Making money like that with affiliate marketing is tempting, to say the least.

No wonder the affiliate industry is valued at all time high—$17 billion and it continues to grow.

In order to better understand this business and become an affiliate in your niche, it’s important to know how it works.

This article explains 3 main types of affiliate marketing: unattached affiliate marketing, related affiliate marketing, and involved affiliate marketing.

We explain which affiliate type is the most profitable, as well as what types of affiliate marketers are the most successful right now.

What are the types of affiliate marketing?

There are three major types of affiliate marketing that show how people earn money as an affiliate:

1. Unattached affiliate marketing is when you promote products or services without having any personal connection or expertise in the niche.

Unattached affiliates simply share information but are not involved in service or product on a personal level.

2. Related affiliate marketing is when you promote products or services that align with your audience’s interests or the theme of your social media channels or website.

In related affiliate marketing, an affiliate doesn’t necessarily personally use them.

For example, a fitness blogger can promote workout equipment they haven’t tried but know their audience would appreciate.

3. Involved affiliate marketing is when you promote belgium telemarketing products or services you’ve personally used and believe in.

This type of affiliate relationship builds trust and credibility with your audience.

Essentially, an involved affiliate is vouching for the service’s quality based on their own experience.

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Which affiliate marketing type should you choose?

There are pros and cons to every affiliate marketing method, so here’s a simple breakdown of what to expect:

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1. Unattached Affiliate Marketing

It’s the most basic pay-per-click affiliate marketing campaign where an affiliate doesn’t possess authority in the niche of things they promote.

As an affiliate, you essentially act as a neutral the customer-based cycle model advertiser, and you have no personal connection to the products or services you promote.

In unattached affiliate marketing, you typically rely on paid advertising. You’re not an expert in the niche, nor have you used the product yourself.

You’re simply the messenger, sharing information about a product or service with your audience in exchange for a commission if they make a purchase.

Pros:

  • Low barrier to entry: You can promote products in any niche, regardless of your expertise. Anyone with a social media platform and the buy view like audience can get into unattached affiliate marketing.
  • Wide range of services and products: You’re not limited to a specific niche, which gives you flexibility in what you promote.
  • Potential for high volume: With targeted advertising, you can reach a broad audience.

Cons:

  • Lower conversion rates: Building trust can be challenging without personal experience or expertise.
  • Competition: Many affiliates operate in this space, making it harder to stand out.
  • Dependence on advertising: You often rely heavily on paid advertising like Google AdWords or Facebook Ads to reach your audience.
  • Not a real business model: The problem with unattached affiliate marketing is that since you don’t build a relationship with the user, there’s really no business relationship. Rather, this type of affiliate marketing can be viewed as an income generating model that lacks long-lasting approach.
  • Targeted ad campaigns that drive traffic can get very expensive.

Example:

You run a general lifestyle blog and come across an ad for a new type of coffee maker.

You join the affiliate program and include a banner ad or link in your blog post, promoting the product to your readers.

If someone clicks on your link and buys the coffee maker, you earn a commission.

Who is best for:

Unattached affiliate marketing is ideal for those new to affiliate marketing or those who prefer a hands-off approach.

On the other hand, unattached affiliate marketing is not a lasting business model since without your personal involvement you act as a middle-man.

2. Related Affiliate Marketing

It’s when you have an online presence through a blog, a podcast, or social media and you share affiliate links to services and products that relate to your theme. However, that doesn’t mean you use them.

This affiliate model is based on how relevant the product is to your audience.

You may not have used the product yourself, but you understand its value proposition and how it fits into the broader context of your content.

Having a platform to share these affiliate links and not relying solely on targeted ads means you have a level of authority, even if it’s low, for people to trust you and make a purchase.