Affiliate marketing is the new hot trend everyone’s talking about. I mean, there’s so much noise everywhere.
- The money
- The Fame
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission or make money by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products. You find a product you like, promote it to others and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make.
Let me break it down a little further…
There are 4 different parties involved in affiliate marketing:
- The Merchant,
- Network
- Publisher and
- The Customer.
I will explain all 4 parties in a bit, just keep reading…
However, when it comes down to the actual marketing, there are 2 sides of an affiliate equation: the product creator(Seller) and the affiliate marketer(You).
Therefore, affiliate marketing can be seen as the process of spreading product creation and product marketing across different parties, where each party receives a share of the revenue according to their contribution.
Let me break it even further!
How Affiliate Marketing Works In Nigeria
For example, I want to sell a car so I list the car on an affiliate network hoping I’ll see affiliate marketer that will sell it for me based on the percentage agreed by me and the network.
If you being an affiliate marketer, then choose to market the car and sell it through your link. You’ll get a commission based on the agreement I had with the network earlier.
Mind you, I can choose to create my own personal affiliate program myself, and if you register for my affiliate program and market the car directly you’ll still get your commission based on the percentage I stated on the car that you will make.
The advantage of joining affiliate networks instead of a direct affiliate program is that it’s safer than dealing directly with the creator of the products.
He or she can wake up any morning and choose to close the affiliate program.
But that doesn’t mean individual affiliate programs is not safe, on rare occasion will such happen. I personally have affiliate programs that I do promote directly.
Now let’s look at all parts of a successful affiliate marketing system. (What makes Affiliate Programs complete)
#1: The Merchant: (seller)
Sometimes also known as the creator, the brand, or the vendor. This is the party that creates the product. Anyone could be the merchant behind an affiliate marketing program.
They don’t even have to be actively involved. They just have to have a product to sell then make it available for affiliate networks so affiliate marketers can sign up and promote the products.
#2: The Affiliate: (You)
This party is sometimes also known as the publisher. Affiliates can also range from single individuals to entire companies.
This is where the marketing happens. An affiliate promotes one or multiple affiliate products and tries to attract and convince potential customers about the value of the product so that they can end up buying it.
#3: The Consumer: (Buyer)
The customer or consumer makes the affiliate system go ’round. Without sales, there won’t be any commission and revenue to share.
The affiliate will try to market to the consumer on whatever channel they see fit, whether it be a social network, digital billboards or through a search engine using content marketing on a blog.
#4: The Network: (Escrow)
Only some consider the network part of the affiliate marketing equation. But, I believe that an affiliate marketing guide needs to include networks, because, in many cases, a network works as an intermediary between the affiliate and the merchant.
Sometimes, affiliates have to go through an affiliate network to be able to promote the product for more security reasons. Or if the merchant(Seller) only listed their product on a particular affiliate network.
The affiliate network also serves as a warehouse for lots of affiliate programs, out of which the affiliate marketer can choose which to promote.
The life of doing so little, yet earning like a thief.
I’m going to be bluntly truthful about the whole process.
You cannot earn like a THIEF in affiliate marketing, Except you’re indeed a real thief. You can’t afford to be lazy, 300k cannot fall on your head by doing nothing. Every single person making millions has put in an amount of work!
The good part is… It gets easier along the way.
Think of it as a growth process, except you want to be like Nigeria that never grows… 😐
If you want to make it big, then you need to become better each day. The longer you’ve been an affiliate, the easier it is to make more money.
Another thing you should know is.. It won’t always be ROSY, The idea of bagging N100 – 200k weekly seems like a great deal but as a beginner affiliate, it won’t always be like that.
Note the word “Beginner” You can’t just become an affiliate Today & make 1M next week Nahhh…!
Except you’re extremely lucky or you’re into witchcraft. No one would tell you this.
The only possibilities of this happening is if you are an influencer and have a large number of social media followings/followers already.
They’re bad days They’re days you want to quit & it’s completely normal. But the moment N200k enters your account after concluding a sales, the depression goes off immediately.
And the motivation to make more money comes in full force.
As an affiliate marketer, the motivation to work some days could be very low.
They’re days you want to take a break & just rest! This doesn’t just apply to Affiliate Marketing Though, It also applies to everyone running a business.
As an Affiliate Marketer we drink energy drink, play good music & go back to work The good part is…
Work is on your phone. All you need to do is press it! Lol.😆
On a lighter note, affiliate marketing is great! I’ve seen it turn a dead broke person to a self-made millionaire. If only you give it time The results you see would blow you away It won’t be easy always but it’s worth every single stress!
Advantage of Affiliate Marketing
Below are the reasons and benefits of starting your own affiliate marketing business right here in Nigeria, or irrespective of your location.
#1: Passive Income
This is one of the best parts of affiliate marketing. The fact that you don’t need to work always before you make your income. Affiliate marketing has given me the luxury to do so many things…
Below is a screenshot of one of my earnings…
Affiliate marketing is like an income funnel that makes you money for a very long time, even after you’ve stopped working mostly when you use a blog to promote affiliate links.
If you would like to make money the exact way I do with affiliate marketing, I’ll suggest you check this out.
#2: Highly Scalable
This is another interesting part of affiliate marketing. You can easily scale up your income by being consistent. My first affiliate income was N60,000 but now 6 figures.
This is because I am consistent with what I am doing.
Affiliate marketing also makes it easy to make more money by investing in it for you to get a higher result. This could be spending money on adverts and in various other ways.
#3: Multiple Income Source
As an affiliate marketer, you can work with as many affiliate programs as you want because you’re the boss of yourself. I have various affiliate programs I’m promoting and they’re all paying me well.
This kind of makes me get paid all around. That is, I don’t have to be dependent on one particular network before I get paid. I have several of them and this makes me get paid on a weekly basis.
#4: No Limit to Your Income
There’s no limit to how much you can make as an affiliate marketer. The sky is always your limit. There are various affiliate marketers that are killing it already.
A good example is Caleb of “Expertnaire Affiliate” who has generated over N100 million Naira from affiliate marketing.
We have several other guys who are not popular but making millions every blessed month with affiliate marketing.
#5: Low Start-Up Cost
Unlike other business that requires huge startup cost, affiliate marketing is exempted. Your only cost is likely going to be for creating your blog website.
And with less than $4/month for your web hosting and $10/year for your domain name, you can have your website up and running.
Here’s a detailed article on how to start a blog website that generates income through affiliate marketing or any other means.
How to start affiliate marketing in Nigeria
I’ve broken it down to make it a step by step guide for beginners trying to learn how to start an affiliate marketing business in Nigeria.
If you stick to this guide, you’re on the right course to earning your first affiliate income in no time. Read and come back to read again. That’s how you’ll make it stick.
Steps to start affiliate marketing in Nigeria:
- Choose your affiliate niche
- Start a blog
- Create contents
- Monetize your content with affiliate programs
- Promote your content
Conclusion
Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make countless recurring income online. But trust me, it won’t come easy at first.
You need to be committed and consistent and after you’ve pulled off the hard part, you can then relax and enjoy from your hard work.
Once you’ve made your first income the rest will come flowing, affiliate marketing has really changed my life.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I become an affiliate marketer in Nigeria?
To become an affiliate marketer in Nigeria is simple, you just need to choose a niche, register for an affiliate program, [Register on Expertnaire] choose a product and start promoting it.
Is affiliate marketing easy?
Affiliate marketing is quite logical and also a flexible business model that can help create multiple streams of income if you know the ropes. However, you should understand that it’s not a get rich quick scheme, but will require your dedication and consistency.
