Affiliate Marketing Without Social Media – Do You Really Need It?

Last Updated on 2nd April 2024

Wondering if you can do affiliate marketing without social media?

The answer is yes! You do not need to use social media or build a following to have success as an affiliate.

In fact, there are tons of successful affiliates out there who do not use social media at all to make affiliate sales or generate traffic.

Here I’m going to tell you about 5 ways you can become a successful affiliate without using social media platforms.

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Why Do Affiliate Marketing Without Social Media?

There are several reasons why people don’t want to use social media for affiliate marketing. At the point of writing this article, I am one of those people.

That’s not so say that I might use it in the future, but so far in my 9-year career as an affiliate marketer I have avoided using social media platforms as a primary way to make affiliate commissions or drive traffic.

Yes, I have dabbled with a few social media platforms in the past, but I don’t like them. They just don’t suit my personality.

Still, I have gone on to become a 6-figure affiliate without using social media. So, if I can do it, you can do it too.

Here are a few of the reasons why I have avoided using social media for affiliate marketing:

Most Social Channels Are Not Passive

For me, passive income has always been a primary focus for building a business online.

Most social channels are not passive. They rely on you putting out multiple content pieces every single day, and actively engaging with others.

For example, a Twitter tweet now lasts on average for 18 minutes. That sucks in my book as I do not want to be tied to Twitter all day in order to make sales.

Facebook is a bit better with the average social media post lasting about 3-5 hours. But still, that means you’re still going to need to post content at a minimum of 2-3 per day, every day if you hope to make consistent sales.

Other platforms like LinkedIn are a bit better with an average exposure time of around 48hrs. Still, you compare this to a blog post, which lasts forever, and you can start to see the huge potential of blogging.

The only social platform I have come across so far that can bring you passive traffic is Pinterest. This is because Pinterest also operates in the same way that a search engine does.

That’s great, however, the Pinterest demographic is somewhat limited. you can make great money on this platform, but only if your products appeal to one of the main Pinterest categories.

Social Media Is Not Anonymous

Many people what to start affiliate marketing anonymously for various reasons. While there are some shady characters online doing this, others have very legit reasons for remaining anonymous in their business.

This is how I got started back in 2013. At that time, I was running a conventional business, and I didn’t want my online affiliate business to conflict with that.

Many new affiliates find themselves in a similar situation, or they work with a company that tries to restrict them from starting a business on the side.

So, if you want to do affiliate marketing anonymously for these reasons, then you can avoid social media, and use one of the alternative methods I have listed below.

Some People Just Don’t Like Using Social Media

While many people love social media, there are also loads of people out there who hate it.

If you’re one of those people in the second camp, don’t worry. You can still start a successful online business and completely avoid social media.

How To Do Affiliate Marketing Without Building a Social Media Following

Here are 6 ways you can do affiliate marketing without social media.

Some may argue that number 6 (YouTube) is a social platform, while others will say it’s a search engine.

The truth though, is that it’s both.

However, I’ve included it in this option for several important reasons. Please see below.

Regardless of which option you choose to drive traffic, the most effective way to convert visitors into customers is to use an affiliate funnel to capture email addresses and promote offers.

You can get 5 of my done-for-you affiliate funnel templates for free below. These funnels are set up using the Systeme.io marketing platform, so you can use my templates for free, even if you are using a free lifetime Systeme.io account.

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Get traffic organically With SEO (Blogging)

One of the best ways to get started is by creating an affiliate website that will attract visitors through free, organic traffic.

Through publishing articles on your site (a.k.a blogging), you can start to rank in Google search results for specific keywords that people are searching for. And it doesn’t just stop at Google. Other if your content is well optimized, then other search engines like Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo will also rank your content and send you traffic.

Once you have attracted visitors to your site, you can then monetize through affiliate programs relevant to your niche simply by placing affiliate links in your content.

While it does take some time and consistent effort in the early days of building an affiliate site, one huge benefit is the passive nature of this business model.

Once your content is ranking on page one of the search engines, your content has the potential to bring you consistent traffic for months or even years to come.

If you need to, then you can also do blogging anonymously by creating a persona for your site. While this still works to a certain extent, it is important to know that it can be harder to scale your site in the long term if you are using a fake persona.

Another alternative if you want to stay anonymous is you can hire a writer who is already an expert in your niche, and make an arrangement with them to also be the face of the website. A lot of successful affiliates do this if they are in a niche that requires expert knowledge that they don’t have themselves.

Use Paid Ads

Using paid ads like Google or Facebook ads is an effective way to sell affiliate products. Platforms like these allow you to create campaigns that target specific audiences based on their interests.

You don’t have to stick to Google or Facebook ads. You can choose from a variety of ad networks to partner with.

Using paid advertising is definitely one of the fastest ways to make money as an affiliate, provided you know what you are doing.

On the downside, this method, of course, requires a budget of at least a few hundred, but preferably a few thousand dollars to invest in ads to get started.

If you jump into paid ads for affiliate marketing without knowing what you are doing, then you can quickly lose a lot of money, so be careful.

If this method appeals to you, then I recommend taking a course in paid ads specifically designed for the affiliate marketer. Paid ads are not my thing, but from my research, the Commission Hero method looks to be one of the best-paid ad courses out there for affiliates.

Use Solo Ads

Solo ads are another great way to drive traffic to affiliate offers without using social media.

To drive traffic using solo ads, all you need is a landing page, a free lead magnet, a product to promote, and an email autoresponder.

On your landing page, you will offer a free lead magnet such as an eBook, guide, checklist, or free video training. you will offer this in exchange for a visitor’s email address.

Once your visitor submits their email and downloads your lead magnet, they are automatically subscribed to your email list hosted in your autoresponder.

From here, your autoresponder will begin sending your new subscriber automated emails to pitch them products they may be interested in.

Once you have the above set up, you can then approach a solo ad vendor and pay for a campaign.

A solo ad vendor is basically someone in your niche who has a large, responsive email list. They will email your landing page to their list, recommending that their subscribers download your free lead magnet. They will do this for a fee.

The solo ad seller will usually give you several price options depending on how many of their subscribers you would like your landing page mailed to.

The benefit here is that you get to build an email list quickly while making sales. If you don’t make sales right away, then your new subscribers will start to receive your automated emails, which will also pitch them affiliate products later on.

Tip: If you are offering an eBook or some kind of guide as a lead magnet, then be sure to also include your affiliate links in your guide.

Use Native Ads

Native ads are advertisements that look like regular content on a website. They are usually displayed at the bottom of a page, next to an article or blog post.

This type of ad blends in with the content on the page. Instead of being a separate ad, it looks like a preview of an article or post. Many users don’t notice the difference, so they’re highly effective.

The idea behind native advertising is that it looks like regular content, so users will click through to the advertiser’s site just like they would if they were reading a normal piece of content.

This means you can use native ads to drive traffic to other websites, including your own, or send them directly to an affiliate offer.

The key to successful native ads is being able to choose pictures that are highly enticing for website visitors to click on, along with being able to write catchy and thought-provoking headlines.

Once the visitor clicks your native ad, you can send them directly to an affiliate offer, or to a landing page where you can collect their email address in exchange for a free gift (your lead magnet).

While you may make a few more sales on the front end by sending people directly to a product, you will make more money in the long run by building a list.

YouTube Channel

I almost didn’t add this one to the list because YouTube is somewhat of a social platform. However, it is also a search engine with tremendous power for affiliates to make money.

Here are the reasons I have added YouTube to this list:

• YouTube does not require constant interaction with your audience in order to grow your channel (although it does help)
• Your videos can rank in the YouTube search engine as well as on Google search results in pages, sending you traffic for months or even years to come
• You can make money anonymously on YouTube as an affiliate by running a faceless YouTube channel

If you want to start making money from home, then YouTube is one of the best places to start. It has millions of users who watch videos every day on almost any topic you can think of.

By creating videos like product reviews (just one example), uploading them to YouTube, adding your affiliate link in the video description, and inviting people to click your affiliate links, you can make a lot of money on this platform as an affiliate.

If you like the idea of starting a faceless YouTube channel, then check out this interesting video below by super affiliate, Spencer Mecham.

Spencer is a 7-figure affiliate who has had massive success online. You can check out his free training here. Spencer also has a full course on affiliate marketing here where he teaches everything he knows about making money online.

Final Thoughts

It is absolutely possible to build a highly successful business earning affiliate commissions without using social media, or building a following.

In fact, this is exactly how I got started. The method I used, and still use today is blogging. I love it because it allows me to earn passive income through content that has the potential to send me traffic for years.

If you want to get started quickly as an affiliate, check out this free training here.