When I first started my journey as an online entrepreneur in Nigeria a few years ago, I was struggling to find a reliable source of online income. Having worked regular 9-5 jobs, I wanted more freedom and flexibility. That’s when I came across the concept of affiliate marketing. As someone based in Nigeria, I was curious – could affiliate marketing really work here and help me generate a stable online income? That marked the beginning of my research into the best paying affiliate programs in Nigeria.
In this article, I’ll share my learnings and experience of promoting different affiliate programs in Nigeria over the years, along with the top performing networks and merchants. I’ll outline specific steps you can take to get started with affiliate marketing in Nigeria and make money. By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of how this model works as well as actionable strategies to build your own successful affiliate business.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where an affiliate partner promotes products or services of merchants and earns a commission for every verifiable sale, registration, or action generated from their unique affiliate links.
Affiliate networks serve as intermediaries between merchants (also known as advertisers) and affiliates to track commission-able clicks, orders, registrations, or actions from referring web properties.
Some key aspects of affiliate marketing include:
- Affiliates promote products/services owned by merchants and get paid based on commissions for generating sales or approved actions.
- Affiliate networks host affiliate programs and track clicks, sales, leads and other metrics for payment of commissions.
- Affiliates can join multiple affiliate programs from different merchants in related or unrelated categories.
- Commission rates vary by program but are usually a percentage of the sale amount or a fixed fee per action/lead.
- Affiliate promotions can be done via websites, emails, social media, forums and other online properties owned by the affiliate.
Benefits of Getting Into Affiliate Marketing in Nigeria
There are several benefits that make affiliate marketing a viable choice for online entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Some of the key pros include:
No upfront costs: Unlike other online business models, affiliates don’t have to develop or hold inventory, pay for manufacturing, or cover other significant startup costs. The only requirement is a means to promote programs online.
Flexible schedule: Affiliate marketing allows you to build an online income working on your own schedule from anywhere. You aren’t tied down to regular working hours.
Revenue streams: Successful affiliates can earn income from multiple merchants and programs.
Growing industry: Affiliate marketing is a thriving global industry. As internet and ecommerce adoption accelerates in Nigeria, this field will experience more growth in the coming years.
Low risk: Affiliates don’t have to invest heavily or take on financial risks. The costs are just your time until the business becomes profitable.
For these reasons, affiliate marketing presents a very viable option to earn stable online income in Nigeria. Let’s explore the top programs further.
Best Affiliate Networks to Join in Nigeria
The largest and most popular affiliate networks in Nigeria include:
Clickbank
Clickbank is one of the oldest and biggest affiliate networks globally. It hosts thousands of digital products in categories like health, business, relationships etc. Standard commission rates are 50% with potential to earn up to 75%. They also provide tracking, optimization tools and payouts every 14 days which is ideal for African affiliates.
Amazon Associates
Amazonaffiliate program opens up the massive inventory of Amazon including books, consumer electronics, clothing and more. Standard commission rates are 4-10% with potential to earn repeats on customer purchases. Tracking and payouts are automated throughAmazon. Sub-Saharan African affiliates have been paid reliably for years.
CJ Affiliate by Conversant
Formerly Commission Junction, CJ is well suited for Nigerian affiliates promoting physical products. They have good merchant coverage across categories like fashion, consumer electronics, sports and more. Standard commission rates are 30-50% with payouts processed every month. Their affiliate tools are feature-rich.
Rakuten Marketing (LinkShare)
Rakuten offers access to brands across retail, travel, digital products and more. Commission rates average 10-15%. They provide tracking, custom links, reporting and analysis to help optimize campaigns. Affiliate support and cross-border payments are reliable on this network.
ShareASale
ShareASale opens access to thousands of international and homegrown merchants for Nigerian affiliates. They track sales of physical products ordered both within and outside Nigeria. Payouts are processed monthly with options suited for African countries. Commission rates range from 30-50% typically.
These are globally accessible networks with a strong Nigerian affiliate community. Carefully researching programs on them will lead to finding quality, high paying offers locally too.
Tactics to Succeed with Affiliate Marketing in Nigeria
Now that the key foundations are clear, here are some effective strategies to actually make money from affiliate marketing within Nigeria:
Choose Programs Wisely
Do extensive research on high paying programs with proven sales performance in your niche before promoting. Track affiliate reviews to spot commissions, approval rates and payment speed.
Build Niche Websites or Blogs
Focus your affiliate business around dedicated niche websites or blogs that attract quality traffic. Ranking high quality content is crucial for regular organic traffic and conversions over time.
Leverage Social Media
Leverage major social media platforms actively by posting engaging affiliate content and developing a following to market approved affiliate links to as they remain an important sales and traffic driver.
Develop Email List
Building an opt-in email list is important to promote affiliate offers through regular customized email newsletters to past visitors and subscribers for repeat purchases.
Create attractive, optimized product landing pages for your top affiliate offers with clear calls to action, high quality content and social proof to boost conversions from your referrals.
Be Patient & Consistent
Building a profitable affiliate business takes time, effort and consistency. Stick to a regular posting routine, test new campaigns and keep optimizing websites, ads, landing pages and more based on data to realize steady long term earnings.
Combining the tactical steps above with dedication, discipline and analytics-driven
Conclusion
Thanks for reading to the very end. I hope this article has helped you to choose the best Affiliate marketing company to get started with. With time, you will earn 6 figures income from Affilliate marketing.
