What Is Affiliate Marketing? A Beginner’s Guide
If you’ve ever wondered how people make money online without needing to create their own product or handle customer service, affiliate marketing is definitely worth checking out. Affiliate marketing lets you earn commissions by recommending products or services from other companies. As a total beginner, it’s a friendly and stressfree way to dip your toes into online income, and the learning curve isn’t as steep as you might think.
In this beginner’s guide, you’ll learn what affiliate marketing is, how the process works, and how you can get started—even if you have no experience or budget. My goal is to show you the simple steps toward building passive income, and get clear answers to the most common questions beginners have about affiliate marketing.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a way to earn money online by promoting other people’s products and getting paid a percentage for every sale you make. Companies use affiliate programs to let regular folks, like you and me, advertise their products. Every time someone clicks your unique link and buys something, you earn a commission.
- You: The affiliate (that’s you!) promote a company’s product.
- The Company: Also called the merchant or advertiser, they create products. Think Amazon, Nike, or even smaller online stores.
- The Consumer: Anyone who clicks your link and makes a purchase.
It’s a win-win: companies reach new customers, and you get paid for recommending cool stuff. You don’t have to handle shipping, customer complaints, or create anything yourself. Everything runs on trust and transparency.
How Affiliate Marketing Works for Beginners
Here’s how the process typically goes when you’re just getting started:
- Sign up for an affiliate program (like Amazon Associates, Walmart, or a specific brand’s program).
- Get a unique affiliate link to their products.
- Share your link through your blog, social media, YouTube, or even word of mouth.
- When someone clicks through and buys, you earn a slice of the profit. No hidden costs or technical skills needed.
The great part is that affiliate marketing is flexible. You can run it alongside your other work, scale up over time, and build a nice passive income stream if you stick with it.
How To Start Affiliate Marketing With No Experience
Getting started can feel a bit overwhelming, but here’s a step-by-step way to make it stress free:
- Pick your niche: This is just a fancy way of saying, “Pick a topic you like:” gadgets, books, makeup, fitness gear—whatever you’re interested in and other people are, too.
- Sign up for affiliate programs: Amazon Associates is a solid place for beginners. Other popular affiliate networks include ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, and Rakuten.
- Create your online space: Free options are available (blog, YouTube channel, TikTok, or even a Facebook group). You don’t need to spend a ton or get fancy with a website on day one.
- Share helpful content: Focus on helping, not just selling. Share honest reviews, how-tos, or personal stories with your affiliate links.
- Track your results: Use the affiliate dashboard to see what links people click and what’s working for you.
Disclosure
Here’s a little transparency: Our website contains affiliate links. This means if you click and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission. Don’t worry, there’s no extra cost to you. It’s a simple way you can support our mission to bring you quality content.
I’ve had the best luck from Wealthy Affiliate, which is built around making affiliate marketing easy for complete beginners. You can read my review and get all the details on how it works right here if you want a full rundown.
Can You Make $100 a Day With Affiliate Marketing?
Reaching $100 a day is definitely possible, especially if you’re ready to put in consistent effort. A lot of beginners see small commissions at first, but as their content grows and more people trust their recommendations, things ramp up.
Some keys to hitting a $100/day goal:
- Choose products with decent commission rates (software, online courses, and hosting services usually offer more than physical products).
- Build trust—don’t just chase sales. People can spot pushy or fake recommendations a mile away.
- Stick with it; most people give up too soon, but those who keep updating their site or channel see results start to snowball after a few months.
Even with zero prior experience, you’ll see small wins add up if you stay patient and keep improving.
How to Make $10,000 per Month With Affiliate Marketing
Earning $10,000 a month is a bigger goal, but I’ve seen regular people reach it after a year or two by doing the basics well and scaling up. Here’s what makes a real difference:
- Get focused on higher ticket (higher priced) products with bigger commissions alongside your usual picks.
- Grow your traffic by publishing content regularly; whether it’s blog posts, YouTube videos, or TikToks.
- Build an email list to stay in touch and recommend new things over time.
- Keep learning; courses, communities (like Wealthy Affiliate), and trusted blogs help you find new opportunities and avoid making the same rookie mistakes.
No one makes $10k overnight, but consistent, small steps each day keep you on track. Making it stressfree starts with a clear plan and avoiding overcomplication.
What Does an Affiliate Marketer Actually Do?
Here’s what a typical day could look like for an affiliate marketer (even as a newbie):
- Research products or services that fit your audience.
- Write blog posts, record videos, or share honest reviews.
- Insert affiliate links in your content.
- Get involved with your followers in comments or via email.
- Analyze which products get the most clicks and sales, and focus on what’s working.
As you build up, most of your job is just being helpful, trustworthy, and sharing things you genuinely believe in. It feels less like “selling” and more like connecting people with stuff that solves their problems.
Popular Affiliate Marketing Programs for Beginners
Tons of companies offer affiliate programs, but not all of them are easy for beginners. Here are a few that are super beginnerfriendly:
- Amazon Associates: Sign up for free and promote millions of products. No experience needed, but commission rates are a little on the lower side.
- Wealthy Affiliate: Teaches you everything you need and lets you earn by promoting their platform. My favorite part? You can start for free and get all the core training without stress. Check out the free sign-up here.
- ShareASale/CJ Affiliate: Both are large affiliate networks with thousands of merchants to pick from, great if you want options.
How To Start Affiliate Marketing With Amazon for Beginners
- Sign up for Amazon Associates.
- Choose a product you want to recommend.
- Use Amazon’s site to generate your unique link.
- Share the link on your blog, YouTube, Facebook, or even via direct messages.
You only need a small amount of content and a few friends or followers to start seeing your first clicks and commissions. Even if you have no money to invest right away, this is a simple, riskfree way to kick things off.
How To Do Affiliate Marketing on Shopify
If you want to sell physical products or run your own dropshipping store, Shopify has its own affiliate program, and you can add affiliate links to your Shopify site as well. Some folks use blogs or social media to drive traffic to their Shopify store and include affiliate recommendations alongside their products, pretty handy if you like flexibility.
Affiliate Marketing for Beginners: Free Tips and Tools
Don’t let budget worries keep you from starting. Free platforms and tools can get you going:
- Wealthy Affiliate Free Training: Perfect for total beginners, with step by step video lessons and helpful community support.
- Social Media: Share your affiliate links on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok to reach more people for free.
- Free website builders: WordPress.com, Wix, or Blogger are easy to use and don’t require a credit card up front.
Sign up here for free training and get help every step of the way.
How To Start Affiliate Marketing on Facebook
Create a Facebook page or group around your topic (like parenting hacks, tech reviews, or health tips), share helpful posts, and include your affiliate links where relevant. Facebook Groups can be a great way to build a close community while keeping things free and friendly.
Getting Started With Affiliate Marketing in 2025 (And Beyond)
The basics haven’t changed: pick a topic you care about, help people solve problems, and use trustworthy affiliate programs. But search engines and social media always change it up. Staying flexible, learning new skills, and focusing on being genuinely helpful will always keep you ahead of the curve.
How To Start Affiliate Marketing on Amazon With No Money
No budget? No worries. Here’s what I’d do:
- Create a free social media profile (like Instagram or Facebook) focused on a topic you love.
- Sign up for Amazon Associates (it’s free).
- Share honest recommendations, reviews, and product roundups using your unique links.
- Slowly build up a following; the more content you post, the better your chances!
Final Steps and Action Plan
- Pick a niche or topic that makes you excited.
- Sign up for one or two beginnerfriendly affiliate programs.
- Create a free blog, YouTube channel, or Facebook group—whatever feels easiest for you.
- Share genuine, useful content and include your affiliate links naturally.
- Check out Wealthy Affiliate for step by step coaching and a friendly community so you never feel stuck.
Affiliate marketing is totally doable for beginners if you take it one step at a time. Focusing on learning and helping others first makes the income side much less stressful, and communities like Wealthy Affiliate make it easy to find support whenever you need it. If you have questions or want more tips, drop a comment or check out my full Wealthy Affiliate review linked above.
