How To Do Affiliate Marketing Without Social Media

Not using social media for affiliate marketing can be a good idea

Usually, you can earn more money through other methods instead of social media.

After being in affiliate marketing for 10 years, I hardly rely on social media like beginners do.

I’ve actually created and sold a few 5-figure affiliate businesses in the past decade, making a lot of money in commissions. Some of my websites don’t even have a Facebook or Instagram page.

In this post, I’ll show you these better ways to make money and how to use them to be a successful affiliate marketer.

How To Do Affiliate Marketing Without Social Media Followers

To do affiliate marketing without social media followers, you have three main options:

1. Build an affiliate marketing website

2. Email marketing

3. Paid ads

Each of these methods has its own advantages, so it’s worth exploring to see which one suits you best.

1. Start an Affiliate Marketing Website

I always recommend my students to set up their own affiliate websites. It’s the best way to boost affiliate commissions without growing social media followers. Here’re the main benefits: 

1. Get Free Traffic with SEO: Search engines like Google can bring lots of visitors to your site for free. For example, if you run a website reviewing fitness products and someone searches for “best home gym equipment,” your site could appear in the search results, bringing you potential customers.

2. Reach Hot Leads: People searching online often have urgent needs, making them more likely to buy if they find your site. For instance, if your website focuses on budget travel tips and someone searches for “cheap flights to Europe,” they’re likely looking to book a flight soon, increasing the chances of them making a purchase through your affiliate links.

3. Evergreen Content: Unlike social media posts that come and go, strong website articles can keep attracting visitors for years. For example, if you create a comprehensive guide on “how to start a successful online business,” it can continue to rank well in search engines and attract visitors long after it’s published.

4. Set Your Own Rules: Social media algorithms change all the time, affecting your visibility. With a website, you can build an email list and have a traffic source that’s not impacted by algorithms. For instance, you can collect emails by offering a free ebook or newsletter subscription to visitors interested in your niche.

5. Privacy and Control: You don’t need to share personal details. Just having an About and Contact page is enough to build trust. You can also control the design and layout of your website to create a professional image.

6. Passive Income: Once set up, your website can earn money without you constantly working on it. You can even outsource tasks like content creation and website maintenance to freelancers or agencies, allowing you to focus on growing your business.

7. Build an Asset: You can sell your website for a good sum, often 20-50 times its monthly revenue. Websites with consistent traffic, high-quality content, and a proven track record of affiliate earnings are valuable assets in the online marketplace.

However, keep in mind that starting an affiliate website isn’t a quick way to get rich. It takes time to learn, create content, and market effectively to get a significant amount of traffic. 

Luckily, building a website is easier than ever, especially with platforms like WordPress. Even if you’re not tech-savvy, you can set up a functional affiliate site in minutes.

Once your site is up and running, follow these steps to begin your affiliate marketing journey:

1. Choose a Niche: Pick a topic you’re passionate about and that others are interested in.

2. Join an Affiliate Program: Find programs in your niche that offer products or services you believe in. You can check out our list of the best affiliate programs for bloggers.

3. Promote Products: Share affiliate links of products or services you find valuable.

4. Create Content: Write reviews, how-to guides, and other helpful content that addresses the needs of your audience.

5. Include Affiliate Links: Add your affiliate links to your content with clear calls-to-action.

6. Optimize for SEO: Make sure your articles are search engine-friendly so they rank well in search results.

7. Promote Your Content: Share your articles on social media, forums, online groups, to attract more visitors to your site.

Learn more: SEO for Affiliate Marketing

2. Build an Email List

Did you know that affiliate marketers who use email marketing earn 66.4% more than those who don’t? For smart affiliate marketers, email marketing is crucial for boosting sales.

Besides the high ROI, here are some other benefits of email marketing:

1. High Access Rate: Emails go straight to subscribers’ inboxes, ensuring they see your message. For example, if you’re promoting a new affiliate product or offering a special discount, sending an email ensures it gets directly in front of your audience.

2. Cost-Effective: Apart from the email service cost, reaching thousands of subscribers is no more expensive than reaching one person. For instance, with an email marketing platform like Mailchimp or ConvertKit, you can send out newsletters, updates, and promotions to your entire subscriber list without incurring additional costs based on the number of recipients.

3. Builds Trust: Sending regular content to subscribers helps build trust and increases conversions. For example, if you’re in the fitness niche, you can send out weekly workout tips, healthy recipes, and product recommendations. Over time, your subscribers will come to see you as a trusted source of valuable information, making them more likely to purchase products you recommend.

To build an email list for affiliate marketing, following these steps:

1. Pick an Affiliate Offer: Pick a product or service that appeals to a broad segment of your audience. For instance, if you run a blog about healthy living, you might choose an affiliate offer for a popular meal delivery service that offers organic, pre-prepared meals. This offer aligns with your audience’s interests in health and convenience.

2. Create a Lead Magnet: Provide something valuable related to your affiliate offer, like a checklist or free ebook, to encourage people to sign up for your email list.

3. Build a Squeeze Page: Design a simple webpage to promote your lead magnet and collect email addresses. Also, create a thank you page to greet new subscribers.

4. Choose an Email Marketing Service: Start with a beginner-friendly service like Mailchimp, which offers a free plan for up to 2,000 contacts.

5. Set Up an Autoresponder: Configure automated emails to send out content related to the lead magnet and introduce new subscribers to your offerings. In Mailchimp, this can be done through their automation feature.

6. Test Different Broadcast Emails: Experiment with different email content to see what resonates best with your audience. For example, you might try different subject lines, content formats, or sending times. 

7. Optimization: Analyze the performance metrics, like open rates and click-through rates, to identify which emails perform the best and improve the effectiveness of your overall email marketing strategy.

Learn more: How to Build an Email List for Affiliate Marketing

3. Paid Ads

We don’t recommend using paid ads to promote affiliate products. Here’s why:

1. Rules and Restrictions: Ad platforms and affiliate programs have strict rules, making it hard to comply and limiting your returns. Many affiliate programs forbid ads linking directly to their product pages, especially for branded keywords.

2. Cost vs. Conversion: Generic keywords, which you may have to target due to restrictions, are expensive and often don’t convert as well as specific terms.

3. Platform Policies: Some major ad platforms like Facebook don’t allow direct promotion of affiliate links. Google permits them but prohibits “bridge pages” that offer little value.

4. Shift in Focus: To comply with policies, you may need to promote detailed review posts or guides with affiliate links. However, this shifts focus from making sales to sharing information, attracting people not ready to buy, which lowers sales and increases cost per conversion.

Using paid ads for affiliate marketing is more effort than it’s worth. For a passive income stream, focusing on improving SEO and building an email list is a smarter strategy.

Pros And Cons Of Social Media Affiliate Marketing

The Pros:

1. Low Entry Barrier: Getting started is easy. You can create an account on platforms like Instagram or TikTok for free and start promoting affiliate products right away.

2. Reach a Broad Customer Base: Social media platforms have millions of active users worldwide. For instance, Instagram has over 1 billion monthly users, providing a vast audience for your promotions.

3. Engage Your Audience : Interacting directly with users through comments, messages, and live streams helps build trust and credibility. For example, responding to comments on your posts or hosting Q&A sessions can establish a rapport with your audience.

4. Influencer Collaborations: Partnering with influencers in your niche can significantly expand your reach. For instance, if you’re promoting beauty products, collaborating with a popular beauty influencer can expose your affiliate links to their followers, potentially increasing sales.

5. Content Might Go Viral: Social media content has the potential to go viral, reaching a much larger audience than your follower count.

The Cons:

1. High Competition: There’s fierce competition from other influencers promoting similar products. For example, if you’re a fashion influencer promoting clothing brands, you’ll compete with numerous other influencers targeting the same audience.

2. Difficult to Direct Users to Product Pages: Social media platforms often restrict direct linking to product pages, making it challenging to drive traffic directly to affiliate offers. For instance, Instagram allows only one clickable link in the bio, limiting your ability to direct users to multiple product pages.

3. Hard to Sell the Business: If you’re the face of your social media brand, selling the business can be difficult. For example, if you’re a personal finance influencer known for your expertise, potential buyers may hesitate to acquire the business if they’re buying into your personal brand.

4. Algorithm Changes: Social platform algorithms are constantly changing, affecting visibility and engagement. For instance, Instagram’s algorithm updates can reduce the reach of your posts.

5. Constant Need for New Content: To stay relevant and engage your audience, you must constantly create and post new content. For example, if you’re a food blogger promoting kitchen gadgets, you’ll need to regularly share new recipes, cooking tips, and product recommendations to keep your audience interested.

Final Words

Social media affiliate marketing can feel like a constant struggle to create content without guaranteed results. If you stop creating content, your income stops too. Plus, you’re not building a sellable asset because your personal involvement is necessary for content creation.

In contrast, methods like creating a website or an email list offer more passive income opportunities and better conversion rates. That’s why we recommend these methods over social media.

If you need more guidance, sign up for my online business coaching. 

FAQs

Can I Become an Amazon Affiliate Without Social Media Followers?

Yes, you can! You don’t need social media to do affiliate marketing. You have other options like blogging, email marketing, and paid ads.

Can I Do Affiliate Marketing Without Any Followers?

Absolutely! You can use SEO-optimized articles to attract traffic from search engines or run ad campaigns to reach specific audiences. SEO is more effective than ads for long-term success.

How To Make Affiliate Marketing Work Without Social Media?

Focus on SEO for organic traffic and use email marketing for direct engagement and better conversions. You can attract traffic through various means like email lists, guest posts, or engaging with popular social media accounts.

Can I Build a Personal Brand as an Affiliate Without Social Media?

Absolutely! You can build your brand through high-quality content, offering value, and establishing authority in your niche through other channels.

Can I Do Affiliate Marketing Without Showing My Face?

Yes, you can! While it’s not necessary to show your face, having a few relevant pictures on your website can build trust with your audience.