It’s not uncommon for successful affiliate marketers to earn huge sums of money. For example, legendary influencer and business owner Pat Flynn has reportedly earned more than $3 million in affiliate income alone during his career. 

However, not all affiliate marketers are successful, and some earn absolutely nothing at all. In fact, while some affiliate marketers regularly make six figures a month, others only make a few pounds. 

But, what factors affect how much you can make from affiliate marketing and how can you boost your chances of success? Let’s take a look. 

READ: How does affiliate marketing work?

Factors that Affect How Much an Affiliate Marketer Makes 

Niche 

The niche you operate in will influence the amount of money you can make from affiliate marketing on a monthly basis. 

For example, it’s common for those operating in niches such as fashion/media to earn less per click or conversion than those who are part of business-related or software programs.

Of course, this only applies to the amount of money you can make per transaction. Generally speaking, the more potential customers you convert and the more traffic you can drive to your partner’s website, the more you make. 

Audience Size 

Another factor that influences the amount of money you can make is the size of your audience. Simply put, the more people you advertise in front of, the more people you’re likely to convert. 

Let’s say, for example, that your conversion rate is 3% and you make £5 for each sale. 

If you market to 10,000 people, then 300 people will convert and you’ll make £1,500. However, if you market to 50,000 people, then 1,500 will now convert (assuming the conversion rate is the same) and you’ll instead make £7,500. That’s an increase of £6,000 for doing the same amount of work. 

Engagement Rate

But, making this assessment purely based on audience size is a little too simplistic, as you also need to improve your engagement rate. For example, if you have 100,000 Instagram followers but only 3,000 watch your Reel, then you have a low engagement rate. 

Understanding how you can boost your engagement rate is vital. The more engaged your audience is (regardless of overall size), the more money you’ll make. 

In some instances, a small audience of high-value and highly-engaged customers can be just as profitable as a large audience that isn’t engaged. So keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need hundreds of thousands of followers to succeed, you just need to post good content that resonates with a loyal following and then look to scale. 

Commission Rates 

The next factor that influences how much you can make from affiliate marketing is the commission rate offered by the affiliate program. 

This varies from program to program. For example, commission for Amazon Associates ranges from 1% to 12%. 

Payout Model 

Finally, you also need to consider how the affiliate program you’re part of pays creators. While some affiliate programs pay out monthly, others pay out quarterly or require the affiliate to reach a certain milestone before they receive any payment at all. 

If you sign up to a scheme that only offers payment when certain milestones are reached, then it may take you a while to earn any form of money via affiliate marketing. 

How Much do you Make from Affiliate Marketing? Our Final Thoughts 

In summary, the amount of money you can make from affiliate marketing varies depending on a number of factors, including but not limited to the niche you’re operating in, the size of your audience and the payment model you sign up for. 

However, you can earn substantial amounts of money from affiliate marketing. After all, according to Smarter Digital Marketing, the average salary of an affiliate marketer in the UK is £59,060 per year. 

So, if you properly invest your time in it, work hard and drive conversions for willing partners, then you can make it into a full-time job and earn lots of money. 

But remember, some people do not make any money at all from affiliate marketing, or only earn nominal sums. For this reason, you shouldn’t simply assume that affiliate marketing will be successful for you.