![](https://www.authorityhacker.com/"https:////www.authorityhacker.com//wp-content//uploads//2022//01//affiliate-1024x621.png/")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAffiliate earning screenshot from Authority Hacker can also prove it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow along as I explain the ins and outs of starting your first affiliate marketing website, including… <\/p>\n\n\n\n An affiliate marketing website is a site that recommends other people\u2019s products or services. You don\u2019t have to make any products yourself \u2014 you earn commissions by referring people to other websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most common way to build an affiliate marketing website is to create content \u2014 usually blog posts, though many types of content are viable \u2014 that appear in the search results when people type certain phrases into Google, Bing, or other search engines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In these articles, you promote various products or services. As an affiliate for those companies, you earn a commission every time someone clicks on an affiliate link within your blog post.<\/p>\n\n\n Here\u2019s a short, oversimplified example of how this all works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a very<\/em> basic walkthrough, and you should know that this is a complex process and can be quite competitive, depending on your niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, to be clear, you\u2019re not limited to merely writing blog posts if you want to find affiliate marketing success<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can earn commissions with many types of content:<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, when building an affiliate marketing website, the foundation is usually formed by written content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other methods I mentioned generally rely on building a following on other<\/em> websites rather than pushing traffic to your own website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why I\u2019ll be focusing on written content throughout this guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can change things up or augment your written content with other types of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While you can technically succeed in affiliate marketing without<\/em> a website<\/a>, building a website has a lot of advantages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are also a few more benefits I want to discuss in more detail:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I like to think of building websites as the financial equivalent of a wind-up doll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the doll (website) can go anywhere, you need to turn the knob on its back and build up energy (create content).<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you release the knob (publish your content), the doll starts moving forward (your content starts gaining traffic, and you start earning money). The longer you turn before letting it go, the farther the doll travels (more content = more traffic = more revenue).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, the doll starts slowing down (your content is outdated, or Google has updated its algorithm), and you need to wind it up again (update old content, make new content, and adapt to algorithm changes) to keep the gravy train flowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not a perfect analogy, but the key takeaway is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can start an affiliate website for virtually nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s all you really need:<\/p>\n\n\n Namecheap is the #1 registrar on the market, they provide low-cost domain name registration and great service.<\/p>\n\n\n We recommend Siteground for beginners, which starts at $1.99 per month. (You have to pay for an annual subscription to get this rate, so we\u2019ll count this as a $23.88 initial cost.)<\/p>\n\n\n That\u2019s it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are software tools, courses, and services that can make the process much easier \u2014 I\u2019ll discuss those later \u2014 but the upfront investment to start a site is less than $35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Affiliate marketing websites offer extreme flexibility, so you can work whenever and wherever you want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure, the idea of working in exotic locations like a sun-baked Caribbean beach or a posh London cafe is pretty cool. But the true benefit lies in optimizing valuable work while going about your everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few examples of how you can leverage that flexibility to boost your productivity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re wondering whether affiliate marketing is worth it<\/a>, some real-world examples of successful affiliate websites may help you decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While some websites earn practically nothing \u2014 like my first affiliate website which brought in a staggering $0.09 \u2014 others earn millions every year and sell for extremely high amounts.<\/p>\n\n\n EpicGardening.com<\/a> \u2014 a gardening website owned by an Authority Hacker student, Kevin Espiritu \u2014 is making $7.5 million per year<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n The Wirecutter<\/a> \u2014 a consumer products site \u2014 sold to the New York Times for over $30 million<\/a> in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n NerdWallet \u2014 a personal finance site \u2014 was valued at $520 million in 2015 and, at the time of writing, is a publicly traded company valued at over $1.1 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 For more inspiration, see our post detailing 21 successful affiliate marketing website examples<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, before you get starry-eyed at all of these crazy amounts, I want to make it clear that these are extreme outliers<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reality is that most affiliate websites generate a few hundred to a few thousand per month. Sites that even reach that level can be considered a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While it\u2019s clear that affiliate marketing works, creating a winning affiliate website \u2014 even one that \u201conly\u201d makes six figures annually \u2014 takes years of hard work and persistence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And just like any business, there\u2019s no guarantee it will work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But you can make good money online if you push through the uncertainty and execute a well-thought-out plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building a successful affiliate marketing website isn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many moving parts, and there\u2019s a learning curve in understanding how they all fit together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our Authority Site System training<\/a> alone has nearly 200 videos, and that\u2019s only our beginner<\/em> program. It doesn\u2019t even include all of the advanced training modules in our flagship Authority Hacker Pro program<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While there\u2019s definitely a lot to it, I\u2019ll be covering the essentials in great detail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of this section, you\u2019ll have all the necessary knowledge to start your own affiliate marketing site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you do anything else, you need to decide what your website will be about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the most important part of the whole process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you make the wrong choice, you\u2019re setting yourself up for a difficult uphill battle before you even start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we dive into the specifics, I need to emphasize that this is about picking the right niche for you.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t just go by whatever the latest affiliate niche research tool or hyped-up YouTube guru tells you to make a website about. Your personal preferences and abilities play a huge role in this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s explore the different facets you need to consider when choosing your niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before anything else, consider what you\u2019re passionate about. Building a successful site often takes years, and having a genuine interest in the topic makes it easier to endure.<\/p>\n\n\n Your passion not only helps maintain the website but also influences the quality<\/em> of the content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the advent of generative AI tools<\/a> like ChatGPT<\/a>, website owners can quickly generate tons of cookie-cutter blog posts about every corner of their niche and clog the search results with mediocre, uninspired content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this new era of AI-generated mediocrity, the quality of your content matters more than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creating truly helpful and unique resources separates your website from the sea of trash and makes it easier to float to the top of the search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s harder to undergo the full niche immersion that makes that extra layer of quality possible if you don\u2019t like your topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure, you can hire others to create content, but no one will care about your website’s quality as much as you will. You\u2019ll still likely be involved in reviewing the content, and having a passion for your topic makes that process easier and more effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even here at Authority Hacker, our co-founders, Mark and Gael, are highly involved in the content creation process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re reading this post, they reviewed it personally and approved it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While it\u2019s not essential, choosing a topic in which you have real-world experience will give you a leg-up over the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why\u2019s that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer lies in two acronyms: E-E-A-T<\/a> and YMYL<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n These are the four factors that Google uses to determine the reliability and quality of a website and its content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a complicated aspect of SEO (search engine optimization), but all you need to know about for niche selection purposes are the fundamentals of Experience and Expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nWhat Is an Affiliate Marketing Website? (And How Does It Work?)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"What](https://www.authorityhacker.com/"https:////www.authorityhacker.com//wp-content//uploads//2022//02//what-is-affiliate-marketing-1024x1024.png/")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nWhy You Should Build an Affiliate Marketing Website<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Passive Income<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Low Startup Cost<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![](https://www.authorityhacker.com/"https:////www.authorityhacker.com//wp-content//uploads//2017//06//namecheap-logo-horizontal.png/"){kind=logo}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Siteground](https://www.authorityhacker.com/"https:////www.authorityhacker.com//wp-content//uploads//2022//01//siteground-logo-transparent.png/" "\\"Siteground"){kind=logo}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nExtreme Flexibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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High Earnings Potential<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"epicgardening](https://www.authorityhacker.com/"https:////www.authorityhacker.com//wp-content//uploads//2023//06//epicgardening-homepage-1024x537.png/")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"wirecutter](https://www.authorityhacker.com/"https:////www.authorityhacker.com//wp-content//uploads//2023//06//wirecutter-homepage-1024x567.png/")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"nerdwallet](https://www.authorityhacker.com/"https:////www.authorityhacker.com//wp-content//uploads//2023//06//nerdwallet-homepage-1024x560.png/")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHow To Build an Affiliate Marketing Website<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](https://www.authorityhacker.com/"https:////www.authorityhacker.com//wp-content//uploads//2023//06//tass-course-homepage.png/")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n1<\/em> Pick a Niche for Your Affiliate Site<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why Picking the Right Niche Is Important<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What Do You Like?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"Perfect](https://www.authorityhacker.com/"https:////www.authorityhacker.com//wp-content//uploads//2022//07//perfect-niche-1.png/")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWhat Are You Good At?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n