Affiliate marketing might pop into the head of many people when discussing ways to make money online. This promotion method is gaining its popularity for not only being lucrative but also being less “picky” than other options. However, is affiliate marketing worth it, especially when the participants are getting much larger?

This article is where Permate Global shows you the potential of this MMO strategy in the upcoming time. Plus, we’ll tell you the first and foremost conditions that make affiliate marketing worth your time and effort.

Let’s begin!

Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It in 2024? Key Statistics

Simply put, it’s a “Yes”. This is still a lucrative market that you can dive in and become rich. But to make this statement more persuasive, let’s look at numbers (they don’t lie!).

According to Statista, affiliate marketing is expected to experience a growth rate of 10%, hitting over 27 billion dollars by 2027.

So, this is still a “hot” topic in the upcoming years. If you need an extra confirmation, access Google Trends and type affiliate marketing. You’ll see how it maintains a big interest over time (though there might be some fluctuations).

Besides, it’s essential to note that brands are investing in affiliate strategies to enhance their awareness and sales more than ever before. Research shows that over 80% worldwide brands and merchants are leveraging affiliate programs and they’re spending billions of dollars to make it a profitable marketing scheme for their business.

So, what does it mean? There’s no need to worry about over saturation since brands still need talented publishers to flourish their programs.

If these statistics still can’t convince you, let real successful talents do. Popular names like Pat Flynn and Darren Rowse have made millions of dollars through affiliate marketing, inspiring all the publishers worldwide. According to research, over 80% of publishers said they earn an annual income of $20,000. It’s your turn to make these real-life cases yours.

When Is It Worth Doing Affiliate Marketing

That’s said, affiliate marketing is worth doing when you approach it in the right way. It’s not as easy as joining a random program and promoting any product that it offers. So, we recommend taking risks with this method when:

You understand or have an interest in a niche

Let’s face it: it’s not a one week or one month process. Doing affiliate marketing takes a lot of time to show you results. So, make sure you understand or have a passion for your chosen niche so that you’re motivated to go that far.

For instance, if you’re a dog lover or trainer, you can choose to share any related content such as training tips, pet health care, toy and food reviews, etc. Trust us, as long as you have a love or knowledge in this field, you can stick with it till it starts generating money.

When you have a sustained interest in a niche, you can maintain a consistent content flow. This is a perfect way to engage with your audience and build a long-term commitment.

On the other hand, when you decide to jump into a niche (that many others succeed and you think you will) without knowing too much about it, you can drop it halfway.

Your chosen niche is profitable

So, here’s the deal: You love what you’re sharing and it’s profitable. Affiliate marketing is gradually becoming the most income source of many marketers. As mentioned, brands are investing a lot of money in this revenue-generating scheme, so why not choose a niche that promises to make you a living.

Start researching and finding a program that offers you high commissions or earnings per clicks (EPC). The latter is a crucial metric that is often used in Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns. It tells you an estimated amount of money you’ll receive when an audience clicks your unique link. 

You have built a trustworthy online presence

It’s easy to realize that influencers and KOLs are more likely to succeed in affiliate marketing. One of the main reasons is that they have established a strong audience who tend to click on their recommendations.

So, this is a big advantage to get started in this field, especially when organic traffic through search engines or social media platforms are hard to manage.

That said, don’t panic if you’re not owning an engaged audience at first. You can build it from scratch, beginning with basic methods like blogging, building a TikTok channel, or filming YouTube videos.

It takes you more effort but many have succeeded, why can’t you.

You have the knowledge or experience of the products

Well, affiliate marketing stands out for offering no inventory since you’re promoting others’ products. However, experiencing the products first-hand gives you a big advantage over other affiliate marketers. Here’s why:

• You understand the products beyond generic product descriptions that others found on the internet

• You can provide a detailed review of the product, emphasizing its pros and cons based on your personal experience

• You have many choices for content creation (e.g., unboxing videos, tutorials, product review and comparison, etc)

• You can increase your credibility, encouraging more audience to click the affiliate links

• You build a better relationship with brands and have chances to ask for  exclusive deals and early access to new products

You have a complementary product or service

Last but not least, it’s a “Yes” to “Is it worth doing affiliate marketing” when you promote a product or service that complements what you’re selling.

For instance, if you sell dried tea leaves, consider numerous complementary products to enhance your customers’ tea-drinking experience, such as tea pots, cups, thermometers, and more.

By recommending complementary products, you add more value to your customers and improve their overall satisfaction. So, they got what they need and you can increase your sales.

Common Myths About Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing also has its own rumors, which might distract beginners from preparing the best before entering this world. Let’s have a look at some myths that might last for a long time. (Some of them might be in your mind too!)

It’s a quick to make money

Many people believe that affiliate marketing is a quick and easy way to earn money. A blog or a social media account with an engaged audience is all they need for a prosperous income. Well, if it’s that simple, everyone might now do affiliate marketing instead of 9-to-5 work.

This scheme’s success doesn’t happen in days or weeks; it’s a long process from defining your niche to joining the right affiliate program. Additionally, affiliate marketing success doesn’t last forever if you don’t update with changes and refine your campaigns accordingly. 

Affiliate marketing is saturated

It’s true that affiliate marketing’s attraction is still on the rise, making it competitive especially for newcomers. However, it still leaves you with a lucrative spot if you find the right approach. This involves researching and selecting a suitable vertical, crafting engaging content, tracking your performance, staying updated, and more.

You need a website to start

It is often believed that having a website is a prerequisite to becoming an affiliate marketer. While having a website is beneficial, it is not strictly necessary. There are alternatives that still walk you through the affiliate journey, such as email marketing, social media, or blogging platforms. By considering your niche, audience and products you’ll promote, you can choose the appropriate solution.

You can choose and promote anything

Picture this: You’re a makeup artist who starts using YouTube to share tips and tutorials. Once you’ve reached a certain following, you think of monetizing it by promoting anything that brands offer, from cooking stuff to insurance. Is that effective? While it might attract people at first, it won’t go far-fetched.

So, instead of mentioning all types of products in your content, make a wise selection and go with the most relevant and high-quality ones.

Affiliate marketing is for professionals only

Many believe that only professionals or those with extensive experience in marketing can succeed in affiliate marketing. As mentioned above, affiliate marketing is worth it when you have expertise in a field. But if you don’t, a passion and a willingness to learn and put in the effort can also lead you to success.

Pros and Cons of Being an Affiliate Marketer

Besides looking at specific cases, evaluating pros and cons can help you find the answer to “is affiliate marketing worth it”. Let’s know them in detail!

Pros of affiliate marketing

• Low startup costs

When you start with traditional businesses, you need to invest in production, inventory, logistics, and more. Affiliate marketing, on the other hand, requires you only a computer and internet access to get started. Common costs often involve a domain name and hosting (if you choose to create a website), SEO tools and advertisements,

• Flexibility and freedom

As long as you stay in a location with an internet connection, you can do affiliate marketing. This means you can work from home, at a café, or while traveling.

Besides flexibility in location, you can find it in working hours. There’s no need to stick to a traditional work schedule since you can run your program whenever you’re free.

• Diverse income streams

It’s about not putting all your eggs in one basket. You can join various affiliate programs and promote many types of products and services as long as they complement your content. By spreading your efforts, you reduce the risk of losing all your earnings when the program shuts down or commission rates are reduced.

• Scalability opportunities

Scaling an affiliate marketing business is not as challenging as expanding your store. When your audience and influence increase, you can consider joining more programs and promoting more products.

To conquer this, you can use various tools and software to diversify your content creation, optimize them, and analyze your performance.

Cons of affiliate marketing

• High competition

Many niches in affiliate marketing are extremely competitive, making it challenging for newcomers to stand out. Additionally, high competition often leads to increasing costs of advertising, which requires affiliates to invest more to compete effectively.

• Income uncertainty

There’s no salary when you’re doing affiliate marketing. It’s a performance-based method, so the better you do, the more you earn. Your income might be zero in the first months. Even when you start earning money, the amount might fluctuate depending on many factors, such as conversion rates, commission structures, consumer behavior, market trends, and more. 

• Dependence on brands or merchants

Here, you start a business without holding any products. While it’s a big advantage, there are potential risks associated with it.

First, you have no control over the product price, quality, and availability. While you ensure to find and promote the best offers to your customers, a mistake in features can affect your credibility and earnings.

Second, some brands restrict the types of products and marketing methods for promotion. This limits your marketing strategies and capabilities to promote as many products as you can.

Third, brands create their affiliate programs, so they can change the commission structure, payout, and other details at any time. If they terminate their program, you lose a source of income and waste time to alleviate all the affiliate links you’ve mentioned.

Final Thoughts

Affiliate marketing is worth it when you prepare with enough knowledge and continuously create valuable content to your audience. As brands are expanding their e-commerce landscape and offering lucrative programs, you can start building your online presence and earning from sharing valuable products.

Based on what Permate Global stated, evaluate to see whether affiliate marketing is a good fit for you. Browse and read our other articles if you need more insights about this trending topic.

FAQs

Is affiliate marketing a get-rich-quick?

While affiliate marketing can help you earn a lot of money, it’s not a get-rich-quick. The whole process requires a lot of time and effort, from learning about your niche and creating high-quality content to building a strong audience and analyzing your campaign.

Can you start affiliate marketing with no money?

Yes, it’s possible to do affiliate marketing with little to no money. You can build a blog, create a YouTube channel, or use your social media account to start sharing creative content. However, financial investment is necessary when you want to upgrade your affiliate methods or to scale your business.

Is affiliate marketing worth it for beginners?

With its low startup cost and flexibility, affiliate marketing welcomes any newcomer to showcase their promotion ability. That said, it’s crucial for them to consider all the challenges before joining, including competition, strong effort requirements, legal issues, etc.