This resource page reveals some essential marketing tools for affiliate marketing that have helped me personally to build profitable affiliate websites. These tools are indispensable not only for me but for many other successful affiliate marketers as well.
I am sure these tools will also help YOU build successful affiliate marketing campaigns and build a successful residual income business.
Are you new to affiliate marketing and want to start your affiliate marketing business FOR FREE? If yes, I have a perfect FREE Starter Package for you!
Using the right tools is crucial when it comes to building a profitable online business with affiliate marketing. We are convinced that he following tools will help you achieve success faster and more efficiently.
This blog contains affiliate links. For more infos please visit our disclosure page.
Are you running on a tight budget?
Some of you might be on a tight budget, especially at the beginning of your online business journey.
Some of you have even been ripped off by some marketing gurus who sold you overprized courses, which in the end didn’t help you achieve your online goals but only left you with empty pockets. I experienced all kinds of stuff before I made money online and know the trouble that comes with it.
Therefore I try to use FREE TOOLS, and if they prove to be good, I upgrade to get the full features. Thus being said, sometimes it is necessary to invest a bit of money to make money. Our FREE Starter PACKAGE is the perfect fit for you to try things out!
I like what Roy T. Bennett said:
“There is no more profitable investment than investing in yourself.”
My recommendations are focused on a minimal budget.
I also recommend that you document all your expenditures to get a clear picture of your monthly costs.
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4 Most Essential Tools for Affiliate Marketing
These are the 4 main things you need to get started with affiliate marketing:
- A Website for you to connect buyers to sellers
- Some Training and Help to keep you on the right track
- A Keyword Research Tool for you to write SEO friendly content
- Affiliate Networks with various affiliate products for you to promote & make money!
1. Website & Hosting: SiteRubix
1. Website & Hosting: SiteRubix
SiteRubix offers website hosting and website building services.
With SiteRubix you can build your own WordPress website in a couple of minutes with just a few clicks. No coding is required from your part.
Despite of many other hosting services on the market I recommend SiteRubix because of 2 main reasons:
- Their Support Team is excellent and helps you immediately to solve your technical problems.
- SiteRubix offers several very useful tools for FREE to help optimize your website.
Some of these tools are SiteSpeed, SiteSSL, and SiteProtection. The purpose of theses tools is to speed up your site, secure your site and protect your site against spam.
My expenses for domain & hosting:
1 domain of your own costs between $ 13,99 and $ 15,99/year (you get 2 FREE subdomains with SiteRubix)
To create stunning looking websites without coding knowledge I recommend the installation of the FREE page builder ELEMENTOR which is a free plugin. Elementor makes website building easy. Try it out!
2. Training & Help: Wealthy Affiliate
2. Training & Help: Wealthy Affiliate
When you start your journey with affiliate marketing, you need proper guidance and training to succeed and make money online.
Wealthy Affiliate is the platform that taught me everything from scratch when I started looking for ways to generate passive income online.
You can benefit from 4 pillars that Wealthy Affiliate provides:
- Easy to follow Step-by-step Training with videos and tasks to follow
- Useful Tools like Website Builder, Website Management, Keyword Research Tool, etc.
- Technical Support from Wealthy Affiliate Support Team
- Help & Support from the founders of WA and the entire Community with thousands of helpful and friendly online entrepreneurs from all over the world
It’s my pleasure to recommend this powerful and helpful platform to you now, because it will also help YOU start your own successful online business.
My expenses for Wealthy Affiliate training:
I am a Premium Member of Wealthy Affiliate which costs US$ 49,–/month or US$ 359,–/year.
(You can start the FREE Membership and use the FREE resources!)
Jaaxy is a Premium Keyword Research Tool developed by the Co-founders of Wealthy Affiliate.
With the Wealthy Affiliate Membership a “Lite Version” of Jaaxy is included which is great for beginners who cannot spend much money on tools.
Jaaxy Premium Version has a bit more functions and is a powerful tool for the more advanced marketers. 30 searches are completely free for you to check it out.
Expenses for Jaaxy:
US$ 199,–/year or US$ 19,–/months or FREE Lite Version included in Wealthy Affiliate Membership!
Jaaxy is focused on English keywords. It does not work that well with other languages. If you want to build a multi-lingual site or a site in a different language, I do recommend KW-Finder. Many additional tools are included (SERPchecker, SERPwatcher, LinkMiner, SiteProfiler.) I am a Premium Member of KWFinder and am very happy with it.
You can try KWFinder 10 days completely FREE – no payment info required!
My expenses for KWFinder Premium Membership:
€ 29,90/month for yearly payment = € 358,80
10 days FREE use
4. Affiliate Networks/Programs:
4. Affiliate Networks/Programs:
Affiliate Programs are the platforms where you find articles you can promote on your website. There are countless Affiliate Programs out there for every article you can imagine.
You find these programs by simply typing into Google search “affiliate program for x – product”. The programs are free to join. Many times, however, they would like you to have a website set up already when you apply to join as an affiliate.
The main affiliate networks and programs out there are:
Essential WordPress Tools
5. WordPress Theme: GeneratePress or Astra
5. WordPress Theme: GeneratePress or Astra
GeneratePress or Astra are two lightweight and well-coded WordPress Themes that focus on speed, which is necessary for Google rankings. They offer easy tools to create stunning websites for every purpose. GeneratePress and Astra work perfectly together with Elementor page builder.
Themes are the foundations of your WordPress Blog. Both Themes offer a limited free version. In free versions, often, the colors or layouts are a bit restricted. Therefore I do recommend a premium theme.
However, you can download the free plugin of both Themes to try them out.
Expenses for GeneratePress Premium Membership:
US$ 49,95/first year, 40% discount for following years = US$ 30,–/year
As I had bought a lifetime membership I don’t pay anything for the theme.
6. Email Service Provider: ConvertKit
6. Email Service Provider: ConvertKit
An Email Service Provider is a tool that helps you to
- build an email list
- communicate with your website audience
- market your products in the form of emails to your audience
ConvertKit is a little bit more expensive than GetResponse, but it has better automation tools, is easier to use, is GDPR-compliant, and the main reason: It is a tag-based autoresponder. GetResponse and MailChimp do not provide this crucial tool.
With tags, you can segment your subscribers easier, and subscribers that enter your email list two times (maybe on different sign-up-forms or lists) will only be counted once.
The more subscribers you have, the more you usually pay. ConvertKit helps you keep the fees down because they only charge for your subscribers once, whereas GetResponse and MailChimp count the same subscriber two or three times if they are on different lists.
Using ConvertKit from the beginning is helping you save money, time and nerves in the long run.
Transferring email-lists from one autoresponder to another if you are not happy is always a lot of work. You are better off taking a first-class autoresponder in the first place.
My expenses for ConvertKit:
US$ 29,90/month if you have less than 1 K subscribers
7. Page Builder: Elementor
7. Page Builder: Elementor
Elementor is a lightweight WYSIWYG Page Builder which helps you create stunning websites that rank well. It’s easy to use. You see the outcome of your web design instantly.
Elementor comes with excellent, helpful elements. The team behind it does a great job in continuously expanding the functions, thus catapulting it to the best page builder on the market:
- pre-built landing-pages
- pre-built templates
- pre-built pop-ups
- contact-forms
- funnel-building and much more
When using Elementor, you don’t need to install many other plugins (like e.g. Contact Form 7), which might slow down your website or cause errors (which ends in Google penalties). In Elementor PRO, everything is included.
There is also a FREE version of Elementor with reduced options. If you are on a tight budget, you can always upgrade later.
My expenses for Elementor:
US$ 149,29/year for 100 websites (US$ 49,90/year for 1 website)
8. Plugin: Pretty Links or ConvertLink
8. Plugin: Pretty Links or ConvertLink
Pretty Links is a WordPress plugin that enables you to shorten and customize any URL (especially affiliate links) using your domain name.
You can create clean and short links with Pretty Links and track each hit on your URL, showing you where the hit came from.
It saves time because you can manage all links from one place.
This plugin is GDPR compliant.
Link-Shorteners like Bitly work on a different platform and cannot be integrated as a plugin in your WordPress website.
Pretty Links plugin is FREE to use.
Convertlink is also a link-shortener Plugin for WordPress like Pretty Links but it is especially for the advanced affiliate marketer who wants more functions and is willing to pay for it because it’s not free.
It includes advanced conversion tools like bounce pages, exit popups, scarcity timer, social proof, convert bubbles, countdown timer etc.
This plugin is very convenient for funnel marketing.
Essential Marketing Tools
9. Plugin: The SEO Framework or Yoast SEO
9. Plugin: The SEO Framework or Yoast SEO
While Yoast is a well-known SEO-Plugin for beginners who want to learn how to get their blog posts rank better in search engines, I do recommend to use The SEO Framework Plugin instead.
The SEO Framework is less bloated (better for site speed), has a free version, is ads-free and easier to use. It avoids unnecessary alerts.
I switched from Yoast to The SEO Framework and have seen significant changes in the performance of my websites.
10. Plugin: Kraken.io
10. Plugin: Kraken.io
Kraken.io allows you to compress images before uploading them to your website. Small image sizes are important for the loading speed of your website, as this is a ranking factor for Google. Nobody wants to surf on a slow website.
The basic version of the plugin is free and works well. The paid version with more advanced options is included in the Wealthy Affiliate Membership. Therefore I do not pay for this tool.
11. Plugin: Q2W3 Fixed Widget
11. Plugin: Q2W3 Fixed Widget
Q2W3 Fixed Widget Plugin can fix any widget on the sidebar so it will “stick” there while you scroll down the page.
In this way, you can capture visitors’ attention to the things you want, which leads to more conversions (e.g. Banners, Opt-in forms, etc.). This Plugin is free.
Essential Organization Tools
12. Keyword Storage: KeePassX
12. Keyword Storage: KeePassX
Very important:
When you sign up for different tools, please store your keywords somewhere safe.
It saves you time and nerves when you have instant access to your keywords. Nothing is more annoying than searching for keywords or applying for a new one in the middle of your work if you can’t remember them.
Choose safe keywords (upper + lower case, at least 10 digits long, and don’t use your birthdate). Choose different keywords every time you sign up for a program.
KeePassX is a free, open-source keyword manager. You can have the program with the keywords completely stored off-line on a stick or on your computer. This is nowadays safer than storing them in a cloud-based keyword manager.
KeePassX works on all platforms.
Other Essential Online Tools
13. Grammarly
13. Grammarly
Grammarly is a writing assistant tool that helps you compose bold, clear, mistake-free writing. From grammar and spelling to style and tone, Grammarly enables you to eliminate errors and find the perfect words to express yourself. Anyone can be a great writer with the help of this tool.
The Basic Version of Grammarly is FREE to use. After using the free version of Grammarly for some time, I upgraded to the Premium Version and am glad I did.
My expenses for Grammarly:
US$ 139,95/year
14. Canva
14. Canva
15. Jing
15. Jing
Jing is a free screen-capture tool that allows you to take shareable screenshots and apply frames, borders, and text to the screenshots.
Shareable means that Jing gives you a unique URL for every screenshot you take, which enables you to share it with others. You simply copy and paste the URL and forward it.
Jing is a free tool and available on MAC and Windows.
16. Bitly
16. Bitly
Bitly is a Free link shortener that allows you to customize and track your links when you want to post them outside of your website.
It is a very convenient tool for Social Media. A Chrome extension is available, which allows you to shorten the URL directly on the page.
17. Free Stock Images
17. Free Stock Images
To make your content more visually appealing and easier to read, you should place images within your text.
Please be aware that you must not just take any photo available on the net and place it on your website. This could cause lots of troubles because of copyright issues.
Several platforms offer you “Royalty-Free Images” to buy. Against a small fee, you can use these copyrighted photos.
Those of you who are on a tight budget and cannot pay for the rights to use these images should be looking for “Free Stock Images”. Free Stock Images come without any copyright issues and are available on the following sites:
18. Piktochart
18. Piktochart
Piktochart is an easy to use tool to create visually appealing infographics for your website content.
Infographics are an excellent way for you and your readers to share content, especially on Social Media.
A free version is available, which is enough for basic needs. You can always upgrade if you need more templates.
19. Upwork
19. Upwork
Upwork is a freelancing platform for online entrepreneurs and marketers to outsource all kinds of technical work to professionals who are specialists in different areas.
You can outsource content creation, logo design, programming, and much more. If you need to have your website translated, Upwork is a place to find bilingual people to do the job for you.
Outsourcing work gives you more time to do other necessary things. Upwork is not cheap. Try to find a “rising talent”. They offer an excellent job for less money.
If you need your work done for little money, Fiverr is the platform to go to. Many services are charged at $5,–. But be aware of copyright issues or plagiarism. If people work for so little money, chances are high that you do not receive “unique” content, which is what you are looking for.
My advice is to check their work if you hire people on that platform.
I personally outsourced translation work on Upwork and was happy with the outcome.
Essential Google Tools
Google plays a vital role when it comes to online marketing. It is the leading search engine in the world. If you want to get ranked with your website to attract visitors, you need to know what Google wants. If you master Google, there is no limit to your online business.
The following Google tools are FREE to use and help you market your business.
With one account you get access to all tools:
20. Google Analytics
20. Google Analytics
Google Analytics helps you to understand the visitor’s behavior and activities on your website.
It shows statistics of
- the time they spend on your site
- the source they come from
- the pages people visit
- the countries they are from
This information is vital for you because it helps you understand which part of your website performs well and which part needs optimization to make more money.
21. Google Search Console
21. Google Search Console
Google Search Console (Google Webmaster Tools) helps Google to analyze your website content and understand your site to index and rank it.
Google’s intention is to deliver the best content to people searching for answers to their questions in the search engine.
Google, therefore, ranks those contents and pages first that give the most accurate answer to people’s questions.
To help Google understand your website better and to get indexed faster, you can submit a Sitemap and ask Google to crawl your site. Google Search Console also shows errors on your site that you wouldn’t find otherwise.
Basically, Google Search Console helps Google understand your website and helps your site get indexed and ranked.
22. Google AdSense
22. Google AdSense
Google AdSense allows website owners to make money by letting Google put advertisements on your website.
Every time a visitor clicks on an advertisement, you receive a small amount of money (often only just a few cents).
This way of earning passive income is suitable for websites with a high amount of visitors. For beginner websites with little traffic, this way of making money does not really work well.
Also, when you apply for the program, Google first inspects your website for content and checks whether you have enough traffic before you are approved to participate.
It is advisable first to create a decent amount of content and generate organic traffic before applying for the program.
My expenditure/year
The following amount I spend on my online business:
Domain (US$ 13,99) + Hosting/Training at WA (US$ 359,–) + KW-Finder (US$ 120,– = early bird special price) + Theme GeneratePress (none, as I have paid once for a lifetime membership), Elementor Pro (US$ 150,–), ConvertKit (US$ 358,80)= US$ 1.001,79
Total amount: US$ 1.001,79/year which is US$ 2,74/day
Starting an affiliate marketing online business is definitely not very expensive. It’s even much cheaper than starting a traditional “brick and mortar” business or network marketing. Also the success rate of an online business is much higher than the traditional ones.
If you’re just starting out online, you can get started for FREE!
Below is my recommended package for you:
Recommended Starter Package
These are the four essential affiliate marketing tools that any beginner needs if he wants to start a successful business:
- A Website with hosting included
- Affiliate Marketing Training + Help
- Keyword research tools like Jaaxy or KWFinder
- Affiliate Networks
To start for FREE, you need:
- A FREE Subdomain Website (Siterubix)
- FREE Starter Membership at Wealthy Affiliate
- FREE Keyword Tool Jaaxy provided by Wealthy Affiliate Membership
- Affiliate Programs for you to promote affiliate products/articles
READY to start the free Wealthy Affiliate membership?
Grab your Wealthy Affiliate FREE Membership now!
I do recommend this platform whole-heartedly because the training of Wealthy Affiliate guided and helped me to create successful affiliate websites that permanently generate passive income for me.
What Wealthy Affiliate can do for me, it can also do for YOU!
