How can you get started in affiliate marketing in 2020?

The lockdown has been in place for several months now. Unfortunately, many lives have been turned upside down, and uncertainty about where the next pay check will come from is rife. It is therefore unsurprising that many people are turning to the internet as an additional source of income.

2026 Update: What Has Changed in Affiliate Marketing Since I First Wrote This

I wrote this post back in 2020 and, honestly, the core principles still hold up. But a lot has shifted since then, and if I sent you off to read this without flagging the changes, I would not be doing my job properly. So here is what I would tell you differently if I were writing this from scratch today.

The biggest shift I have seen is around content and AI. Every affiliate marketer and their dog is now using AI writing tools to churn out product reviews at scale, which means the internet is absolutely drowning in thin, generic affiliate content. The good news for you is that this actually makes the bar for standing out lower in one sense - if you write with real experience, real opinions, and real specificity, you will cut through far more easily than you would have in 2020. Search engines have caught on too. Google's updates over the past couple of years have been brutal to sites that publish AI-generated reviews without genuine first-hand insight behind them. Write like a human who has actually used the product. That is not optional anymore.

Disclosure rules have also tightened up considerably. The FTC in the US and the ASA here in the UK have both made it very clear that burying a small disclaimer at the bottom of a post is not good enough. Your affiliate relationship needs to be obvious, upfront, and unmistakable. I know some people find this uncomfortable but I genuinely believe transparency builds trust, and trust is what makes people click your links repeatedly over time rather than just once.

Platform diversification is something I would push much harder now than I did in 2020. Building your entire affiliate income on one traffic source - say, SEO or Instagram - is a fragile strategy. I have watched too many people lose significant income overnight because of an algorithm change. In 2026, the smartest affiliates I know are building email lists as their primary asset, with social and search feeding into that list rather than replacing it.

Finally, the commission structures on some of the big affiliate networks have changed quite a bit since 2020. Amazon Associates cut their rates back then and things have continued to evolve across the board. Before you build a whole content strategy around promoting a particular product category, check the current commission rates carefully. Do not assume the numbers quoted in older posts, including parts of this one, still apply.

There are thousands of ways of making money online – all the way from being a small eBay trader making a few second-hand sales, to launching the next Amazon. One of the most common forms of generating an online income is through affiliate marketing. But what is affiliate marketing, and how do you get started with it? In this article, we are going to answer all the common questions you may have about affiliate marketing.

What is affiliate marketing?

The term "affiliate marketing" sounds complicated but is, in fact, very simple. Traditional businesses rely on the owner buying stock, or performing a service, then charging a fee to the customer. This model requires the owner to invest upfront capital (whether time or money) to have the resources and stock available to service the order. Many people do not have this capital available and do not want to involve external investors.

Affiliate marketing schemes, however, often have a very low barrier to entry. Companies that have a product or service for sale understand the costs of marketing their product. Web ads, billboards, TV ads, and print ads do not come cheap. Many companies, therefore, offer an affiliate scheme. Potential entrepreneurs effectively sign up as freelance salesmen. In the event of achieving a sale of the service or product, the company pays the salesman a commission. The commission will typically be in the range of 5%-30%, although it is not unheard of for some sectors to offer a whopping 50% commissions!

How does it work?

Very simple, you can start by looking for offers and registering on the company's website. Create an account and log into the portal.

Inside the portal will be a dashboard showing you the sales recently attributed to your account.

There will often be additional pages for configuring settings, withdrawing your earnings, and running more advanced reports.

The most important page is your affiliate links page. This page will contain links to the site that are specific to you. This personal link is how the site tracks that a sale is down to you. So always make sure you publish your personal links and do not share the generic website link.

Whenever someone clicks your personal links and buys something, you will earn your commission.

The retailer will then pay you. It is always worth checking the payment terms, and payment methods when signing up for an affiliate scheme. It is not uncommon for some payments to take several weeks if not months, to be paid. Some sites also restrict the countries that cash can be withdrawn to.

What are the advantages of affiliate marketing?

The key advantage of becoming an affiliate marketer is that you do not have to find large sums of capital investment. You often simply register, then it is up to you to find customers and collect your commission. You can avoid all the problems associated with setting up and running a traditional business such as:

• Cashflow – keeping enough cash available to buy stock and pay staff.
• Accounting and legal costs – balancing the books is not your problem.
• Product returns and customer complaints – these are typically handled by the main company.
• HR & Staff management – keeping staff happy is often a fulltime job in itself.

Of course, affiliate marketing is not a magic money tree. You have to work hard, but if you put the effort in, you will reap the rewards.

Who are the most prominent players in the market?

Online web affiliate schemes have been around for over twenty years. Since the dawn of the internet, marketers were thinking up smart ways to increase sales. Over that time, several big names have come to epitomise the term "affiliate marketing":

• Amazon Associates – This is probably the best-known affiliate scheme in the world. Everyone knows Amazon, so even if they do not understand what an affiliate is, they will have heard of it. While well known, remember you are restricted to the Amazon site products. Typical rates are around 5-15% depending on the product category.
• ShareASale Affiliates – ShareASale is a little different from Amazon. The ShareASale marketplace indexes thousands of merchants. This marketplace gives you a vast range of products and services to choose from by many different retailers.
• Clickbank – This is another marketplace that allows you to market products from a wide range of merchants.
• eBay, Shopify, etc. – Most big-name sites have an affiliate scheme tucked away somewhere. Just make sure you check the rates before you get too excited.

It is straightforward to sign-up with many affiliate schemes in the hope you will make some money. Do not fall into this trap. You are much likely to make money from one or two programmes that you put a lot of effort into than a dozen schemes that you give little attention.

How do I become an affiliate marketer? – the quick way

Many people rush in to become affiliate marketers. They will sign up to the site, all excited, and have lofty dreams of making millions. But what next? Where do you find all these wonderful customers that will spend big on your partner's site?

This is the point most people become unstuck. The whole reason companies offer an affiliate marketing scheme is to find people who have an extensive network of relevant connections they can promote the product to. This may be from a popular blog, a significant social media presence, or a professional network in the case of enterprise products. If you do not have this great following, your sales are unlikely to be very impressive.

But do not worry, there are many techniques for building a following for serious marketers.

What if I am serious about affiliate marketing?

For any business to succeed, it requires a plan. This does not mean hundreds of pages and presentations that you would need to convince a bank manager you had a viable business. It can be as simple as a one- or two-page document setting out your goals, intended strategy, and plan for execution.

But what is your plan? Without any experience or knowledge, you will struggle.

So, more about 3 top courses here is to sign up for a top training course. A training course will help you better understand the market, how to choose the right products and platform, and most importantly, the SEO techniques required to help make people visit your website containing the affiliate links.

With the proper training and knowledge, you are sure to succeed.

How much will I make as an affiliate marketer?

The amount you make as an affiliate marketer varies massively between product, industry, effort, and marketer's skill. Some people just make a few pounds of extra income a month, while others who are adequately trained, and devote their lives and work full time can make thousands of pounds a month.

Final thoughts

Becoming an affiliate marketer is a common choice for those starting in the world of e-commerce. The start-up costs are low, and the returns are attractive. To succeed as an affiliate marketer, you should get some proper training on the subject. The skills you will develop along with insider tips and knowledge will kickstart your affiliate marketing business. Remember, do not rush, perform some in-depth research before jumping in, and read reviews from other marketers on your chosen platform.

Related reading

• 3 Essential Marketing Practices for Increasing Your Blog Traffic
• Transform Your Marketing: Fresh Direct Mail Campaign Ideas You Haven’t Tried Yet
• Digital Marketing Trends To Be Aware Of in 2019
• 4 ways to manage your marketing data
• the best AI marketing tools

Related: what a genuine product review looks like

The short version: Starting in affiliate marketing in 2020 means picking a niche you understand, joining a handful of reputable affiliate programmes, and building content that solves real problems for your audience. Success comes from consistency and trust, not shortcuts, so focus on providing genuine value before you focus on commissions.

Frequently asked questions

How much money do I need to start affiliate marketing?

You can start with very little money, sometimes even free, if you use a blog or social media platform you already have. The main costs come later, such as hosting, email marketing tools, or paid promotion, once you want to scale up.

Which affiliate programmes are best for beginners?

Amazon Associates, ShareASale, and CJ Affiliate are popular starting points because they cover a wide range of products and have straightforward sign-up processes. Choose programmes that match your niche rather than picking based on commission rates alone.

How long does it take to earn money from affiliate marketing?

Most people see their first real results after three to six months of consistent content creation and audience building. It takes time to build trust and search visibility, so patience and steady effort matter more than quick tactics.

Do I need a website to do affiliate marketing?

A website helps a lot because it gives you a central place to build content and capture email subscribers, but it is not strictly required. Many marketers start with YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok and add a website once they have traction.