Affiliate Marketing for Beginners: How to Earn From Amazon, AliExpress and More

Have you ever recommended a product you tried to a friend, and they bought it? If you’d had a “special link” for that product, the company would have paid you a commission! That’s the simple idea behind affiliate marketing, one of the most popular ways to make money online, because you don’t need your own product, warehouse or shipping.

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing means promoting another company’s products with your own unique link and earning a percentage of every purchase made through that link.

How does it work?

1. Join a store or company’s affiliate programme.
2. Get unique links to their products.
3. Share the links in your content: an article, a video or a post.
4. When someone clicks your link and buys within a set time window, the sale is credited to you.
5. You get paid once your balance reaches the payout threshold.

Popular affiliate programmes

Programme	What stands out
Amazon Associates	Millions of products, with programmes for many regional Amazon stores
AliExpress	Very cheap, varied products and a huge audience
Temu and Shein	Low-priced products and fashion, with partner programmes
Regional stores	Many regions have their own big retailers with affiliate programmes
Digital products	Web hosting, software and courses, often with higher commissions

Commission rates vary widely by programme and product category, so read each programme’s terms carefully before joining.

Where should you share your links?

1. A blog or website: articles like “The 10 best headphones under $50”, reviews and comparisons. One of the strongest methods, because it brings steady visitors from Google.
2. YouTube: review and unboxing videos, with links in the description.
3. TikTok and Instagram: short videos showing the product in use, with a link in your bio.
4. Telegram and WhatsApp groups: for sharing deals and discounts, without spamming members.
5. Coupon and deals sites.

Did you know? With Amazon’s programme, any purchase a visitor makes within 24 hours of clicking your link usually counts for you, even if they buy something other than the product you recommended.

How to get started

1. Pick a specific niche you know and enjoy, such as tech, kitchen gadgets or baby products.
2. Choose your platform: a blog, a YouTube channel or a TikTok account.
3. Join one or more programmes that suit your audience.
4. Create genuinely helpful content that helps people choose, not just ads.
5. Disclose your affiliate links clearly and honestly; many programmes and laws require it, and it builds trust.
6. Analyse your results: which products sell best? Focus on those.

Mistakes that make beginners fail

1. Spamming links everywhere without useful content.
2. Promoting bad products just because the commission is high, which destroys your audience’s trust.
3. Not disclosing affiliate links.
4. Expecting quick money: affiliate marketing needs an audience, and building one takes time.
5. Relying on a single programme.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do affiliate marketing without an audience?

You can start from zero, but real income comes once you have an audience that trusts you, or visitors from search engines.

Do I need a website?

Not necessarily. Many affiliates use YouTube, TikTok or Instagram. A website is a strong long-term asset, though, because it attracts search traffic for years.

How much can I earn?

It depends on your audience size, the products, commission rates and how much people trust your recommendations. Many start small and grow gradually.

Key takeaway

Affiliate marketing is a smart way to earn online without your own product or stock, by promoting stores like Amazon and AliExpress through unique links. The secret to success is helpful content and honesty with your audience; trust is what turns a click into a sale.