You are probably aware of what affiliate marketing is right? yes… good, I don’t need to explain it then. If you are not, then read my article on what does affiliate marketing involve for an introduction.
But why would you bother learning how to start in affiliate marketing with no experience?
Does affiliate marketing really make money?
Does affiliate marketing really work?
Why wouldn’t you pick another job with higher pay – better benefits – no security?
I think that last point is the best, especially nowadays, no security. You are not in control of your destiny, others are. If your company downsizes, will you be one of the ones left behind?
What you need to do is to set yourself up to buffer any problems you have.
The answer to the other questions – does it work and can you make money is answered further down in this article – both Ian and Dom are affiliate marketers, you’ll get to hear about them soon.
But you need to be a special person to work in affiliate marketing.
What makes you special?
Well you need to be:
- Hard working
- Organised
- Have lots of stamina
- Be able to take failure in your stride
- Be patient
- Have a lot of drive and determination.
If you don’t have all of these properties can you still make money affiliate marketing? Yes you can.
Shall we see some of the options you have…
Getting started the easy method
For a couple of years I was looking online – probably for that magic bullet, 
where you sent out emails and waited for the money to come tumbling in, or the system where you entered a few details and everybody gave you money.
I realised that this really doesn’t happen, or if it does it will be very short term.
What really counts is giving value, once you start to shift your mindset away from ‘I want to make money’ to ‘I want to help people’ then you are more than 50% of the way to making money online.
Where I really started to realise this is with the training program I am with at the moment. The Wealthy affiliate program is an excellent introduction into the world of affiliate marketing.
You really start for free and only you decide when to move up to premium membership.
Yes there are restrictions being free and you won’t progress as fast as when you are a premium member, but you can use the two free sites you get as you want to. Not like other platforms, where you have restrictions put on them about affiliate links.
With the free sites you may not get accepted for some affiliate programs, but there are a lot out there you will be accepted in.
I’m not trying to be negative or restrictive, but realistic on what you can achieve with the free membership of the Wealthy Affiliate program.
As I said, it will all change when you move up to premium, you are able to purchase and host domains (sites names you purchase, like Alfssheds.com)then doors really open up for you in terms of affiliate programs.
Start creating articles about your niche, helping solve the problems and recommend solution, get known – get traffic, and you will start to see people buying from you.
If you want to try it out then join me on the Wealthy Affiliate program, as I said it is free to start.
What about free training
well if you don’t want to do that then what about a training course which,
again costs nothing. This time you don’t even need to sign up.
The FIMP program (Free Internet Marketing Program) designed by Ian Pribs is a step by step video training course for those who are aware of affiliate marketing, like yourself, but have yet to try it out, for whatever reason.
Is it better than the Wealthy Affiliate program?
I would say it adds value to it, especially if you start for free with the Wealthy Affiliate program and then go through FIMP.
You definitely feel like you are more on your own with this training, you and Ian.
Yes there is a Facebook group, but they really don’t want you to be asking very basic questions.
With the Wealthy Affiliate program, for the first week in free mode you can ask as many questions as you like. After the first week you can view the threads but not interact with them.
As Ian has gone through the Wealthy Affiliate program himself, it speaks volumes for it.
What it comes down to is time vs money
Ok so you have been introduced to two options to get you started and you think, I really don’t know.
I wouldn’t know where to start.
That’s no problem, I know of a basic ‘done for you’ package which gives you a head start in any niche you choose.
The guys over at Human Proof Designs create these packages, along with other parts of Affiliate marketing.
Yes you will pay for it, but at the end of the day, as with anything, it comes down to time versus money.
With the ‘done for you’ solutions you get three levels of package, from the basic to almost making money. Obviously the price goes up with the last option, but them you would expect it to, wouldn’t you?
You get a professionally set up site with 10,000 words already written about your niche, these articles are ready to rank in the search engines.
Even with these ‘done for you’ solutions you will need to put in a bit of work consistently every week, preferably every day, but a lot of us can’t.
It will still take time to gain traction in the niche you have chosen, so you will need to be patient.
So with this option you almost buy your way in – does this mean you are guaranteed to be successful, no and anybody who says you will is lying. These guys know what they are doing, and Dom has gone through the Wealthy Affiliate program training in the past. So I know what training he has had, the difference is in the mindset. He has found a niche which is hungry and now has a successful business, is it his first business?, no – he has made mistakes with other businesses, as you will when you start. But, again what makes him different to a lot of people who stick at it, is how he deals with the failures, learn from them and keep going.
Human Proof Designs will give you loads of support and training once you have purchased your site. You will need hosting to store your site and one I would recommend is bluehost.
It’s your time to take action
You can sit there reading this and think,
- well, the time isn’t right..
- I don’t have enough time to do this
- I’m not technical enough to create a website
- I don’t know enough to write about anything…
All that means is the next article you read on this topic, you will come to the same conclusion.
Same with the next, and the next. Before you know it you are retiring and still thinking, I don’t have time for that yet.
Seriously, I didn’t have time for it, or know what i was going to write about,
but I did click through into the Wealthy Affiliate program, and have not left since.
I am experimenting with different sites, yes I have a premium membership, but I pay yearly at almost half the monthly price – so a better deal. But I get 25 free sites to use as I please and once I bought a site and got accepted with affiliate programs I could then use them on my free sites.
Which program is best for me?
Which out of the above is best, well only you can decide that , but please pick one and do it now, otherwise this time next year you will still be looking and there will be another new program out there that promises to make you a millionaire overnight, you will watch the webinar and think – too expensive at the moment.
So what I have shown you is a program you can start for free, but may not progress very fast for free – the Wealthy Affiliate program.
I have talked about a free training program – FIMP – where you have to buy your own site and hosting.
I have also discussed the ‘get me up and running quickly’ option, the ‘done for you‘ packages.
So out of those which route would I go if I was doing it all over again?
I would join the Wealthy Affiliate program for free, also join the FIMP program after a week of joining the Wealthy Affiliate program.
I would learn as much as I can with FIMP while upgrading in the Wealthy Affiliate program or go elsewhere and set up my business independently.
If I had the money at that time I could reduce the time to earning by buying a starter package from Human Proof Designs and learn even more from people who have ‘been there and done that’.
What are you going to do?
Pick up your life and start to take back control of it, or just wait for the 
alarm clock tomorrow morning to wake you up before you are ready and be controlled by others?
What have you got to lose by having a look at the Wealthy Affiliate program?
Or for that matter the FIMP program?
Why not choose a topic that interests you and get started with a done for you solution.
But take action right NOW, take control of your life.
So now you have learnt how to start in affiliate marketing with no experience, which option are you going to pick?
Thanks for reading
Phil