The basic idea behind creating a WordPress affiliate website is to earn a commission for every product that you help another company sell.
Essentially, you work as a salesman for as many companies as you want. You don’t receive a baseline salary, but (because of the limitless possibilities of the internet) your affiliate sites have huge growth potential. This is why so many self-employed professionals use this business model.
The amount of money that you earn per sale varies depending on the companies that you become an affiliate for. Typical commission rates range from 10 to 50 percent of the product cost (higher percentages are more commonly associated with digital products). For a comparison of affiliate program benefits, check out this list from Nichehacks.
Ready to get started? Here are the three basic types of affiliate websites, and the plugins and themes that you can use to make them work.
Product review websites
Product review websites are popular choices for people who are about to make expensive purchases. Shoppers typically visit these sites to read about products that cost at least a few hundred dollars: they want to be careful with their money.
If you’re the type of person who likes to try new products, or you know where you can source product opinions from, a product review site is a great way to inform buyers about what an item is like, as well as posting affiliate links to those products.
To set up a product review affiliate website, try a theme like Magazine and Review by Delipress, or add a product review plugin like WP Product Review Lite to your existing site (to add themes and plugins not currently integrated into WordPress.com, you’ll need a site on the plugin-enabled plan).
Daily deals
Buyers love discounts, and businesses love new buyers.
With a daily deals WordPress affiliate website, you work with businesses to inform your readers about deals and exclusive sales, effectively funneling more customers to those businesses.
You’ll earn a commission on each deal. On top of that, many businesses will pay you a commission on subsequent purchases made by those new customers.
Since the main idea behind this type of affiliate website is savings and coupon codes, WordPress themes and plugins that highlight discount amounts (or lowered prices) are crucial. Choose a theme like Kupon, or add a plugin like WP Coupons and Deals to your existing website.
Price comparison sites
Everyone loves a good deal, which is why “cheapest [insert product name here]” is generally a popular search term.
The purpose of a price comparison site is to show readers the various prices of the same product across different retailers. This way, they know they’re getting the best deal and saving as much money as possible.
If you’re building a price comparison website from scratch, Price Comparison Theme for WordPress makes it easier, or you can add a plugin like Datafeedr Comparison Sets to your existing affiliate website.
Pick a product and a theme, and get started
Affiliate websites can be expanded and fleshed out as time goes on, getting bigger and more profitable as you become experienced with this form of marketing. But if you’re just starting out, picking a product you want to feature, finding a suitable theme for your particular type of affiliate site, and establishing your online presence will be enough to get your momentum going.
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