Is Affiliate Marketing Legit? The Reality Behind Making Money From Affiliate Maketing

In case you have been living under a rock, affiliate marketing involves promoting a company’s product or service and earning a commission for every sale you make. 

FYI, every time someone clicks your link to buy a service or product that you are promoting, you earn a commission. This is super legitimate and definitely not a scam. 

As someone who has been running successful affiliate marketing campaigns on two of my websites, I can tell you that if done right, you can earn a sustainable income over time. 

Moreover, it is absolutely legal but only if you comply with all relevant laws, policies, and regulations in your country. 

For instance, here are the official guidelines of the FTC on affiliate marketing. 

Also, this is an ethical way of earning a living – just ensure you are open about being an affiliate for the product while creating promotional content for the same. 

Plus, it is best to promote products and services that you actually believe in – I mean, how can you promote something you know won’t do people any good? It’s not ethical, and with time, your credibility will go down. 

So many websites are currently making money via affiliate marketing, including major names like NerdWallet, The Verge, New York Times, and more. 

But the real question that I am going to break down for an insightful analysis is something entirely different – is affiliate marketing legit?

Is Affiliate Marketing Legit?

Considering so many people have successfully used affiliate marketing to earn a living, the shortest answer is obviously YES!

TBH, there are several instances of people making good money from affiliate marketing as well. 

And on that note, here’s a list of people and their earnings from affiliate marketing (data published on Ahrefs in March, 2024). 

Having shared this data, let me make one thing very clear – affiliate marketing is not your get-rich-quickly method! 

While the process is very simple, it is not easy and can get challenging. Moreover, it takes lots of time and investment even before you earn your first dollar. 

Also, you need to understand that whatever you are doing in detail, with special focus on your SEO strategy. 

As a result, if you are ready to invest your energy, time, and money into running successful affiliate campaigns, then it is worth every penny you invest. 

Is Affiliate Marketing Legit? Scams To Watch Out For

While affiliate marketing isn’t a scam, like any other industry, it has its own share of scams and fraudulent activities. 

On that note, I have been able to identify three major scams that you need to watch out for:

1. Pay-To-Join Affiliate Marketing Programs

As the name suggests, some affiliate programs charge a fee for making people join. In that case, don’t pay to join. 

This is because legitimate affiliate programs like Amazon’s affiliate program are always free for anyone to join, since there’s no downside for merchants, considering you get paid only when the sale goes through.

2. Fake Courses, Training Programs, And Gurus:

The affiliate marketing landscape is crowded with fake coaches (and gurus) who sell courses on how to earn from affiliate programs. 

But the problem is, these people have no actual experience. In fact, they don’t earn from these programs but instead from selling courses to people like you. 

As a result, such training programs or courses are usually generic and underwhelming, failing to deliver any actual results. 

Based on my eight years of experience in the digital marketing industry, including affiliate marketing, I have done my best to highlight some of the top red flags that you need to watch out for in this context. 

How To Find The Right Course And Instructor For Affiliate Marketing?

Of course, you can learn it for free, but if you are bent on doing a course, then avoid all the red flags I mentioned above.

Also, here’s my checklist to find the right instructor and training program for learning how to do affiliate marketing. 

• Don’t overpromise. Instead, opt for realistic expectations. 
• Don’t fall for any pressure tactics. So, if there’s any urgency in the offer, then it should at least be legitimate. For instance, it is a class that can only have a certain number of students. 
• Opt for instructors who are ready to share helpful content for free. Also, the content should showcase the instructor’s expertise. 
• Opt for instructors with independent and real success stories that you can come across on socials and forums. Also, ensure that the instructor has some proof of their success. 

3. Dodgy, Scam, Or Low-Quality Products:

Of course, it is super tempting to promote a service or product simply because it gives high commissions. 

Having said that, it is important to understand that you will damage your credibility if you promote a low-quality product. Moreover, things can get worse if the product is a scam and doesn’t even exist. 

For instance, MTTB (My Top Tier Business) was a product that multiple affiliate marketing professionals promoted to earn a high commission. 

In 2018, the parent company of MTTB, MOBE, was charged with fraud, halting the business. 

In this context, prominent faces associated with the affiliate marketing program were also charged, with MOBE eventually opting for a settlement. 

As a result, it is best to avoid promoting any bad product or service. 

How To Avoid Selling Anything Dodgy? 

So, here’s my quick checklist to help you out while you are selecting products and services for affiliate marketing. 

• Always start by checking if the program is legitimate and genuine. So, find out whether the company is actually legit, the people involved are real, and whether they are working with other real affiliates. Also, if you come across anyone who has been a part of the program, ask for reviews. 

• It is always safe to test the affiliate product. For starters, you should be using the product already, but it’s not uncommon for many affiliate marketing professionals not to use the product they are promoting. TBH, using a product you also promote helps build EEAT, which in turn is crucial for search traffic on your affiliate website. 

• Choose reputable and reliable affiliate networks since these networks help people curate products and services that are authentic. 

• Always make your audience a priority. The simplest thing you can do in this context is promote products that you use and, more importantly, believe in. 

• Trust your intuition. So, if something feels shady or off about a product or service, then do not promote the same. 

Is Affiliate Marketing Legit? Legit vs Scam:

Based on what I have discussed so far, here’s a table highlighting the differences between legit affiliate programs and scams at a glance. 

Realistic Earnings From Affiliate Marketing:

Remember that real growth takes a lot of time in the affiliate marketing industry. On that note, here’s what you can expect realistically in the first year. 

How To Start Affiliate Marketing?

Is affiliate marketing legit? Yep! So, now, let’s get the basics sorted!

1. Select Your Niche:

The niche becomes your primary focus area. For instance, while it is not really fun, you can make a website that is all about dishwashers or washing machines. 

Now, any ideal affiliate niche comes with four distinctive qualities:

• Affiliate programs with high commissions. 
• High potential for organic traffic. 
• Low competition. 
• Topics that interest you. 

2. Pick Your Platform:

While anyone can do affiliate marketing via any platform – TikTok or YouTube – I would suggest developing a website with your focus on SEO. 

Why? This is because the organic search traffic is consistent and passive – as a result, it is important for consistent organic traffic to translate to consistent clicks on the affiliate links. 

3. Find The Right Affiliate Programs For Joining:

As I was telling you, the easiest programs for affiliate marketing are Amazon Associates and Target’s big-box retailers.

Also, you can find popular networks for affiliate marketing online, such as ShareASale, Commission Junction, and AvantLink. 

Moreover, if you use any product that you believe in, then check whether it has any affiliate program. 

However, if it doesn’t, then reach out and find out whether the brand would be interested in exploring possibilities for affiliate marketing. 

4. Create High-Quality Helpful Content:

So, you are always aware of what content will work for your affiliate promotions, thanks to your comprehensive niche research. 

For instance, if you are building a website for washing machines, then you need content around “best washing machines,” “croma washing machine review,” and more. 

Just ensure that you are actually testing the product and not just duplicating content that already exists online. 

Also, in Google’s Helpful Content Guidelines, the search engine giant has explicitly stated that they are looking for helpful, people-first content. 

So ensure your content is transparent, helpful, and keeps your audience at the forefront.