Research shows that 94% of publishers use multiple affiliate marketing networks to promote their products. In addition, over 65% of affiliate marketers connect with their customers on social media. These statistics show successful affiliate marketers aren’t limiting their marketing to websites. Instead, they are harnessing other channels to reach more prospects.
So, reaching your affiliate marketing goals as a marketer or business owner is possible without a website. However, to do this, you must explore your options and select a platform that best fits your goals. This article discusses various platforms and programs that let you promote affiliate links without a website.
If you’re seeking more information before diving into this article, click here to learn what affiliate marketing is all about.
Key Highlights
- Affiliate marketing lets you generate commission when a user clicks your unique affiliate link and buys a product or uses a service
- Social media platforms, forums and communities, email marketing, content publishing, and video-sharing platforms are other ways to promote your products without a website
- Free and paid advertising are the primary traffic methods for affiliate marketing
- Shareasale, Clickable, Rakuten Advertising, Epay Partner Network, and Systeme.io are affiliate programs that don’t require a website
- It’s best to choose credible affiliate programs and promote valuable products to achieve the best outcomes with affiliate marketing
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing involves promoting a product or service on your platform and receiving a commission after every sale your promotion generates. It involves recommendations, and product reviews on your website, media platforms, etc. In addition, readers follow a unique affiliate link that directs them to the recommended products or services.
How Affiliate Marketing Works
- You place a unique affiliate link on your blog, website, social media platform, etc.
- A reader clicks the special affiliate link while reading your recommendations or review
- The user lands on the product’s website and makes a purchase
- The store confirms the purchase
- The affiliate marketer receives a commission for the sale
How Easy Is It to Make Money With Affiliate Marketing
Once you have an active platform and an audience ready to buy, it’s easy to get started with affiliate marketing and stay in business. The best part about affiliate marketing is the ability for marketers to earn passively consistently, provided there is steady traffic on their desired platform.
Generally, affiliate marketing is profitable with the right company, an active platform, and willing buyers. The average earnings of an affiliate marketer range from $58k to $158k per annum. This includes additional payments like cash bonuses, tips, profit sharing, etc.
However, making money with affiliate marketing also comes with its downsides:
- The income you generate is based on your platform’s traffic, leads, and sales. So, you are less likely to earn if your audience doesn’t buy the promoted product or service
- A company may change the affiliate program’s terms, affecting your commission
- Promote affiliate links to generate traffic to sites for your commission
Free vs. Paid Traffic Methods
Free and paid traffic methods generate traffic, leads, and sales for affiliate marketing. Let’s compare the advantages and disadvantages of each traffic method.
Free Traffic
“Organic reach is so important because the impression you get when someone comes directly to your page is a much more qualified lead and potentially a more valuable customer than someone you got through an ad buy.” – Gary Vaynerchuk.
Free traffic involves marketing affiliate products organically, without payment or investment. It’s increasing a product or service’s awareness and driving traffic to the website for free. For example, users can follow an affiliate link on a website, social media platform, or YouTube through organic searches, link sharing, and other methods without an associated cost.
Emails, infographics, social media networks, webinars, word of mouth, podcasting, and direct or referral links are types of free advertising for affiliate marketing.
Pros
The upsides of affiliate marketing include the following:
- Free traffic for businesses
- Long-term and consistent customer base
- An effective way to build and grow your brand
Cons
Here are the downsides to free advertising for affiliate marketing:
- The process takes time, so it’s slow to see the results
- It requires tons of effort
- Google and algorithm changes can hamper efforts and results
- It’s vital to confirm the affiliate marketing program’s credibility before promoting products and services
Paid Traffic
Paid traffic requires affiliates to pay for leads and sales. They buy paid traffic to rank their websites or social media content, attracting increased target customers. Google Ads and social media Ads are examples of paid affiliate marketing advertising.
Pros
- Instant results for your affiliate marketing campaign
- Marketing can be targeted and retargeted to specific audience category
- Marketing results are measured through tracking tools for accuracy
Cons
- Visibility is restricted to the cost of advertising campaigns
- Costly for businesses and affiliate marketers
The best way to maximize traffic and boost conversions is to choose the affiliate marketing method that works best for your goals. Other practices include adopting metrics and tools to track results and performance, using effective CTAs, and enhancing your content marketing and campaign strategy.
5 Ways to Start Affiliate Marketing Without a Website
Social networks, video-sharing platforms, online forums, QA websites, ebooks and cheat sheets, and PPC are ways to make money from affiliate marketing without a website. Here’s how to implement each method for optimal results.
1. Social Networks
About 4.7 billion people use social media, allowing affiliate marketers to reach a broad audience. So, harness Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok to promote products and services. Do this by providing highly informative content to your audience, highlighting the benefits of the businesses you are promoting. User-generated content, engaging videos, infographics, and others are the best ways to harness social media for effective affiliate marketing.
You can use social media networks to promote affiliate links with these steps:
- Create an account on your desired social media platform (TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
- Post valuable content to grow your followers
- Join affiliate programs to select products available for promotion
- Post and promote affiliate links through engaging reviews, and other content forms
2. Video Sharing Platforms
Video-sharing platforms like YouTube expose products to tons of users. They also provide optimal SEO benefits that expand a product’s visibility and generate more traffic. For example, you can use keywords in file names, video titles, descriptions, and tags to enable users to find videos through organic searches.
In addition, video-sharing platforms let you promote affiliate links in different sections of the videos. First, insert affiliate links in the video description. Second, include them in pinned comments. You can also add links in your videos for users to buy promoted products.
3. Online Forums and QA Websites
Reddit, Quora, Mumsnet, The Student Room, and Facebook communities are examples of online forums and QA websites affiliate marketers can use to promote their products. These platforms are different from social media platforms. Rather than create campaigns, they let you contribute, engage and interact with users to promote your product.
Therefore, it’s vital to identify the online communities and QA websites your target audience is. Doing this helps you build relationships with users needing the product you promote. Also, you can recommend products, answer questions about products you promote, and upsell through relevant suggestions.
4. Ebooks and Cheat Sheets
Many online customers download ebooks and cheat sheets to learn more about products and services. Others download ebooks and cheat sheets for strategies, tips, and hacks. Therefore, ebooks and cheat sheets are excellent ways to promote affiliate links.
The ebook or cheat sheets could be a free download on your site, with topics related to your audience’s needs and the product you promote. So, link affiliate links to hacks and strategies and recommend products as solutions to their challenges and pain points when creating ebooks and cheat sheets.
5. PPC
Pay-per-click campaigns are quick, cost-effective ways of marketing without a website. This type of performance marketing lets you earn a commission when customers click on your unique affiliate link. Google, Facebook, and Instagram are excellent platforms for pay-per-click marketing.
With Google Ads, your Ads appear on the search engine result pages (SERP), increasing visibility and generating more clicks. In addition, Facebook and Instagram display your Ads on feeds, targeting them at customers within the demographics and psychographics of your ideal audience. Finally, you don’t need a website to run PPC campaigns. You can create landing pages with tools without a domain or hosting for your PPC campaigns.
6. Mobile Apps
Develop a mobile app and monetize it through in-app advertising and affiliate marketing.
Maximize your mobile app’s revenue potential with affiliate marketing. Earn through ads, recommendations, push notifications, in-app purchases, sponsorships, and cross-promotion.
7. Email Marketing
Harness the power of email marketing to promote affiliate products effectively. Build a quality email list, segment your subscribers, and create persuasive content that drives conversions. Don’t forget to track and optimize your campaigns for maximum results.
Finding Affiliate Programs That Don’t Require a Website
To select an affiliate program, type “your interest + affiliate programs that don’t require websites” on the search engine. For example, if your interest is in kids’ clothing, input “kids’ clothing + affiliate programs that don’t require a website.” Many options will pop up on the search engine results when you do this; then, choose an affiliate program of your choice.
Here is a list of the best affiliate marketing programs that don’t require a website.
1. ShareASale
ShareASale is an affiliate program that lets you share products with your audience and earn commissions for each sale. It offers a wide range of networks covering every niche. So you can find your preferred products and services to promote.
2. Clickable
Clickable is an affiliate marketing program offering several products and services for affiliate workers. When you join the program, you’ll have access to products and services of your choice. Then, create affiliate links and post them on your social media platform to generate sales.
3. Rakuten Advertising
Rakuten Advertising lets you make money without a website as an affiliate marketer by enabling you to share your unique affiliate links with friends and other interested buyers. When customers click the link, they are directed to your dashboard, where they can view your products and buy.
4. eBay Partner Network
eBay Partner Network allows affiliate marketers to generate links, join a program, choose products to promote and advertise on any platform. The program you join creates your unique affiliate link. This link allows the network to track your sales and provide your commission.
5. Systeme.io
Systeme.io is another affiliate program that lets you make money online without a website. You only need to register for a free account and join a program by entering your email address. Afterward, you’ll receive a link to create your password and log into your dashboard. Finally, you can share the link directly on your social media platforms and with customers, enabling you to boost sales.
How to Choose the Best Affiliate Programs
Choosing the best affiliate programs is critical to promote the right products to your audience and avoiding complications with earning your commissions. Here are the best ways to select the best affiliate programs.
1. Follow Your Interest
Affiliate marketing is an excellent opportunity if you truly believe in the value of your product because you can often make money off of something you would probably recommend anyway.” – Neil Patel.
It’s easier to succeed as an affiliate marketer if you are interested in and trust the effectiveness of the products you promote. So, identify your interests and choose affiliate programs offering credible products and services.
2. Research Extensively
Many affiliate programs exist online. However, it’s crucial to research carefully to find a credible program with products you are interested in. So, read reviews, and check what other affiliates’ programs are saying about the program. Is it reliable? Does it offer products and services in your area of interest? These questions will help you find the right affiliate program for your needs.
Using Social Media to Get the Word Out
Social media is an effective marketplace for marketers to reach many customers and sell their products faster. However, while social media is an excellent place for affiliate marketing, it can be challenging to navigate due to some restrictions. For example, Twitter’s character limit restricts users from including an affiliate link disclosure statement.
Also, TikTok doesn’t enable clickable links in videos and not all users can include a link in their bio. Lastly, Instagram restricts users from including different links in their bios.
Here are a few tips to navigate these restrictions:
- Work with brands that provide promo codes
- Use the link in bio tools that provide different affiliate products when they click the link in your bio
- Use the swipe-up feature on Instagram stories. However, this feature is only available if you have a verified account or up to 10,000 followers.
How to Engage With Customers on Social Media
- Creating discussions through questions, feedback surveys, and online contest
- Creating engaging videos
- Promoting user-generated content
- Creating content that is relevant to your audience’s needs
Using YouTube To Get Eyes On Your Affiliates
YouTube helps successful marketers promote products by placing affiliate links in video descriptions and comment sections. It also lets them direct customers to their social media platforms.
Youtube Video Description
Add an informative description of the products and their benefits to users. It’s also possible to include your affiliate link and encourage viewers to click. The YouTube video description also includes copyright details, SEO description, and other valuable information that ranks your website and increases clicks.
YouTube Comment Section
The comment section is an effective way to interact with your subscribers. While answering their questions or responding to general feedback, you can include affiliate links to recommend products and services.
Social Media
Harness social media perks by promoting your YouTube videos on social media. You can also link your social media accounts in your YouTube video description to encourage users to check them for more information on the products you promote.
Using Content Publishing Platforms
“Affiliate Marketing is about proving value, not spamming your links at them.” ― Raspado.
Affiliate websites are not required to market affiliate products with blogs. Instead, you can write blogs on content publishing platforms to promote products and services. Medium, Steemit, and LinkedIn are content publishing platforms allowing marketers to link affiliate products to their content.
These free content publishing platforms provide an available audience ready to consume your content. Their high domain authority also optimizes your content to attract more readers. However, since these websites have metrics for evaluating great content, spammy content is less likely to perform effectively. Therefore when writing on content publishing platforms, create valuable content with relevant product recommendations that help your readers.
Using Email Marketing
Email marketing is direct, personalized, and effective for affiliate marketers looking to convert warm leads. Moreover, email marketing is not subject to algorithm changes, unlike websites and social media. Therefore, it provides consistent marketing results long-term. Lastly, since emails land directly in your reader’s inboxes, they are more likely to read and click your affiliate links.
However, providing valuable content your readers can look forward to is crucial. So, create emails based on your audience’s needs, and offer relevant product recommendations. Doing this helps you provide value, encouraging readers to click the link to recommended products.
Conclusion
Affiliate websites are not required to promote affiliate links. Social media, email marketing, content publishing platforms, and YouTube are other effective ways to promote affiliate products online. However, it’s vital to identify the limitations of each platform to navigate restrictions that may impede your affiliate marketing efforts.
It’s also essential to choose the right affiliate programs to sell effectively. To do this, choose an affiliate program with products you are interested in. Finally, research carefully to select a credible affiliate program. However, if you decide to promote your affiliate marketing business with a website, ensure to use the services of the best web hosting professionals to achieve optimal results.
Next Steps: What Now?
- Search for an affiliate program, type “your interest + affiliate programs that don’t require websites”
- Promote your products through Social Media, Video and Content Publishing platforms
If you decide to also do affiliate marketing with a website, here are essential steps to promoting affiliate links with websites:
- How To Start Affiliate Marketing
- How To Build An Affiliate Marketing Website in 8 Steps
- What Is An Affiliate Link And How to Create It
- The Best WordPress Themes for Businesses You Should Know
- Find The Best Web Hosting
Further Reading: Useful Resources
Here are other helpful resources you can read to learn more about affiliate marketing.
