Want to make money online without creating a product, shipping products, doing customer service, or keeping a garage full of inventory that may or may not sell?
Awesome, you can do so by selling other people’s products online.
“Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.”― Roy T. Bennett
In this article, we will cover:
- Choosing an Approach
- How to make that approach work
- How to make your first earnings
Let’s find out exactly how you can do that.
Get Started
To make money online selling other people’s products you will first need to choose an approach or path.
1. Approach
You must make a plan as to how you will approach selling people’s products to make money. Four approaches will be mentioned but we will focus on affiliate marketing.
- Amazon FBA
Another way to make money from selling your products is through Amazon Fulfillment. This is where Amazon takes care of all of the logistics of sending your products to the company. Its advantages are that it eliminates the worry of having an inventory problem and shipping them out.
Also, Amazon has the biggest customer service network in the world. This means that you can focus on your core business without getting overwhelmed by all the customer service that they provide.
Many people start by re-selling their old stuff, then move up to “retail arbitrage”, where they buy cheap in the store and sell for more online.
Even though it’s still very beneficial to have an online presence, it can still be very time-consuming.
- Dropshipping
Another option is to sell other people’s products through drop shipping. This is a process that involves getting someone else to send products to you, and it usually comes with a few strings attached.
You are not selling products on your site, but you are ordering them from a supplier. This method saves you time and money, as you do not have to manage inventory and customer service.
You are essentially doing the work of a middle man, helping a customer find the right product at the right price.
This is also true for many people who are competing against each other for the same thing. This makes it harder to get a good profit margin.
You also have to deal with the customer service aspect of dropping off a product. This can be frustrating, especially if the customer gets an incorrect product.
There are also quite a few companies that don’t offer drop shipping. This is typically a bad idea for a supplier as many customers prefer to transact through affiliate programs.
The number of companies makes it hard to find good products to sell, especially if they are also profitable.
- Affiliate Marketing
First, let’s try to understand more about the approach that we will take which is Affiliate Marketing.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
According to Investopedia Affiliate marketing is an advertising model in which a company compensates third-party publishers to generate traffic or leads to the company’s products and services. So the person who does affiliate marketing is an affiliate marketer which would be you.
Give an example
Okay, let’s say that you have a website about bikes. On your website, you provide a wide variety of useful and practical content to your readers about different bikes.
Then you can review different bikes that would be a great choice for your visitors. If your visitors follow the link and make a purchase, at no cost to your visitor you will earn a commission for that referral.
How do I become an affiliate marketer?
You would have to have a method of how you will promote products, whether through a social media account that has a good size audience, your website, or other methods.
Is it legal to make money selling other people’s products online?
Yes, and you wouldn’t be the first one to do it, and many people are doing it, even this website that you are on sells people’s products.
Is it easy to sell other people’s products online?
Sure, it’s easy to become an affiliate because you don’t need to create the product itself, it was already created.
How do you sell people’s products? Do you have to buy it then sell it?
That’s optional, but there is a much easier way in which it can be done.
What’s the easier way to do it?
By becoming an affiliate or ambassador of majors brands that are already making millions. You don’t have to order anything or walk door to door hoping someone is home. No, that’s 80s tactics, there are far better ways right now to approach things.
So will I have to assist customers?
No, here is a list of many things that you don’t have to take care of:
You don’t have to handle shipping.
You don’t have to hire anyone to assist you.
You don’t have to create a product.
You don’t have to build a brand, which takes time.
You don’t have to take care of customer service.
All of those things mentioned are out of your way, your job is to get the people, give them the solution and they will buy.
People are always looking for a solution and that’s what leads them to buy, so once you’re giving value people will buy the products that you recommend.
The real challenge lies in getting traffic to your site and then getting them to convert through your affiliate links which is extremely possible.
So before you dive deeper, what’s the potential in this, what can I possibly earn overtime?
There are many stories of people who have made hundreds and thousands of dollars selling other people’s products online.
People love to research before they buy, when they do that they land on your website and eventually purchase through your link and then you get paid for that referral.
Where can I find the form to sign up as an affiliate of a company?
Most companies have the link in the footer section of their website and it usually says “Affiliates” “Affiliate program” once you click on that it will take you to the form.
How long does it take to sign up as an affiliate?
It depends on which programs but most of them take approximately 2-10 minutes. Most companies run their program through an affiliate network, so if you are already registered with that affiliate network it’s just a click to become an affiliate for many other companies who use that network
What are affiliate networks?
They are like the middleman between those who want someone to promote their products and those who want to promote other people’s projects.
What are examples of affiliate networks?
Ten popular affiliate networks you can join today.
- MaxBounty
- ShareAsale
- Impact
- Amazon Associates
- Cj Affiliate
- Rakuten
- Partnerstack
- ClickBank
- Jvzoo
- Digistore24
What will I need to have to sign up as an affiliate?
- Most companies and affiliate networks require that you have a way in which you will promote their product (Website, social media page, or a specific marketing strategy).
- An email is needed for them to be able to communicate with you and send you tips and updates. You can use a Gmail account or a professional business email. You can use Namecheap to get cheap mailboxes.
- You should have Paypal or a bank account to receive payouts.
- Social Security Number for tax purposes as a 1099 contractor.
Where do I find affiliate programs to sign up for?
No worries, we put together a list of some of the best companies that pay you to promote their products or services online
Personal Finance
- Finance – Cj Affiliate, ShareASale, Amex, Chime, Stash, Acorns, Cashapp
- Swagbucks
- Survey Junkie
- InboxDollars
- Maxbounty
Education
- Skillshare
- Udemy
- Thinkific
- Teachable
- Grammarly
Food
- Instacart
- Doordash
- Sunfood
- Thrive Market
- Organic Wholesale Club
Business & Marketing
Travel
- ShareAsale
- Booking
- TripAdvisor
- Agoda
- Air BnB
Parenting
- Amazon Associates
- Care
- Positive Parenting Solutions
- OurFamilyWizard
- Urban Sitter
Health
- Thrive Market
- Fitbit
- Healthy Wage
- Plus CBD
- The Vitamin Shoppe
If you don’t see a category that you’re interested in, you can mention it to us in the comments and we can recommend some other ones to you for sure.
What do I need to know before I join a program?
Here are some things you should consider before joining a program.
- Avoid Scams
There are always bad guys in every industry who help to paint a bad picture of things. Remember the golden rule, if it sounds too good to be true then it’s not meant for you, Run!. We already provided the list so this is for you to keep in mind and don’t get carried away on your journey.
- How do I know if a company is legit?
Check to make sure that their website is secure and they are not asking you for money to join the program. Do a lot of research and see how long they’ve been around and what others have to say about them.
Don’t get scared though, It can be an exciting journey for you and a new business opportunity, and you don’t have to do it full-time, it can be your side income.
You need to be able to get the answer to these questions to be on the safest side.
- Is the affiliate program suitable for my audience? – choose your audience and decide who you will help.
- How much can I make money promoting this product?
- Do I trust the source of the products that I am recommending?
- Is this product something people are looking for, are people buying this?
- How does their tracking system work? – When someone clicks on my link, how long will that person have to make a purchase that will give me a commission.
- Do you get tools to track sales?
- Do they provide resources for you to promote their products/Services?
- Does a cost come with signing up for the affiliate program?
- What are the payment methods that they use?
- How often do I get paid?
- Is it allowed in your region/country?
How Do I get Accepted into the affiliate program?
Read the requirements and make sure that you meet them.
How long does it take before I know if I am approved or not?
It can take anywhere from a few hours to weeks. It really depends on the program you sign up for. Most of the ones we’ve joined was immediate.
What if I was not approved?
They most likely will give you the reason why you were not accepted. If they do that you can work on meeting their requirements and try another time, or you can try another affiliate program. Every company won’t accept all affiliates for different reasons, so don’t be sad.
Let’s stay positive and say that you read all the requirements and you met them and you get approved.
Now that I'm approved, how do I make my first earnings?
To make your first earnings you have to know these four things first.
1. Focus on giving value
To achieve real success is more than just putting your links all over the place. You have to really have the right attitude and patience.
It requires time and good content, giving people the solution to their problems and helping them to make that final decision. Don’t just think about selling, selling, selling. You have to truly help and that’s how you become successful at it.
If you fail to deliver and let your visitors trust you and believe that you are giving them value, then absolutely they won’t return nor will they purchase whatever you recommended to them.
2. Don’t rush, it takes time
There hasn’t been any proven shortcut to real success, not fake success, scams or schemes, real success takes time. Everyone will have a different story, yes some may be similar but avoid comparing your success to others’ too much.
3. Build an Email List
Whether you have your website or not you need to build an email list. You can use ConvertKit to build your email list, they have a free version as well. This is what some experts had to say about the importance of an email list.
Neil Patel, Co-Founder of KISSmetrics, CrazyEgg, and QuickSprout
“Out of all the channels I tested as a marketer, email continually outperforms most of them. Not only does it have a high conversion rate, but as you build up your list you can continually monetize it by pitching multiple products.
Just look at eCommerce sites like Amazon, one way they get you to continually buy more products from them is by emailing you offers on a regular basis.
And if you aren’t selling any products, you should still collect emails so you can get people back to your site on a continual basis. For example, if you have a blog, every time you publish a new post, you can notify your list, which will help increase repeat traffic.”
Source: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/importance-building-email-list/
Ramsay Taplin, Founder of The Blog Tyrant
“Two words: protection and promotion. Protection: Google is constantly changing its algorithm and, sometimes, you can end up with a penalty without even knowing what you’ve done wrong. In that situation, your mailing list is the only real protection you have.
Even if all of my search rankings disappeared tomorrow, I’d still be able to promote my blog to tens of thousands of people via email.
Promotion: Nothing gets engagement like email. Twitter, Facebook, etc. is almost irrelevant by comparison. If someone has given you their email address they are ready to engage with your content or products. And, best of all, they’ll help you promote it so you can get more email subscribers.”
Source: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/importance-building-email-list/
4. It’s a business
Treat it like a business and spend time on it, if you only spend 2hrs per week you won’t get the knowledge and experience as fast as someone who spends hours every day trying to maximize their earning potential and building their business.
If you decide to use your website to promote your products then you will need to promote your website and drive traffic to it. You will choose one platform to start as your source of traffic, Pinterest is a proven good source of traffic to websites.
Conclusion
The process in a nutshell is to determine a method or way of promoting products (affiliate marketing), Research companies with great products/services and sign up as affiliates, Start helping people and give value, promote and make money.
Are you ready to get started?
