When it comes to making money online, most people think that the first thing you need is a website. You can certainly make money in lots of ways when you have your own website, but you don’t need this in order to start bringing in some cash.
The best way to begin – especially if you have limited funds – is to opt for affiliate marketing instead. This is really an offshoot of online marketing in general, and it involves selling products and services for other people. You don’t have to actually handle any products yourself though. Instead you are the ‘middleman’ who connects the potential customer to the product or service you are promoting.
You can do this in lots of different ways but the crux of the matter is that you do not need a website. Instead you can use articles, links and all manner of other methods to successfully make sales. Online marketing companies do employ the same strategies but at a much higher professional level
The first thing to do is to decide what kinds of products or services you would like to promote. There are thousands upon thousands of options out there, so it is important to focus on the best ones that appeal to you. Having an interest in a product will enable you to make more sales, since your natural enthusiasm will help attract more attention. If you try and sell things you don’t believe in, simply to try and make a big sale, you won’t meet with a lot of success. And why shouldn’t you enjoy what you are doing?
Most modern affiliates go straight to affiliate websites to get the links they need. These websites connect would be affiliates with the companies who are looking for people to help them. As such you can join one site such as Commission Junction and use that one account to start promoting several different companies all in one hit.
You can produce articles and web pages about a particular product and then publish them online with your affiliate link. Websites such as Squidoo allow you to do this, as well as some of the other article directories.
Once you start bringing in some money as an affiliate you can invest in your own website. A domain name, some basic hosting and a free Wordpress template can be all you need to get started along this line. Focus on a niche topic that you know sells well and you have a lot of affiliate links for. This should enable you to get the results you need.
Perseverance is probably the key attribute you need to have when you are trying out the world of affiliate marketing. The more you learn, the more you will succeed and the more sales you will make as a result. Make sure you follow online marketing companies and their marketing strategies as well.