How to Setup an Affiliate Marketing Website and Write Content

This is the second part of our 3-parts guide, where we show you how to start and grow an affiliate marketing website that can make you a decent income, and you can sell it for more than $100K.

Do I need a website?

Even if vlogs and video content have taken the spotlight for a couple of years already, I believe the best way to start with affiliate marketing is to create a blog or a website. 

Although you can still do affiliate marketing without them, and many successful affiliates do vlogs or PPC directly to advertisers’ websites, I wouldn’t recommend it, especially if you make your first steps in affiliate marketing.

Check my reasons below:

That’s why I suggest starting a website first. Once you establish your brand and authority, you can complement it with a vlog and other channels.

You can get started immediately if you haven’t created a website on WordPress. You can follow the instructions in our step-by-step guide on how to start a blog, and you’ll be able to launch your WordPress website within 2 hours.

Register a domain name.

A domain name is your address on the Internet. A new domain name can be claimed through various online services. Registering a new domain name is not expensive—doing it with GoDaddy or NameCheap can cost you as little as $10 a year, and other services offer domain registration in the $20 to $40 range. Some domain names are more expensive than others.

If possible, your domain name should match the name of your blog. It doesn’t have to; once you own your domain name, you can put whatever you want on that site. Matching the web address to the blog name will give you more name and brand recognition and make it easier for readers to find you.

Two- and three-word combinations are less likely to have been used already. With some creativity, you can find a free domain name related to your niche that is more quirky and memorable.

Get a hosting account.

Once your blog has a domain name, it has an address but doesn’t yet have a home. The files associated with your site must be hosted on a professional storage server so your viewers can access them.

There are many hosting sites out there. Many places that register domains also offer convenient hosting services, though you should ensure the site has the services you need before signing up. Blue Host is a shared hosting site for WordPress bloggers transitioning to a self-sufficient site.

When you first start, the cheapest option is often a shared hosting account. Prices can start as low as $5-$10 per month. Sites that offer this option include iPage, eHost, and In Motion Hosting. Research the hosting site before you sign up.

Another option is to start with a WordPress-managed hosting service. For more information, see our article on choosing the best-managed WordPress hosting.

Install WordPress or other CMS

You’ve got a domain name and a host where the files associated with it can live. All you have to do is make your blog and transfer it to the host—and if you’re not technically minded, this can be not very comforting.

A Content Management System (CMS) is a piece of software you install directly on your web host (not your computer) that streamlines the addition of necessary site features like tags and categories for pages, search and archive functions, forums, and comments sections.

There are several blogger-specific CMS programs, many of which you can use for free. WordPress is the most common.

If you need help setting up WordPress, you should get help from one of our recommended WordPress maintenance services.

The Importance of  a  Good WordPress Theme

The layout and design of your blog will give your reader their first impression of your business. You want to make sure it’s easy to navigate and read on the practical side. Important posts should have a prominent place on the page, and the color scheme shouldn’t interfere with your writing’s legibility.

Consider premium themes with customization options, support, and updates. Check our list of 25+ recommended affiliate marketing themes for WordPress blogs. Layout and color choices have some role; for example, if you run a photography blog, you should choose a format emphasizing images. A financial blog might find it helpful to install a live tracker of the stock exchange on its front page; a sports blogger might have a ticker of scores and match results.

Design the logo and other graphics.

A great way to clarify your brand is to design a logo that reflects your niche. I recommend taking the financial investment to hire a freelancer to design the logo for you. The logo will represent your brand in most readers’ minds, and your initial investment in hiring a designer will be repaid by boosting your brand recognition.

Check the best ten freelance websites where you can outsource your design project. A well-designed site will be more likely to attract visitors and ultimately be worth the initial financial investment.

Though this is most important with your logo, your blog design aspects can also be actual. Here is a list of graphical elements: logos, Banners, Favicons, social media covers and profile pictures, ebook covers, etc. You can use Canva to design all these elements but hire a designer when money comes in.

Install the Essential Plugins

We’ve written a detailed guide on the best WordPress plugins you should install on your affiliate marketing blog.

The only problem with plugins is that there are thousands to choose from, like themes. Adding too many (or poorly built ones) to your blog can weigh your site down and make it run slowly.

These plugins have the features you need for your affiliate marketing blog. But maybe there are some cases when you need custom functionalities (for instance, to create tools in your niche). In this case, you should hire a WordPress development company to code them.

Create the essential pages of your website

All the above pages must be included in your affiliate marketing blog or website. They save you from legal issues in the future and help you build trust with your website visitors.

It’s celebration time! You have your first affiliate marketing website ready. Congrats on that! However, the problematic parts have started. Don’t worry; we have you covered.

Claim your brand on social media.

You should use Social Media to your advantage. Claim your brand accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Linkedin, Reddit, Quora, Medium, and Pinterest. Many social media networks may work for you, depending on your niche.

Your social media pages should act as gateways to your affiliate blog. Drive users to these pages and convert them to sign up for your newsletter by offering them reasons to do so.

Start email marketing

Email marketing has been around for decades and continues to be one of the most preferred channels for marketers. According to Acesira, almost 68% of teenagers and 73% of millennials prefer emails for receiving communication from brands or businesses. This is likely because email is also the preferred communication channel for consumers.

By collecting the email addresses of prospects or customers and engaging them with exciting content or great offers, you can stay top of mind and generate revenue.

Don’t lose precious time; install a newsletter box for users to sign up for updates and offers.

Later on, when your cornerstone content (more on this later) gets traffic, add content upgrades to grab email addresses and grow your list. This way, you grow an incredible asset that will make you money for years.

I recommend using OptinMonster [OptinMonster discount] for newsletter boxes and popups and ActiveCampaign for sending emails and marketing automation.

Write Content That Gets Read, and Sales

Your goal must be to become a reliable and authoritative site for your niche, so you must provide premium and high-quality content.

Many websites are trying to pass anything for good content, but these websites only aren’t making any money, in all honesty. Those who make money are those whose owners either spend a lot of time and money finding amazing content creators or becoming ones themselves and optimizing their content in every sense possible.

1. Find Best Performing Content In Your Niche

Every blog post on page one of Google has the best-performing content, so this step should be easy to complete. You must type your keyword in a Google search box and get the best-performing content you seek.

Check the results for a few keywords and pick three or more articles to use as a template for your blog post.

I do it like this:

I go to Google search and type keywords relevant to my content topic. After I’ve scanned content on the first three spots on the first page, I write down on the paper a list of short subheading ideas that I’ll use for my blog post. I believe this is called outlining.

Then, I go to Ubersuggest and type those exact keywords one by one in a search box. I check the results and scan my top competitors for that particular keyword. You can find competitors if you click on Content Ideas from the Menu.

I check what types of content they publish (articles, blog posts, videos, infographics, or something else) to determine how to outperform them. Reading all those blog posts is better, especially if I know little about that subject.

I also check if there are more subheadings I can use before moving on to the next step.

If you aren’t satisfied with your list of subheading ideas, check posts from pages 2 or 3 of Google for more ideas.

2. What kind of content should you write?

Here we are at the hard part of this guide: content creation. Creating content is easy, but it’s tough to create great content… Great content is a must-have. It is what you need to be a successful affiliate marketer, web store owner, blogger, or freelance writer.

Blogging expert Yaro Starak talks about something called a “pillar article” in his advice columns. Chris Garret calls it “flagship content,” while Brian Clark calls it “cornerstone content.” These experts describe the same essential thing: the articles that give your reader a clear conception of your niche and your opinions.

Core content articles should be extended—around 1500-5,000 words, depending on the format. These posts should not be time-dependent; a reader who sees the post a year from now should still find it relevant. These posts are the most likely to receive backlinks from other websites and, ideally, will continue to bring in new readers long after you initially post them.

So they don’t get buried in your archives, it’s a good idea to list these posts in a separate area, whether a drop-down menu or links in a sidebar—this lets new readers quickly access the most helpful content. You can also reference these articles in future posts to help new readers find and read them.

The more of these core content posts you include on your blog, the better. Ten is a good minimum, and you should consist of at least three in your first 15 posts.

3. How to create cornerstone content?

The ultimate goal of any good core content post is to teach your readers something, whether it’s a skill related to your niche, an explanation of a concept, or an opinion piece that will help them see your niche in a new way.

If you’re unsure what kind of article to write, some core content options are listed below and might help give you an idea of where to start.

You can think that your writing sucks, but you have to try. Maybe you don’t know how to write. In the end, you can always outsource.

Write product reviews that bring sales

Defining yourself as an authority in your niche is a great way to increase conversions and build a loyal audience. You should always create informative blog posts rather than sales pitches. Your visitors will appreciate researched and well-written blog posts that answer their questions.

When you write affiliate reviews, always be honest. Don’t try to sell anything you wouldn’t recommend to your family and friends. Most people will read many articles online, and if you are the only one positively presenting a lousy product, you will lose visitors’ trust.

The most important thing about the content you post on your website is that it needs to be informative. The Internet is overflowing with websites whose only purpose is to sell stuff. Visitors, especially those willing to spend money, have learned to see the difference.

Most people fail to make even one sale based on their product reviews. Do you know why? They usually brag about the product to increase sales, but they don’t have its limitations.

What happens when you talk only about good things about a product? You’ll not only mislead your target audience, but they can easily smell that you’re hard-selling to generate a commission. So they don’t buy it.

Here are several affiliate marketing review examples that we wrote and followed this proven framework:

Learning to balance the sales pitches with actual stone-cold helpful information is the trick of the affiliate marketing trade, which the business has mastered.

Conclusions on how to create an affiliate website

Congrats on reaching the end of the second part of our guide. Now, you know how to set up an affiliate marketing website, add content, design necessary pages, connect social media profiles, and more.