Are you fed up with your current job situation? Do you feel you are not valued in your profession as you should be? Then maybe it is time to start doing something about it by creating your own side business. Well, in all honesty, it's not as easy as it sounds, but in this article, we will give you some guidelines that can help you succeed.

What is an affiliate business?

An affiliate recommends certain products or services and gets a cut or commission from any successful transactions or agreements.

Nowadays it's common to see influencers promoting different products and brands on social media channels like Instagram and TikTok. These are often affiliate activities.

Affiliates can also be dedicated web pages that write content and focus on specific niches.

An affiliate can also have a physical office or store, but in this article, we will focus on the online angle of affiliation.

Choose your niche carefully

Why would anyone listen to what you have to say or buy something based on your recommendations?

Since most of us aren’t famous, and can't just promote anything through our well-known name and good looks, we can exclude that aspect and instead focus on expertise and passion.

You may be an expert or really passionate about makeup, furniture, clothes, cameras, or cars.

Other areas could be computer games, sports betting, or other forms of gambling.

In our case, we decided to focus on online casinos by creating SvenskaSpelare.Casino, where we give Swedish casino players an enjoyable user experience.

To accomplish this challenging task, we use our +20 years of experience in the casino industry and that expertise to give players better information than what can be found anywhere else.

If you are serious about starting your own affiliate business, you should consider in which field you can give value to others.

How to get started?

So, you dedicated plenty of time to think of areas where you can help others make good and well-informed decisions through your expertise and passion.

Now what?

You most probably need a website, but you might have no skills in how to do that. Well, you are in luck, as in 2023, it's easier than ever to create your own site online.

Squarespace.com and Wix.com are two platforms where you can create good-looking websites with little to zero experience.

There are also plenty of helpful videos on YouTube where you can find more tips on using these famous platforms.

You can choose from hundreds of templates and styles and find one that will fit your requirements and ideas.

How will you earn any commission?

There are loads of affiliate programs available where you can sign up and choose between different niches.

Some of the best affiliate programs include Amazon Associates, eBay Partner Programme, Commission Junction, Shopify, and many more.

You make an agreement with the platform and place links on your site that eventually grant you the agreed commission when a purchase has been made through your link.

To summarize, you give the visitors of your site value by sharing your expertise with them. The visitor makes a decision based on well-informed facts. The seller gets a client, and you get a commission for your efforts that doesn’t affect the buyer – Everyone wins.

That’s how online affiliation works.

Things to keep in mind before you start

The above information gives you guidelines on how to start your affiliate business, but although it might be easy to get started, succeeding is a whole other topic.

These are the things to keep in mind, based on our experiences as an affiliate.

1. Running a business is hard work: If you really want to succeed with this task, then forget about Netflix, series, movies, and sports on TV for a while. You are trying to run an affiliate business part-time, so the time you can dedicate to this is limited. You have a full-time job already, and there are only 24 hours per day, so plan your time wisely.
2. Ensure that your part-time affiliation business doesn’t interfere with your full-time job: You have a job for a reason. Always prioritize that job as it puts food on the table and pays the bills. If needed, inform your employer about your plans to start an affiliate part-time business, especially if there might be any risk of conflict of interest.
3. Set time limits and budgets beforehand: How much time do you want to dedicate to this project? Decide the hours you want to spend on this per day, weekly, and monthly. You should also give yourself a target before giving up. Shall you try this for 6 months, a year, or 3 years before expecting results? How much money do you want to invest in this? Plan properly and invest only what you can afford to lose, as success is never guaranteed.
4. How will you get visitors to your site? People need to find your site. There are ways to improve your rankings on Google and other search engines, but this is often challenging and requires some expertise (that you can learn) or use third-party companies that can help you with this. You can also buy ads to be visible online and to get visitors. Have a plan for this before you start so that you are prepared for the different hurdles that might come your way.

Running your part-time affiliate business can be very rewarding and fun but also full of challenges.

Some industries and niches can be super competitive, so do your research before you start and ensure that you can bring valuable insights and information to any visitors, as otherwise, there is no point in getting started in the first place.

Good luck if you give this a shot!

Disclaimer: Play responsibly. Players must be over 18. For help visit https://www.gamcare.org.uk/.