What Is Affiliate Marketing, and How Does It Work?

Affiliate marketing is a method of communication that uses referrals to drive prospects and clients. It has two sides:

If you are a seller, affiliate marketing (referral marketing) can skyrocket your sales if you have one or more products or services to sell. This approach is at the roots of the success of Gmail, Dropbox, and thousands of other businesses.

If you are a marketer: If you don’t have a product, you can use the referral approach to earn impressive amounts of money by promoting (referring to) other people’s products and services.

Both sides are very lucrative, but I dedicated this guide to the success of affiliate marketers.

To turn affiliate marketing into a business is straightforward.

First, you don’t need to have a product or a warehouse. Also, you can promote many products and services at the same time.

You need a social media account (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn) or a YouTube channel. If you have a personal blog (you can create one in minutes for free), this will be an advantage.

Affiliate marketing is easy and fast to start, and there is an excellent chance you can turn it into a full-time income.

So, let’s start.

What Is Gumroad and Why Do We Need It?

Gumroad is a pretty unique tool. You will use it as an affiliate marketer and as a seller (if you want to do so). It has all the features needed to start your affiliate marketing career and makes it easier and simpler for sellers (like me) to work with affiliate partners.

Yes, you are going to be my partner. We will work together to achieve success for both sides.

How to Prepare for Affiliate Success?

Of course, there is a catch. If you do affiliate marketing the wrong way, you will not reach even a portion of the potential earnings and success. But on the other hand, affiliate marketing can be very lucrative if you do it properly.

Fortunately, I have been doing this for the past 14+ years and will be happy to help you do so.

Let’s start with the basics.

Step One: Create a Gumroad Account

Some of the affiliates have hundreds of accounts with different sellers and networks. Still, it is better to start with one, master the tools, strategies, and tactics, and then expand your affiliate business.

First things first, go to https://app.gumroad.com/signup and create your account. You can use email, Facebook, or Twitter to signup. It is a 3-minute process.

Then, enter some data to identify yourself:

Choose your username. It will be your Gumroad store web address.
Upload a nice photo of yourself. It is good for your credibility.
Enter your real name. I would like to know with whom I am working.
Type a short bio of yourself to introduce your professional experience and goals.
Select the country you are currently staying in.

Now, you can click on the big button to go ahead. You will land into your Gumroad profile.

Don’t create your first product yet. You need to do some settings first.

The only setting you need to do right now is to make sure you can receive payment from Gumroad for the sales you make as an affiliate or seller. Here are the steps:

Go to the Payout settings page: https://app.gumroad.com/settings/payout

Enter your valid personal information: Name, address, phone.

Most importantly: enter your PayPal email address.

Then go to the Payments settings page: https://app.gumroad.com/settings/payments and connect your PayPal account, following the step-by-step instructions.

Now, you are ready to signup as an affiliate for my products.

Step Two: Sign Up as an Affiliate

Next, signup as an affiliate. This way, you will get your unique referral link (which will make money for you), and I will be able to assign commissions to you.

Go to the affiliate signup page: https://borilbogoev.gumroad.com/affiliates.

Fill out the form. It has only three fields.

I will receive your application and will approve it. Then you will receive the approval email. Congratulations! You are my new affiliate/referral partner.

Step Three: Where to Find the Affiliate Link?

The essential tool for your affiliate success is your unique link. You have to share the link with your audiences if you want to earn commissions. Here’s how to find it.

First, log in to your newly created Gumroad account (if you logged out for any reason).

Then, go to the Affiliated Products page: https://app.gumroad.com/products/affiliated.

Here you will see all the products you can promote (and earn commissions), your current sales, the commission rate, and your revenue.

For each product, you have a separate link. You can copy it into the clipboard by clicking on the copy button for the given product.

You are all set up. Now you can start promoting the products, sharing with friends and colleagues, with your fans and followers, with your subscribers and watchers. Then, when they buy, you get your commission. It is that simple.

Step Four: Expect Guidance from My Side

I promised to help, and I will. My help will appear in regular emails with tips, tricks, tutorials, and ideas on how to get the most out of your referral/affiliate marketing activities.

So, please, stay tuned, check your email often, and when you see an email from me - Boril Bogoev - please, open it.

Step Five: Share the Affiliate Link?

Here is the beauty of affiliate marketing - you have a link, and all you need to do is share it. But, of course, you need to find creative ways to do it. Timing also matters. It would help if you chose with whom you are sharing it.

Still, the process is pretty simple - you share your affiliate link with the right people at the right moment.

I will send you (step-by-step) tons of ideas, but here are some initial ones:

Idea 1: Tell more about the products to your close friends and colleagues and share your link through WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, email, and even SMS.

Idea 2: Create a Facebook/Instagram post (containing your affiliate link) and share it on your wall/feed. Let your fans, friends, and followers know about it.

Idea 3: I am sure you participate in many communities (Facebook, LinkedIn) - by interest, professional, and area-based. You can briefly introduce and share your affiliate link with a post in each relevant group.

Idea 4: Make a YouTube video about one or more of the products and post your affiliate link in the description.

Idea 5: Write a blog article, review one of the products and share it with the world, packed with your affiliate link. For example, you can publish the article on your blog or content networks like Medium.com.

A Smart Way to Buy My Products with a Discount

If you like one or more products and want to have them, your affiliate link would be your best friend. If you click on your link and buy one of the products, you will still get your commission. It makes it a lovely (20-30%) cashback - an intelligent way to obtain the products with such a considerable discount.

Your Affiliate Marketing Career

If you put enough effort, you can easily make several hundred dollars by sharing your affiliate link. Though, how about several thousand dollars? Per month? Every month?

What I am saying is that you can make affiliate marketing your career. You can learn, gradually build your income and develop it far beyond your dream salary.

You just need to start.

Why Work with Me?

You may ask:

“Who are you, and why should I work with you?”

Here is the answer:

I have vast marketing experience. My name is Boril Bogoev. I have 18+ years of digital marketing experience, and I have been doing affiliate marketing since 2007.

I know how to help you become a successful affiliate marketer. Between 2014 and 2017, my affiliate managers’ team of 3 people and I have built an affiliate network of 10,000 affiliates. We helped (even pushed) them, and 200+ people continuously earned 4,000+ dollars (14,000+ dirhams) every month.

I have the best digital products to start as an affiliate marketer. Digital products like ebooks, courses, and programs, are the best for affiliate marketing because you can get higher commission (usually between 20 and 50%), sell well, and are delivered instantly to the customer. I have prepared several high-quality products in different niches, which you can start promoting and make commissions right away.

You don’t need to work with me only, but I am your best starting point. After that, I can help you reach the top of your affiliate marketing skills and make it your full-time career and business.

Recap

To make the long story short:

Affiliate marketing is the perfect side hustle and possible great full-time career.
I can provide guidance, coaching, tools, and products to start this career today.
Create your Gumroad account and signup as an affiliate. Then I will take your hand.
Use this guide as a checklist and an inspiration.

Start with step #1:

Create a Gumroad account >>