My pursuit of higher education ended the day I fell for an Instagram scam. There was this one creator whose posts about earning money online kept showing up in my feed. Every other post I saw was hers, and it wore me down until I finally gave in. Here’s what happened next…
Instead of spending $20,000 on a master’s degree in digital marketing, I spent a tenth of that on a built-for-you service and launched my affiliate marketing business with absolutely no experience or education in digital marketing.
Turns out, it wasn’t a scam. Affiliate marketing is a very real field of digital marketing that has existed for a long time.
Roughly 8 out of 10 brands run affiliate programs, according to research by Rakuten, one of the world’s leading internet services companies and shopping rewards portal.
Many publishers and content creators depend on affiliate income as a core revenue stream, and the average salary for an affiliate marketer is $56,141 annually, according to PayScale data from December 2025.
If you’ve ever thought you needed a degree to earn that kind of income or to feel prepared to enter a new career field, you’re not alone. This is what’s known as a limiting belief. It’s a belief that’s entirely in your head that keeps you from getting started and keeps you stuck.
The truth is there are only 3 things you need to get started with affiliate marketing:
- A phone or laptop to post content.
- A product to recommend.
- A willingness to put your voice out there.
And you don’t need to spend any money to get started with affiliate marketing. None of that “gotta spend money to make money” crap. There is a DIY path. I was willing to spend some money upfront to help speed up my journey, but it’s not strictly necessary.
Here are 3 simple steps you can take action on today to get started with affiliate marketing even if you have no experience:
Step 1: Pick a Niche
Don’t get caught up on the word ‘niche’ here. I’m just suggesting that you decide what product or service you feel comfortable recommending. That product or service will fall into a broader category of goods and services, which is your niche.
You’ve probably given recommendations or received them by word of mouth in the past. Think about the products or services that you already use and love. Are there any that you would feel comfortable recommending to your friends on Instagram? How about strangers?
You should pick something that solves a real problem for other people, and you genuinely love talking about it with anyone who will listen.
It helps if the product or service you choose is a part of an affiliate program that earns a high commission. This is called a high-ticket affiliate program. It helps, but again, it’s not required.
Step 2: Start Posting Content
You don’t need to be an expert in digital marketing at the beginning. Start messy; Start scared; Start uncomfortable. Just start!
Decide the kind of content you want to post. Do you know how to post reels on Instagram? Do you know how to make pins for Pinterest? What social media accounts do you already have and use? You decide the kind of content you want to post and where you want to voice your opinion.
While you are making this decision, think about the following questions:
- What problem(s) does the product/service I’m recommending solve?
- Whose problems does it solve?
- Are those people on this platform?
If I’m recommending a product in the gardening niche, then I’m not going to help many people by posting on LinkedIn, which is a social network for professionals. But if I’m recommending a service I used to help me write a killer resume, then posting on LinkedIn makes more sense.
I’ll give you an example from my own experience. My first affiliate product was a resource for tech professionals. I started posting content on Instagram. I struggled to find an audience on Instagram for that resource. Why? Because my people weren’t going to Instagram for tech resources. They were on LinkedIn, in Facebook groups, and on Substack.
There’s one more thing you need to do to begin affiliate marketing.
Step 3: Shift Your Mindset
You do not need a fancy marketing degree, a perfect aesthetic, or to know everything about affiliate marketing before you get started in this business. You need to get started and stick with it!
One of the biggest reasons people fail at affiliate marketing is that they stop too early. They expect fast results. If they don’t see fast results, they claim the model doesn’t work or fall back on those limiting beliefs to cushion their failure.
But the only way to truly fail as an affiliate marketer is to quit.
Many beginners go months before earning their first commission. Realistically, beginners can expect to earn between $0 and $1,000 per month during their first year with affiliate marketing, according to PostAffiliatePro.
But time in this business matters. PostAffiliatePro’s earnings breakdown shows the average monthly income range of super affiliates with 5+ years in business is $100k+. Of course, these are people who have reached a mastery level. Actual earnings will depend on several variables. But this shows you what’s possible.
I hope this post inspires you to take action and start your affiliate marketing journey today!
If you’re looking for a little boost to get you started, check out my Social Media Kickstart guide. It has the basics you need to launch your own affiliate marketing business, and it comes with 30 days of done-for-you content ideas.
Or, if you want to learn more about high-ticket affiliate programs or the built-for-you service that I used to supercharge my affiliate marketing business, sign up for their free live masterclass this Wednesday! It’s full of tips and strategies for beginners, and did I mention that it’s free? ; )
Need even more resources? Check out some of my other blog posts.
Cheers!