Hello everyone! Today, I’m going to share how I earned my first $1,000 through Affiliate Marketing. This is a story from six years ago, and even now, I’m still doing it effectively. Hopefully, my journey will serve as a reference for you:

Six years ago, I accidentally came across affiliate marketing. Back then, there weren’t many courses like now, and information was almost non-existent due to limited technological development. So the knowledge was of high quality, unlike now, where information is overwhelming, making it confusing for newbies.

At that time, online money-making courses were expensive, ranging from $500 to $1,000—money I didn’t have. So I decided to self-learn and gather knowledge online, gaining experience along the way. Here are the eight steps I followed:

Step 1: Keyword Research Using Google Search

I used Google Search to look for keywords in both English and Vietnamese, which provided a ton of information. I began analyzing, filtering, and identifying my direction after four months of dedicated reading and watching YouTube.

Step 2: Set Goals

Initially, I approached it as a passion project, setting aside profit goals because, without knowledge or a proper method, earning money was impossible. Think of it like renting a storefront where you need to make at least $5 daily to survive—this mindset leads to stress and prevents proper planning. In this field, you need a cool head and flexible thinking.

I started with the hardest task: building a website and optimizing it for SEO to rank on Google. To achieve this, you must prepare mentally:

• If no one reads your articles, you won’t earn commissions.
• Misplaced or unattractive CTA links won’t drive SEO.
• Generating ideas is tough, especially as a newbie when everything seems already written.

After a year without money to maintain hosting, I abandoned my site. Like many newbies, I jumped from one idea to another without focus. This is why experienced marketers always emphasize finding a niche and sticking to it. I regrouped and decided to focus and commit fully.

Step 3: Identify a Niche Market

I researched various affiliate campaigns and chose hosting affiliate programs because of their high demand and attractive commission rates for successful orders.

Step 4: Optimize the Website

Once I identified my niche, I rebuilt my site, invested more effort, wrote more articles, and analyzed top-ranking content to create useful content for users.

Step 5: Define a Marketing Approach

Newbies, remember: Selling is unavoidable. Even with the best product, failure to market it means failure overall. Experts often advertise their courses because their expertise is valuable, and knowledge can become a digital asset. Ignore criticism and focus on learning from those who share valuable insights.

There are two marketing methods:

1. Free Traffic: Focus on product analysis (e.g., hosting). Join hosting-related groups on platforms like Facebook, Reddit, or X. Avoid spamming links, as they appear suspicious and reduce trust. Instead, build credibility by addressing specific customer needs and creating quality content to boost conversions.

   For example, I joined website-building groups where people needed hosting. I spent a month observing discussions and learning from members. Then, I began answering questions and offering help, building trust. This approach led to my first $50 sale and many more.

2. Paid Traffic: I ran ads focusing on “website building” rather than “hosting” because people found creating a professional website challenging at the time.

Step 6: Research Competitors

I analyzed competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and used that information to improve my website. A tip: Take all the strengths of your competitors and make them your own.

Step 7: Implementation

After understanding customer needs in my niche and creating a development plan:

• Structure your website neatly for easy Google indexing.
• Create a complete site with necessary categories, aiding future retargeting.
• Build content-rich websites aligned with a strong keyword strategy.

I won’t delve into choosing domains or hosting—focus on execution and optimization.

Step 8: Summary

I repeated these steps until I achieved the desired results. This is my story within my chosen niche. I hope my experiences help you identify your goals and bring in commissions consistently.