If you’re hearing the buzz about the affiliate marketing business, it’s for good reason. Digital marketers are cashing in, but you don’t need a degree to start making money. If you can run a computer, you can apply to various platforms and start adding links almost immediately. You should register a Limited Liability Company (L.L.C.) or Corporation in your state first, but we’ll get into that later.
Read our article to learn about the affiliate marketing business, how to register a company, and find links to apply to major referral platforms fast. Since 2001, MyCompanyWorks has formed tens of thousands of companies for entrepreneurs across the US. Find out why new startups choose us and get started with your own business today. Let’s get started!
What is an Affiliate Marketing Business?
There are other ways to make money with affiliates or partners, but we’re referring to online affiliate marketing. Advertisers offer coded links that you can copy and paste into blog posts, web pages, emails, newsletters, and social media posts. You make money with referral links when your visitors click the links and make purchases. The advertiser tracks the purchases and pays commissions to your account. Most major affiliate platforms pay commissions monthly but can vary. Each platform will let you know its payout cycle when you sign up.
Example: Let’s say you subscribe to a newsletter that mentions favorite products or services. If the sender is including affiliate or referral links, you should see a disclosure near the top of the newsletter. That disclosure lets consumers know that the sender makes commissions if you purchase goods through links in the newsletter (more on that below). As the consumer, you now know that the newsletter generates income from referral links. You don’t pay anything extra, and the newsletter sender is paid by the advertiser for referring your business.
That’s online affiliate marketing in a nutshell.
Make Money with Affiliate Marketing
Many advertisers offer generous commissions to get the best and the most business. You can see what we pay our affiliates here. If you have a clean and professional-looking website, all you have to do is apply to relevant advertisers and add their links to start generating passive income. Digital referral marketing is not a ‘get-rich-quick-scheme’, but your business will start to grow traffic and income as you post more content.
Check out popular marketing content ideas with tips and examples
How to Get Started in Affiliate Marketing
You can apply to marketing platforms and register a company in your state at the same time, but the best practice is to wait until your paperwork is completed before you start making money. While you’re waiting, take some time to spruce up your existing website and social media accounts. Update contact information and photos to make the best impression. If you’re starting from scratch, you can purchase one of our affordable and easy-to-use custom web packages to get started.
Popular affiliate marketing networks
Below are 5 top affiliate marketing networks to explore for passive income opportunities, along with a few highlights:
- Favorable commission and bounty rates
- High potential for making affiliate marketing revenue since so many shoppers buy from Amazon
- Requirements are extensive
CJ (formerly Commission Junction)
- Free to sign up
- Must be at least 18 years old and own an active website
- Must have a bank account to accept payments (no PayPal or credit card payouts)
Register with CJ (Commission Junction)
- Must have a registered company
- Must submit IRS form W9 to receive payments
- Phone verification is required for approval
- Free to register
- Share links on website, blog, email, and social media
- Must use a business email with a custom domain (free email accounts from Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. are not accepted)
- Must have an active website with English content
- Payments are sent via wire deposit, check, and Payoneer for international payments
Affiliate marketing regulations
Unlike many other industries, affiliate marketing is actually regulated by the Federal Trade Commission to protect consumers. All affiliate marketers are required to disclose that commissions are earned from purchases made through referral links. You can generate a free disclosure for your website here. Most consumers don’t mind if you make a referral fee if it doesn’t cost them anything. You can even include language in your disclosure, so consumers know they’re not paying extra to shop using your links.
Learn about Business-to-Business Marketing
Affiliate Marketing FAQs
Here are answers to the most common questions about affiliate marketing. You may have other questions, but each marketing platform is full of helpful resources and linked to a support team, so make sure to chat with or call your particular platform for setup instructions and further assistance.
1. Do you need a company for affiliate marketing?
Some affiliate networks don’t require marketers to have a company. However, your personal assets aren’t protected unless you form a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or Corporation. You can also run into other legal and tax problems if you’re not registered to do business in your state, so it’s ideal to form a company to prevent those issues.
If you decide that affiliate marketing is a good fit, you can form an LLC or Corporation in any state or Washington DC with our state business checklists. If you want to save time and money, we can file your formation paperwork when you order any of our business packages.
2. Do you need a business license for affiliate marketing?
Not all affiliate platforms require a business license, but your state requires all operating businesses to be licensed. Since affiliate marketing doesn’t require much risk to staff or consumers, you’ll probably just need a basic state business license, and possibly a license in your city or county. Check with our business license partners to find the correct licenses for your company.
3. Can anyone do affiliate marketing?
The short answer, yes! If you have an active website, blog, newsletter, or social media accounts, you can apply to affiliate platforms and start making money from your referral links. It will take some time to get rolling, but if you post consistent and relevant articles with links, you’ll start to see results. Apply for links that relate to your content, service, and products to get the best traction.
4. Is affiliate marketing illegal?
Not at all! In fact, affiliate marketing is one of the top growing industries for digital business. Projections show that by 2024, affiliate market spending could pass $4.3 billion! Consumers trust links that are recommended in blog posts, emails, and websites, so not only is this type of marketing legal, it stands to be highly profitable if you’re willing to work at it. As long as you post a disclosure stating you make commissions from referral links, and you register to do business in your state, you can legally operate an affiliate or referral marketing business.
The Summary
The affiliate marketing business is profitable and loaded with opportunities to make money. With a current website and social media accounts, you can start generating passive income fairly quickly, but it will take time and ongoing effort to make your business grow. We have offered some popular ways to get your referral links noticed, but there are countless options for creating content and publishing referral links to draw business.
The most popular affiliate networks are worth exploring because they draw major brands and advertisers. Requirements vary by platform, but sign-up is fairly simple for the platforms we have mentioned. You can open accounts without a business in some cases, but your state requires all companies to register to operate, so the best plan is to form an LLC or Corporation before you start making money. You may also need business licenses if your city, county, and/or state requires them.
Online affiliate marketers are required by the Federal Trade Commission to include a disclosure wherever referral links are posted, so make sure you’re doing this to comply with regulations and stay in business. As long as you have registered your company and post your disclosure, you can make money legally.
Start an Affiliate Marketing Company Today
Ready to start? You can register your business using our state startup guides, or save time and effort when you order any of our LLC or Corporation packages. You can start making money as soon as your paperwork is processed. Whether you start your own business or order our services, MyCompanyWorks offers loads of free resources and tips, and recommended products and services to help you start and manage your company in one place. Check out our blog for the latest business ideas, and sign up for our newsletter to receive even more expert tips and tools.
This page may contain affiliate links, which means MyCompanyWorks may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links.
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