Do you like a tether-free life where you can earn money without being in the rigid constructs of an office? You may have seen many people speak about becoming an affiliate marketer and earning money even while they sleep. Does that sound like a dream job?

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Well, the good news is that you can have that life too by becoming an affiliate marketer. An affiliate marketer is someone who recommends products from a certain seller and gets paid in a percentage of the revenue made by the seller when someone uses their recommendation to make a purchase.  

Affiliate marketing is a new type of marketing that is growing at a rapid pace. The affiliate marketing sector is worth USD 12 billion, and the spending on affiliate marketing is bound to grow by 10% in the next few years. This presents a wonderful opportunity for those who would like to create an alternate career as an affiliate marketer.  

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Becoming an affiliate marketer is an exciting career choice. Here are some of the reasons to become an affiliate marketer:

Top Reasons to Become an Affiliate Marketer

1. Easy to Start

An affiliate marketing business is extremely easy to start. Here is how you can go about it. 

The first step is to choose the niche you will be catering to. If you have a particular area of interest, then you can use that. Or you can pick an area that you feel the most comfortable talking about. It is completely up to you. 

The next step is to choose the medium for your affiliate marketing. You can either create a website or start a YouTube channel or a social media page. You can also do all three. 

Once you have made your choice, it is time to set up the website or profile. 

Now, it is time to start creating helpful content. 

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The ease with which you can start your career in affiliate marketing is an answer to the question of why become an affiliate marketer?  

2. Little to No Investment

As an affiliate marketer, you are simply recommending products to others. You are not creating products. The only money you need to spend will be to set up your website if you choose to buy a paid website. You can even host your affiliate marketing site on a free platform such as WordPress. If you are someone who is not very good at the technicalities of setting up a website, then you can hire someone to do it for you for a small fee. 

Low investment is one of the most popular reasons to become an affiliate marketer.  

3. Addresses a Current Need

What do you do when you need to purchase a product but are unsure about how to select one that serves your needs best? You would go online and do an internet search which will lead you to various review sites and product buying guides. Many of them have direct purchase links to the product they recommend.

Naturally, you would click on the product link to buy the product that best suits your needs. This is an everyday scenario faced by millions of people online. The simple act of clicking on the product link on the page to make the purchase is enough for the affiliate marketer to earn a commission.

When someone shops online, they do not have a shop assistant near them to clear their doubts. This is where the affiliate marketers step in. The sheer fact that more and more people are now shopping online is another reason to become an affiliate marketer. 

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4. Unending List of Products

Almost anything that can be bought has an affiliate marketing program. There will be no dearth of products for you to choose from. Moreover, new products are being added to the online marketing websites regularly. 

There is absolutely no chance that you will ever run out of products to write about. If you ever get bored of writing about one particular type of product, you can easily switch to another one. 

When you become an affiliate marketer, you don’t have to enter a contract that says you have to market only certain products. You have complete control over which products to market. 

By switching things up and changing the products from time to time, you also ensure that you do not suffer from creative fatigue.

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5. Low Barrier of Entry

When you apply for any job, there are some minimum educational qualifications and work experience that are needed for you to land the job, especially now, when the job market has become highly competitive. 

One of the reasons to become an affiliate marketer is the low barrier of entry. You do not need any specific degree or work experience. All you need is a laptop or smartphone to create and edit content and the basic skills necessary to maintain the website or profile and upload your content. 

You don’t even have to appear for an interview. In short, anyone can become an affiliate marketer with ease.   

6. Be Your Own Boss

When you work in any organisation, there is someone above you to whom you should report. Your boss will monitor your performance and assign tasks to you. Even with a considerate and reasonable boss, working under someone can still feel suffocating. 

As an affiliate marketer, you are your own boss. You decide your working hours. You can even choose where you work from and what you are working on. You have complete freedom to choose the kind of products you want to market and change it as per your wish. 

This level of freedom is hard to come by in any other job. If someone ever asks you why become an affiliate marketer? Then, telling them that you can be your own boss is the best way to convince them.

7. Have a Healthy Work-Life Balance

With a traditional office job, you mostly have to ensure that you work a minimum of 9 hours a day. Then, there is the time spent commuting to and from the office. 

The work stress and long hours away from home start to impact your family life. You start to feel as if you are not able to spend as much time with your family as you would like. It can lead to tension and other issues at home.    

As an affiliate marketer, you choose how long to work, when to work and where to work. Most affiliate marketers work from home. You can be present for your family while also working to ensure that they have a financially safe and secure life. The work-life balance that becoming an affiliate marketer can offer you is truly unmatched by that of any other profession.    

8. Can Be a Side Gig

There are two ways to approach being an affiliate marketer. You can either do this full-time or part-time. If you currently have a well-paying job and you are happy with it, but you just need a way to make some extra cash, then you may consider becoming a part-time affiliate marketer.   

As with any other job, there is a time at the beginning where you are figuring things out about being an affiliate marketer and gaining readers or followers. You may not earn enough at this stage. It is the beginning stage where you set things up for a strong future. 

Having a steady job can take away a lot of financial stress at this stage and actually make the process more enjoyable. Once you have established yourself and you are earning enough from affiliate marketing, you can consider quitting your regular job if that’s what you want to do. You can also continue doing both together.  

9. Generate Passive Income

With most jobs, you get paid when you work. You have to be actually present at work to earn. Once you have established your affiliate marketing business, you will start to generate passive income. 

You will earn money on products that you recommended months ago. Since your profile and website can be viewed by people all over the world, you will also start to earn money while you sleep. It is definitely a good feeling to wake up and read a message that says that you made some money while you were sleeping.  

10. Earn a Considerable Income

The possibilities of earning with affiliate marketing are endless. Since you are not in a binding contract with any business, you can become an affiliate for multiple businesses.  

This way, even if the income from each affiliate site is low, the combined income can be significantly high. 

Considering that all you need a stable internet connection, there are no other deductions from your income. You can earn a handsome income by becoming an affiliate marketer. Among all the reasons to become an affiliate marketer, this one can surely help convince you.

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Bottom Line

If you had doubts on why become an affiliate marketer, then all the reasons to become an affiliate marketer mentioned above should have convinced you. Although educational qualifications are not mandatory for the job, a course on Digital Marketing and Communications from a reputed institute such as MICA from upGrad can surely boost your chances of becoming successful and earning more.  

If you wish to explore and become an expert in Digital Marketing, check out MICA and upGrad’s Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing and Communication. Become an expert in social media marketing, content marketing, branding, marketing analysis, and PR.