4-step “How to Create Affiliate Links” Guide – Beginner Friendly

You’re looking for how to create affiliate links for your next promotional campaign? Then stop browsing the Internet! Dynu In Media got a comprehensive guide for you here! Check it out for excellent tips and guides!

A Deep Introduction To Affiliate Links

Nothing is more straightforward than affiliate marketing. On one side, there’s a business with products or services to promote. On the other end, there’s a marketer with a large audience. They collaborate in an affiliate program, and shoot! Booming revenue!

But uh-uh, there’s big, big trouble here. Among hundreds of affiliate marketers running the promotion program, how can enterprises know from which source their current customers and traffic are coming?

And that’s when affiliate links come in handy.

What is an affiliate link?

An affiliate link is a special type of URL that helps advertisers track the source of their website traffic, sales, and leads. Tracking parameters (usually the affiliate username or ID) must be included in the URL to achieve that purpose. 

So, how to create affiliate links theoretically? It’s an easy cookie. An affiliate URL will consist of 2 main parts: the advertiser’s business domain and the affiliate’s ID/username. Specific steps and tools to create the URL will be covered later in this article.

You are wondering “What is an affiliate link sample?” A typical one would look like this: www.businessdomain.com/affiliateID.

Then how does it work?

How do affiliate links work?

When joining an affiliate program or network, affiliates will receive a URL created by Advertisers containing their identifier. An affiliate link is unique to each affiliate. 

Then, they share their own affiliate link on their own website, social media, email promotions, or any other marketing platform they own to reach potential customers. And for each customer who clicks on that link, the affiliate URL system will record the corresponding metrics and send them to advertisers (a.k.a business). These metrics can include: clicks, sales earned, reach, etc.

And depending on the agreement between the original Publishers and Advertisers, commissions for affiliates will be paid differently. It can be paid for the clicks they bring in (CPM), actual purchases (CPS), and many other methods.

Then, how much do affiliate links pay?  

According to PayScale, ~$51,000 is the average annual marketing passive income via affiliate links. In more detail, the top 10% of affiliate marketers may earn $71,000 and the bottom 10% earn $37,000.

So, How many types of affiliate links? How to create an affiliate link? Keep scrolling!

Affiliate Links Types

Before learning how to create affiliate links, you must determine the URL’s use. Because, for different purposes, the types of affiliate links will also change as follows.

1. Default or standard URL: Directs customers to advertisers’ main homepage/website to drive traffic.
2. Lead generation campaign URL: Direct customers to the landing page of the promotional campaign you are running to invite them to fill out an opt-in form.
3. Other URL (custom links): this URL will be customized for different purposes depending on the advertiser’s needs.

Now clear with the purpose? Then let’s hit the guide on how to make affiliate links, or how I set up an affiliate link with us.

“How to Create Affiliate Links” Guide – Beginner Friendly

As advertisers need to generate URLs for affiliate programs with thousands of publishers under their campaigns, many may wonder: “How to create affiliate links for influencers?” or “How to create affiliate links for free?”.

We’ve got your back! Right down here is the most basic 3-step guide on how to create affiliate links.

But first, there are 2 things you need to keep in mind:

1. The following steps are not a fixed 3-step one-size-fits-all. Each business or platform may implement a different process, so be flexible in the practical application!
2. You will need tracking software to record affiliate programs’ results and manage your campaigns. Hasoffers from TUNE is a suggestion from us!

Two short notices, but essential, correct? Now the guidelines on how to create an affiliate link are ready right below. Let’s start!

Step 1A: Add a new affiliate to your tracking platform

This is the first step on how to create affiliate accounts for new ones. When partnering with a new publisher, the advertiser must first add that partner to their tracking system. The software will then automatically generate the ID/username and URL link associated with that person.

It’s that simple, isn’t it? The simple step above also answers many people’s questions like “how to create Amazon affiliate link“, “how to create an affiliate link for my website”, or “how to make affiliate links on Shopify“. First, you fill out a registration form to have your name added to Amazon and Shopify‘s tracking systems. Later, the platform sends you a URL to promote and track your sales commission! Their mechanics are identical, guys!

Step 1B: Create a new marketing campaign

If you already have products and want to continue promoting them through publishers, Step 1A is hugely influential. How about creating links for a new marketing campaign? We’ve got your back, dear! Here’s how to create affiliate links for the question: How do I get free affiliate links?

E.g:

• First, create a new campaign on the management system and generate URLs for the products that apply to that particular campaign.
• Then insert a list of specific publishers who will run this promotion. Each will receive a campaign link with their ID to track the result. And all set!

Remember one thing about step 1:

If you do marketing across multiple media channels, ensure each platform has a unique URL. The more detailed the classification, the more information your business will have to evaluate the effectiveness of each channel in marketing!

You can do quick research on Google with keywords: how to create affiliate links on/for + [name of the platform]. For example,

• How to create affiliate links for YouTube
• How to create affiliate links on Pinterest
• How to create affiliate links on Instagram
• How to set up affiliate links on Instagram
• How to create affiliate links in WordPress
• How to create your own affiliate link for free 

Give it a try and see what you can learn!

Step 2: Design the URL link

In this step, you must select the destination for the affiliate link. It could be anything, from a website, social media, or an e-commerce store to a campaign landing page! They all depend on the advertiser’s preferences.

Furthermore, you must name the URL (which may correspond to the partner) and select the cookie tracking time of the link. It sounds unfamiliar, doesn’t it? Because URLs track users’ cookies for a limited time after clicking on an affiliate link. The potential customer’s behavior will be recorded explicitly during that time. Furthermore, if a purchase is made during that period, the commission will still be charged to the relevant publisher!

Step 3: Customize your affiliate link

This step is optional! However, few will tell you this is the secret to making your URL more professional. Let us tell you why!

Between this:

www.businessdomain.com/collection?rsuv=1809_oqlpz

And this:

www.businessdomain.com/Alice-buy1get1

Which one do you prefer clicking?

The latter, for sure! Not only does it look clean, but a shortened affiliate link will also be much more beneficial in impressing customers. It helps increase the rate of customers clicking through because it carries an attractive message and, of course, increases brand awareness!

So how to make Amazon affiliate link or any URL as short as you want? Well, lots of choices.

Tracking platforms like Hasoffers allow you to shorten URLs for easy sharing. Also, tools like Bitly.com or TinyURL can do that too! Why don’t you give them a try and choose what suits you best?

>> Click here: How to earn $1000 via Affiliate Marketing for beginners

Some extra advice here!

If you’re a publisher looking for how to create affiliate links for your work, just stop! If you carefully read what we said above, advertisers are the ones responsible for generating the URL. Publishers’ job is simply to distribute these affiliate links to their traffic and attempt to convert as many people as possible.

Therefore, we hope that the preceding article will serve as a helpful resource for advertisers looking for a tool to measure the effectiveness of their affiliate marketing. Good luck, and stay tuned to Dynu In Media for more!