How to get Set up for Success as an Affiliate Blogger

Are you all set for success as an Affiliate Blogger? Check this list to see what is missing.

Being a success as an affiliate blogger takes a bit of planning and then lots of action. As I am not yet an expert, I needed to learn more to ensure my success. I began to research how successful affiliate bloggers were set up and what they were doing to make an income. In the process, created a list of the main recommended resources and tools they use.

The following tools on this list start from the basics to build a solid foundation, then adding in additional tools that monitor progress and assist with growth.

Table of Contents

Domain Names

Perhaps this is obvious in today’s internet environment but you want to own your domain name. I get all of my domain names from GoDaddy because they are inexpensive and have proven to be very reliable in my experience. There are many other registrars out there. If you choose to use one, it is best to only buy from one of them to keep things organized for you as you grow. Choose a recommended source, not the cheapest.

Hosting

As with the domain name, don’t pick a host because they cost the least. Pick a host because they come highly recommended. After using several and doing some research, I settled on A2Hosting for reliability, speed, and customer service. I also have used Hostgator shared hosting for years without any troubles.

Godaddy has hosting as well, however, I prefer to use a host other than Godaddy because I do not want all my assets in one place. It is a security issue for me.

WordPress

Hands down I recommend using WordPress. It is a platform that will allow you to have your affiliate blog setup and running. It’s an industry standard and the next section reinforces this decision. Get help you with a NEW WordPress website

WordPress themes and plugins

The number of plugins and themes you can use to make your blog look unique and/or do just about anything you want make it very versatile and seems limitless.

Many are free others have paid versions that give additional functions. I suggest you do a Google search for affiliate marketing WordPress themes and affiliate marketing WordPress plugins to see what’s available for your use. Or wait until next week, I will do a blog post with a compiled and recommended list!

Analytics

Tracking everything in your affiliate marketing business is incredibly important. You need to track many different metrics like clicks, where your traffic is coming from, bounce rates and more.

There are plugins that allow you to easily track many different metrics. Do your research and find the best one for you. Google Analytics is a free tool available as well. It requires a bit of studying to install and manage your site, read my blog post about that here.

Keyword Research Tool

Keyword research is vital to the success of your blog. You have to know what your audience is searching for in order to be successful with your affiliate marketing.

I use and recommend Ubersuggest from Neil Patel. I recommend it because not only can you do all the keyword research you need to do, but you can also see the most popular content for your niche. This tool does all kinds of things related to research and is my top recommendation for the price.

Another tool is KeywordAtlas described in this post.

Grammarly

Grammarly is a free tool that will allow you to make sure all of your content is at its best. You don’t have to be a perfect writer to find success as an affiliate blogger, yet you do need to have correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Use it as your proof reader.

Autoresponder

As an affiliate blogger, you need to be building an email list. An autoresponder allows you to contact your readers at any time. As soon as you complete a review or make a blog post, email your list to gain traffic to your new post immediately.

There are many different email services out there. Make sure you pick a good reliable one. The best one I recommend for affiliate marketing is ActiveCampaign because of the ease of use, the reliability, and the many features available to you . It is very affordable as well. There are others out there such as Aweber, GetResponse, MailChimp. Read the fine print in the terms of service as some do not let you use them with affiliate marketing.

A Page Builder

There are certain pages you want to build that you can have total design control over and with some themes, this is not possible or very easy. That’s where a page builder becomes a necessary tool in your toolbox. With with a page builder you can build a clean sales page for that product that contains the details and the links you need for it only.

For example, when you offer bonuses for things that you promote as an affiliate it is good to build a nice looking landing page or bridge page with your recommendation and listing the bonuses for purchasing from you. You are then able to place a button on the page that has your affiliate link in it. With the standard WordPress pages that can be hard. However, when you are using the Elementor theme builder it becomes easier, even if you’re not really techy. There is a free and a paid pro version.

There are many options for page builders. They can be expensive, and not very easy to use. The templates that come with Elementor are great and can be customized. It’s what I use and recommend.

Video Equipment and Software

Videos are great for personalizing content and amazing for pulling traffic in via different promotional strategies. YouTube is one of the best search engines out there.

Eventually you’re going to want to purchase some good equipment such as a camera or a good cell phone with a camera, video editing software, etc. Many affiliates never use more than their cell phone or live streaming using the camera on their computer.

I recently discovered and now love to use Loom. It is inexpensive, allows you to do screenshots, record video on or off camera, and do edits right within the software. Loom is making the process of doing video product recommendations very fun.

Set your goals, define your video strategy, and then determine the equipment you’ll need to carry out that strategy. The advice of “just do it” is key and important. Take the first step and it will help you decide what tools and equipment will increase your comfort and success with video. Start imperfectly. Relax and have fun!

Lou Bortone is a great one to follow for help with video marketing!

To your Success as an Affiliate Blogger

When you’re just getting started you needn’t worry about the more advanced pieces listed here. Focus on getting your website and blog setup correctly. Finding good topics to create content around and working on creating high quality content, and what you will do to get traffic to your blog need to be top of mind. Set your goals with a strategy on planning what tools you’re going to need. Start simply and grow into it.

Focus on the products you will recommend, how they will help the people you are attracting, and as you experience the process you’ll know when it’s time to add in the additional tools.

I joined NAMS – Novice to Advanced Marketing System – several years ago and NAMS has one of the best affiliate trainings I know of. As an Insider club member, you get access to weekly mastermind trainings as well as all of the trainings inside the membership.

I offer you this free video course as an introduction to trainings by David & Jen. This one is all about affiliate marketing. It is excellent.