Is affiliate marketing worth it in 2024? Affiliate marketing can be worth it in certain scenarios, such as if you already have a large audience, you really enjoy creating quality content, you’re an expert in your niche, or if you’re already selling a complementary product. Affiliate marketing is not worth it if you’re expecting quick success, you’re not keen to perform the work required for quality content creation, or you’re not willing to obtain and test the products you want to promote.
Affiliate marketing is a viable way to monetize a large audience. For example, Smart Blogger is a blog by Jon Morrow that makes over $100,000 per year by promoting affiliate marketing products to its 4 million active readers. In 2024, you need to really enjoy creating quality content if you want to build an audience for affiliate marketing because the large amount of AI content flooding the internet has forced Google to diminish the presence of generic blogs in SERPs and because social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok are highly competitive. If you’re an expert in your chosen affiliate marketing niche, you’re naturally equipped to provide higher quality content with unique perspectives.
This is one of the main reasons Adam Enfroy is able to generate over 7 figures per year through his affiliate marketing business. Adam Enfroy started promoting affiliate offers in the online business niche through his personal blog and YouTube channel after achieving expertise in the industry through years of working as the affiliate manager for another successful website, BigCommerce.
If you already have an Ecommerce brand, adding affiliate marketing as an additional revenue channel can be an effective way to boost your profits. The Ecommerce brand Far & Away does this. Far & Away sells premium tableware sourced from Portugal. However, the site supplements their Ecommerce revenue by creating blog posts promoting other affiliate products in the home and kitchen niche.
It can take a few years to start earning stable income through affiliate marketing, so it’s not worth it for people who want to make money quickly. An affiliate marketer on Reddit commenting on a post about how long it takes to make revenue with affiliate marketing admitted that they still haven't made any money despite 11 months of affiliate marketing work.
Online publishing platform Ghost reveals that it takes 2 - 4 years of consistent content production to build a successful blog, which is the primary marketing channel for 79.1% of affiliates, according to Authority Hacker. It takes most people at least 5 - 6 hours to create a blog post, according to a survey of 640 bloggers by She Knows SEO. Depending on the competition of the niche or target keyword, this number can certainly be higher. To create video content, it typically takes around 7 hours to create a video between 1 - 5 minutes, according to video content creation platform Rizzle. As such, those who detest content creation are better off avoiding affiliate marketing.
To do affiliate marketing right in 2024, you should actually acquire and use the products you promote so you can provide your audience with firsthand experiences detailing the intricacies. Creating generic content where you just summarize product details from other review sources doesn’t work anymore because AI content tools like ChatGPT can do this in a matter of seconds, so this kind of generic content has become saturated on the internet. In response, Google released a Reviews System Update at the end of 2023 to weed out this kind of content. According to Google Search Central, “The reviews system aims to better reward high quality reviews, content that provides insightful analysis and original research, and is written by experts or enthusiasts who know the topic well.”
If affiliate marketing doesn't seem worth it anymore, local lead generation is another online business model to consider that is much less competitive. With local lead generation, you can rank a website that targets customers for local service businesses in just 6 weeks to 6 months, and generate $500 to $3,000 per month from the site.
In the following article, we discuss whether affiliate marketing is still worth it in 2024 by looking at key factors like profitability and the future outlook of the industry.
Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It Reddit?
Affiliate marketing is worth it according to Reddit users. Most of the comments talked about how affiliate marketing needs significant time and effort. To be a successful affiliate marketer, you need to have high-quality products, engaging content, and an audience that is ready to buy.
Is Affiliate Marketing Still Profitable in 2024?
Affiliate marketing is still profitable in 2024. You can make an average of $1,000-$100,000 annually from affiliate marketing. This amount is highly scalable, depending on your chosen niche, products or services, and digital marketing strategy. Resources, skills, and experience are also pivotal for accelerating your earning potential.
It takes about 6-12 months to make money with affiliate marketing. Hence, it is important to consider high-commission affiliate programs. Elementor (50%/sale), Moosend (30%-40%/sale), and AWeber (up to 50%/sale) are the highest-paying affiliate programs available online. You can start affiliate marketing with no money by joining affiliate partnerships that don’t have application fees. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), Teachable, and iSpring are free affiliate programs that anyone can join.
What is the Future of Affiliate Marketing in 2024?
Influencer marketing, boosted creative content, and chatbots are the future of affiliate marketing in 2024. According to Forbes, trends like influencer marketing, content creativity, and chatbots are going to be popular. This shift will drive businesses and e-commerce platforms to seek affiliate marketers with knowledge, experience, and skills in various digital marketing strategies. Affiliate marketing will center more on generating organic traffic through SEO. However, paid advertising or PPC might still take the lead if influencers prompt more sales than traditional free promotions.
What is the Fastest-Growing Affiliate Marketing Industry?
The toy industry is the fastest-growing affiliate marketing industry, with a 109% growth from 2020 to 2021. This rank is followed by the software industry (103% growth), the home improvement industry (86% growth), and the housewares/small appliances industry (84% growth).
How To Be Successful in Affiliate Marketing in 2024?
To be successful in affiliate marketing in 2024, consider:
7 Free Tools of a Successful Affiliate Marketer
1. Affiliate Marketing Network (CJ Affiliate)
CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction) is an affiliate marketing network that provides affiliate partnerships by being a publisher or advertiser. This affiliate platform houses different brands from various industries. It helps affiliate marketers easily discover related products and services. This tool takes the hassle of searching the internet for a potential affiliate program.
Price
Free
More Info
Interested individuals must be 18 years old. To be a CJ Affiliate Publisher, you must have a website.
2. Keyword Research/SEO (Ahrefs)
Ahrefs is a great affiliate marketing tool for keyword research and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It helps you optimize your websites and boost your traffic by integrating relevant, high-quality keywords. Driving organic traffic enables you to increase your potential affiliate income and grow your target audience.
Price
Free (You get access to their SEO tools. For website owners, you can sign up for free for the Ahrefs Webmaster Tools.)
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Ahrefs also has monthly paid plans. They have Lite ($99/month), Standard ($199/month), Advanced ($399/month), and Enterprise ($999/month).
3. Content Writing (Grammarly)
As an affiliate marketer, your content should be free from grammatical errors whenever you’re writing a blog post, an email, a social media caption, or an advertisement. Grammarly is a comprehensive tool for checking your spelling, punctuation, grammar, tone, sentence structure, and style. Great content marketing outputs are flawless, informative, and catchy.
Price
Free
More Info
If you want advanced writing features, you can go with Grammarly Premium ($12/month) or Grammarly Business ($15/member/month).
4. Graphics (Canva)
Canva is a graphic design platform used by affiliate marketers for creating engaging images. It offers templates for various digital marketing projects, such as social media posts, email marketing campaigns, presentations, logos, and digital posters. Using attractive graphics can help promote your affiliate link or an affiliate product.
Price
Free
More Info
To access premium content and features, you can upgrade to Canva Pro for $12.99/month or $119.99/year.
5. Website Builder (WordPress)
Building a website is necessary for advertising your products and services. WordPress is a well-known website builder and web content management platform. Affiliate marketers can customize their websites, publish blog posts, incorporate attractive images, and add sponsored content. This digital marketing tool makes promotions easier.
Price
Free (However, you may need to pay for a third-party hosting service.)
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They also offer Personal ($4/month), Premium ($8/month), Business ($25/month), Commerce ($45/month), and Enterprise ($25K/year).
6. Social Media Management (Buffer)
Buffer is a perfect tool for social media marketing and influencer marketing. It allows affiliate marketers to publish, manage, and schedule their social media posts. This tool also offers seamless integration with social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. You can grow your followers, create an affiliate network, or build a solid influencer marketing program to engage your target market.
Price
Free
More Info
For professionals and organizations, they have Essentials ($6/channel/month), Team ($12/channel/month), and Agency ($120 for 10 channels/month).
7. Email Marketing (Mailchimp)
Email marketing is a clever marketing strategy for affiliate marketers. And Mailchimp provides end-to-end email marketing and marketing automation functions. It is a powerful tool for managing client interactions, email campaigns, and data analytics. The more clients you have, the higher your potential affiliate commission will be.
Price
Free (Includes 500 contacts and 1,000 sends monthly)
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They also have the Essentials ($3.25/month), Standard (5/month), and Premium ($87.50/month) plans.
Bonus - Paid Ads (Facebook Ads and Google Ads)
You also have the option to maximize paid advertising or PPC (Pay-Per-Click) to strengthen your existing organic marketing strategy. This move includes using online advertising platforms like Facebook Ads or Google Ads. Combining this with your affiliate marketing strategies can increase your monthly affiliate income.
Price
You are in charge of your budget.
More Info
While you can start with as low as $1, you still have to consider your account’s spending limit (based on your daily budget).
How To Start Affiliate Marketing for Beginners in 2024?
To start affiliate marketing for beginners in 2024,
- Pick a profitable niche. A successful affiliate marketer must know how to spot a popular niche with high-income potential. Choose the best affiliate marketing niches that have a responsive audience to increase your chances of acquiring more conversions.
- Find a good affiliate partner. There are many affiliate programs available online. It is essential to select an affiliate partnership that offers a competitive affiliate commission and practical benefits. Some examples are the Amazon affiliate program and eBay partner network.
- Produce attention-grabbing content. One of the main channels most marketers use is content marketing. You can easily promote your products and services by developing an engaging blog post. This step lets you incorporate your affiliate link.
- Track your affiliate marketing advertisements. It is crucial to monitor your advertising campaigns, website statistics, conversions, and affiliate sales. This allows you to optimize your performance marketing initiatives. You can use tools like Google Analytics and Post Affiliate Pro.
- Build up your affiliate revenue. You can diversify your affiliate income by combining numerous affiliate programs. This will enable you to create your own affiliate network, where you can advertise related products and services.
- Enhance your affiliate marketing skills. Joining the best affiliate marketing courses can jump-start your skills as an affiliate marketer. If you’re tight on budget, you can also watch free affiliate marketing courses on YouTube.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a type of performance marketing where you advertise products or services from big brands or small business owners. You receive a specified percentage for every affiliate sale you make. This amount depends on the value of the affiliate product or service and the affiliate partnership you’re in.
Affiliate marketing Amazon, commonly called Amazon Affiliate Program, is a good example of a reputable affiliate program that you can join. You make money earning referral fees by advertising Amazon products through an affiliate link. Some other popular affiliate programs include eBay Partner Network, BuyGoods, Shopify, and ClickBank.
Affiliate Marketing Related Articles
Local Lead Generation is Still More Profitable Than Affiliate Marketing in 2024
Local lead generation is still more profitable than affiliate marketing in 2024. There’s no limit to how much passive income you can make monthly. The market is also much less saturated than affiliate marketing.
Is affiliate marketing worth it in 2024? Yes, it is. The affiliate marketing industry is growing year after year. In fact, this industry is expected to experience a 7.7% compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2030. However, your potential income with affiliate marketing is unstable and depends on the current demand.
Unlike affiliate marketing, the local lead generation business model is more stable. And since you don’t have as much competition, you can grow your monthly revenue to as high as 6 figures. All you need is to rank your websites organically, collect high-value leads, and sell them to local business owners. You can make unlimited passive income with less hassle.
