelling, interesting content that will engage your readers and encourage them to click on your affiliate links.
Here are some tips for writing great content:
- Write in a natural, conversational style.
- Use short paragraphs and clear sentence structure.
- Engage your readers by using active voice.
- Write headlines that accurately reflect the content of your article.
- Use images, infographics, and videos to break up your text and add visual interest.
- Promote your affiliate products in a subtle way without sounding salesy.
Add affiliate links to your site
Once you have written some great content, it’s time to start adding affiliate links. Be sure to do this in a way that doesn’t disrupt the flow of your article or turn off your readers.
To find affiliate links, log in to your affiliate account and look for the “get link” or “banners” option. Copy and paste the code into your website where you want the affiliate link to appear.