Back to Basics: How to Create a Profitable Blog to Work with Affiliate Programs

If you’ve not yet started your affiliate program journey, it probably feels like everyone is making money online but you. If they don’t have their own eBay store or YouTube channel, they’re trading in cyber currencies or writing eBooks. But by far the easiest and most popular way of making the internet work for you is to join some affiliate programs.

The question is, once you’ve found a couple of affiliate networks that you want to work with, how can you start making money? There are numerous things that you can do without creating your own online platform. However, by far the best way to get started profitably, is to start a blog. Here’s what you need to know.

How to Create a Successful Blog to Earn Cash from Affiliate Programs

Research Affiliate Programs

One of the most basic reasons why people fail to make a success of affiliate marketing is because they don’t really know what they’re doing! Sounds obvious, right? The thing is, affiliate marketing IS easy. But only if you take the time to set things up properly. So, before you start, research. Find out everything you can about affiliate marketing. Read up on what joining an online affiliate program is all about. Find the best affiliate programs. And investigate the different types of program available.

Prepare

‘What do you mean “prepare”? What was the research all about if not preparing?!’ Although starting a blog is simple, it will only make you money if you do the groundwork. So, this is what you need to do before you get to the design and copywriting.

Decide upon a niche and plan how you’re going to approach it.
Work out who your audience will be and how you’re going to attract them.
Think about where your traffic will come from and how you’re going to work on those platforms – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, email marketing.
Set a workable budget and plan how you’re going to use it.

Select

One of the most important decisions you’ll make before you launch your blog is which platform to work with. Of course, if you’re good at coding and otherwise technically adept, you could just build your own blog. However, it’s far easier to work with a ready-made platform. The top three are WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr. But it might be worth researching the alternatives just to make sure that you find the best option for you.

Tech

If you’re a novice, the technical stuff is probably the most daunting. You will need to:

Purchase webhosting.
Register a domain name – choose a domain name that summarises what you’re all about. Make it appealing to your chosen demographic.
Add your domain name to your webhosting management platform.
Tie in an email address.
Build your site.
Add in your affiliate links.

Create

Once you’ve done all that, you’re ready to get to the fun bit. It’s time to get creative:

Select plugins that will add extra value for your readers.
Design your theme and select your style.
Choose your tone and write your copy.

Secure

Finally, investigate and invest in web security. Why? Firstly, if you don’t secure your blog, you’ll be in serious danger of being hacked. Someone might delete all of your content, just because. Someone else might hack your mailing list. If you get caught sending spam – even if it’s not actually you – that’s your IP address and domain blacklisted. Which means that’s your blogging career done. It’s not nice, but it happens. Secondly, if you don’t have adequate security, there are very few affiliate programs that will be willing to work with you.

And that’s it; you’re ready to earn!

Written down all in one place, blogging looks pretty daunting. The thing is, once you get started, the technical stuff really doesn’t take long. And if you’re really stuck, there are literally thousands of cheap freelancers available to help you out. Not to mention endless online resources. If you put in the groundwork and don’t rush through the prep, in a relatively short space of time, you’ll have a blog up and running. Then, once you’ve found the best affiliate programs for you, the money should start rolling in.