Affiliate Marketing in Kenya with Amazon – Full Guide

Affiliate marketing is one of those few online hustles that can make you hundreds of thousands to millions in a month. If you’ve been wondering how you can make KSh.10,000 per day while working online, affiliate marketing is your guy. Moreover, if you have been wondering how to put your writing skills to good use and make some good money, being an affiliate marketer is the best direction I can point you in. Forget about selling e-books, drop-shipping and all that. While the mentioned hustles are good, they cannot compare to affiliate marketing. This article gives you expert insights on how to start affiliate marketing in Kenya with Amazon.

Attention: Expert Tips for a Successful Business in Kenya

Before we delve into all the important points, make sure you have a notebook, a pen and the ability to read to the end of this article.

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If you promise to stick to the end, I guarantee you that you will have set up your affiliate business and are ready to start publishing and pushing fascinating content that will convert into sales.

Our goal here is at minimum, to attract an income of not less than $1,000 per month. In Kenya, that translates to approximately Ksh.120,000. Sounds good, right?

What exactly is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a commission-based marketing model where you promote someone else’s product or service and earn a percentage of the sale if someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase.

It can be a great way to make money online, but it’s important to do your research and choose a product or service that you’re passionate about. If you can do that, you’ll be well on your way to success.

With definitions out of the way, let’s dive into the steps;

1. Learn what a niche website is

In the online world of affiliate marketing, copywriting and blogging, one thing that has always stood out is writing content focused on one specific niche.

But what is a niche?

According to Income Prodigy, a narrow group of people in a larger market with a common particular interest is what we call a “niche”.

In other words, a niche is a subset or smaller part of a larger market.

Why focus on a niche instead of targeting broader topics with more people?

According to the same authority, people searching online can be categorized into two;

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• General awareness searchers and,
• People with their wallets open and ready to purchase a service/product.

In the first category, general awareness searchers are usually newbies and are mostly getting introduced to the topic. For instance, a query such as ‘best electronic devices for my studio’ will be considered a general awareness query. Rarely do these people spend online, because they don’t know what they are looking for.

On the other hand, a specific query like ‘good Samsung headphones for my music studio’ means that the searcher already has the necessary information about setting up a music production studio and is now looking to purchase a specific product.

This is where you come in.

With a good website, that has focused on headphone reviews, you will be in a good position to advise and direct your traffic to a market where they can find the ‘best headphones’ that you have reviewed in your article.

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A good example of this concept is how Tech Radar reviews the Samsung Galaxy S23.

After a critical review, the authority offers the best prices in the market and links potential customers to e-commerce stores such as Amazon.  

Another high-ranking authority site that applies this concept is PC Mag. Take a look at their review of the best VR headsets.

The two sites have specialized in technology and electronic gadgets. It is easy for them to convert their website traffic into leads that convert into income.

This is the most crucial part of this article. Don’t dare move into the next section without pledging allegiance to niche-focused content writing.

So how do you choose a good niche?

2. Do niche research

MOZ, a popular authority in the domain of Search Engine Optimization, lists three main questions you should ask yourself when embarking on a niche research campaign;

• What are people searching for?
• How many people are searching for it?
• In what format do they want that information?

These three questions are your guardians as you set foot into the world of affiliate marketing in Kenya.

If you decide to start writing without doing proper research, you may end up writing articles or creating videos that attract very little traffic which may not convert into income. Further, even if there is traffic, the commission paid by retailers may not be worth your time.

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For niche research, we will use Neil Patel’s popular keyword research tool Answer the public to understand what people are asking about a particular topic.

This will help us answer the three questions I listed above.

For example;

When you decide to focus on a niche such as cars, Answer the Public will help you know what people online are searching for that is related to cars and what they are interested in. Using this tool allows you to study different specific countries. Therefore, you don’t have to limit yourself to Kenya.

Here are the results from the query ‘cars’ in Answer the Public:

Analyzing the table above, you will realize that there is more traffic for cars in the USA than in Kenya. However, it will be harder for you to rank when you target an audience from the USA.

On the contrary, if you are successful in generating leads from the USA, you will then earn more than an affiliate marketer earns from Kenyan traffic.

Since cars are a broad topic, you will therefore have to sub-specialize. You may want to choose sub-topics such as second-hand cars, Toyota cars, car insurance etc.

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This concept applies to all niches, with a special emphasis on electronic devices and gadgets as they are usually classified as fast-selling products.

Use this guideline to settle on a good niche that has little competition and high traffic. Read more here.

Also, Read; 5 Businesses You Can Start Without Money in Kenya

3. Keyword research

Now that you have selected a good niche, you must understand what people are searching for about your niche. Word Tracker and Ubersuggest are some of the best tools you can use for keyword research.

Before diving in, let’s understand the meaning of Keyword research

According to Ahrefs, keyword research is the process of discovering valuable search queries that your target customers type into search engines like Google to look for products, services, and information.

For this review, we will use Word Tracker.

Assuming we picked a niche related to electronic devices and started writing an article on headphones, the keyword-research tool we chose earlier will help us know what people online are looking for.

Type the words ‘headphones’ in the tool, and you will get the top queries on google. Here is what I got;

Notice that if you decide to create content about the ‘best noise cancelling headphones’ and link them to your affiliate account, you will likely generate income because the people reading your article are tired of ‘noise’ and willing to spend some money to solve their ‘noise-pollution’ problem. The same applies to all the other queries listed above.

Backlinko advises writers and affiliate marketers that Keyword research impacts every other SEO task that you perform, including finding content topics, on-page SEO, email outreach, and content promotion.

4. Content Writing

Now that we have understood how to settle on a niche and picked the right keywords, the next thing you need to learn is how to become a great writer.

Pro Blogger explains that successful bloggers or affiliate marketers can produce compelling content consistently. It is this craft of producing exceptional content that keeps them at the top of any writing business online.

For a great piece of content, a few rules have to be followed;

#1 Take your time

Before writing, take your time to understand why you want to write. Are you aiming to convince people to buy something or you are more focused on writing a piece aimed at giving general information to the public?

Affiliate marketing requires you to convince a customer that a specific product or service is the best for them. You will have to improve your copywriting skills. To do this, you can read articles from established copywriters, or books.

Update: Grab a copy of ‘The Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Copy That Sells (4th Edition)’ at only $12.79

#2 Choose a topic

Pick a specific topic that resonates well with your target audience. Here, you will need to do a keyword research campaign, just like we discussed earlier on.

#3 Craft a compelling title

We shouldn’t judge books by their covers, but titles do impact the click-through rate of your content copy. A boring title about headphones will not attract readers and potential customers/clients. Here is an example;

“Top Wireless Headphones”

A well-revamped title, on the other hand, would look like this:

“Top Bluetooth 5.0 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones”

Notice how the revamped title captures specific details missing in the former example.

#4 Use a captivating opening line

Now that we have a good title, you will need to focus on starting your article with a punch. Notice how the introduction of any piece of content is important.

There are several ways of starting an introductory paragraph. Here are examples;

• Query type – “Are you tired of irritating music from your next-door neighbour? This noise cancelling headsets…”
• Anecdotal introduction – “I remember the first time I tried a pair of wireless headphones. As I took my first steps without being tethered to my phone, I was struck by the freedom and convenience they offered.”
• Statistical introduction – “According to a recent market research report, the global market for wireless headphones is projected to grow significantly over…”

#5 Make your point in the first paragraph

Within your first paragraph, you should have explained what the entire article is about so that a reader can know whether to continue reading or leave your site. Make the first paragraph of your article a punch.

Also, read; 101 Tricks to Find a Freelance Writing Job in Kenya

#6 Call to action

Earlier on, I asked you to look for a notebook and pen. Did you?

This is what is called a “call to action”.

In such a case, a writer asks the reader to do something that will be beneficial to him/her. This involves tapping into the emotions of the reader and promising that you will solve their problem.

In your case, you may employ this by linking the product you have reviewed. The reader then has the opportunity to purchase the product or service and solve their problem.

Authority Hacker lists the steps necessary to write a compelling product review.

#7 Get in-depth

As you review a specific product, say a Sony Smart TV LED, you will need to get into the technicalities. Describe everything there is to it. It will be better if you have access to the television so that you can give first-hand user experience. However, you shouldn’t be limited by this.

#8 Use compelling images

Needless to say, images make your content livelier. If you are reviewing a particular phone, include images of you using the gadget.

#9 Correct grammatical errors

With a completed article, use Grammarly to correct errors in your copy. Google (being a search engine monopoly) hates poorly crafted content.

#10 Consistent publishing

Blogging best practices demand consistent publishing and sharing across social media. You are not going to rank soon if you don’t have regular publishing time.

5. Launching your affiliate marketing website in Kenya

Now that we have understood all about writing, here is a quick tutorial on how to set up and launch your Affiliate marketing website in Kenya.

Heads Up: You will need capital for this, around Ksh.20,000.

Buy hosting and a good domain

With your investment, you will need to purchase a hosting subscription service. Consider using Hostinger, Blue Host or if you are low on finances, Truehost in Kenya.

For this review, we recommend Hostinger. Since you will be setting up a single website, pick the cheapest subscription plan.

You will then need to buy a good domain. Consider using a .com extension as you will be targeting consumers across the world. Avoid co.ke extensions as you will be limited to the Kenyan market.

Here is the entire process of setting up your website, from my own experience.

Install a Content Management System (CMS)

Content management systems include WordPress, Weebly, Square Space etc. WordPress is the best CMS. Your hosting platform will direct you on how to install WordPress on your site. Here is a short Tutorial on installing WordPress on Hostinger.

6. Publishing content

You now know how to write a good piece of content. How then, can you publish it on WordPress? Here is a brief tutorial.

7. Integrating affiliate marketing channels

Congratulations. We have now accessed the honey in the pot. Here is how you will get started on affiliate marketing. For this, you will need to create an affiliate account with Amazon Associates.

You will then need to write content that markets products from the largest e-commerce website on the planet. Here are the steps;

• Navigate to Amazon Associates on your PC (recommended) or smartphone.
• Create an account and fill in all necessary information required.
• Once you are prompted to give payment details, you may notice that Kenyan banks are not listed. Neither are PayPal or Stripe payment options. In this case, you will need to look for an alternative method to receive your international payment.
• Navigate to the Payoneer payment platform. Here, you will create a US or UK bank account that you will link back to your Amazon Associates account.
• For every affiliate marketing article that you do, link up the product and you will receive a certain commission once your readers purchase through you.
• You will find this affiliate link at the top of your screen if you are approved to be an Amazon Associate.

At this point, almost everything is set. You now have to focus on a few more things and you will be a successful affiliate marketer.

If you decide to become an affiliate marketer for local companies in Kenya e.g., Jumia, Kevin from Freelancing gives expert insights.

8. Integrating email subscription services

According to wp-beginner, integrating email subscriptions to your website is ten times more effective than social media.

Yes! 10x

According to the authority, it’s easier to build an email subscription list and you have more control over the marketing technique. In email marketing, you are not limited to a percentage of your following like in popular social media platforms. Further, emails sent directly to individuals instead of public domains like Twitter and Facebook receive more engagement than the latter.

It is for this reason that you need to build your mailing list.

All you need is a good theme that already accommodates a subscription form that is present on all pages on your site. These forms will be linked to plugins such as WPForms and mailing services such as Mailchimp and Constant Contact. Note that you may have to pay a certain subscription fee once your audience grows past a certain limit.

With a mailing list, you will be able to target your content to specific people in specific countries. Furthermore, you may also get to know personal information, that may allow you to target a specific gender. Of course, this information will be collected with the consent of the subscriber.

More read: Top 20 Online Jobs in Kenya

9. Learn how to promote your content

By using various social media platforms, ads and SEO strategies, you can effectively promote your blog to achieve huge conversions. A few basic concepts to adhere to include:

• Build a stable social media presence, most preferably on Facebook. Don’t, however, leave out other social media platforms.
• Focus on creating content that is valuable to readers. Make sure that you are not just posting irrelevant content, as you will be penalized by search engines.
• Utilize Ads, especially Facebook or Instagram ads to help promote your content.
• Participate in “Guest Blogging”. This will help you grow your domain authority, thus helping you rank higher in searches. To do this, offer your fellow bloggers or affiliate marketers a free article in exchange for backlinks. Since it is a win-win situation, you will most likely succeed in getting a guest blogging opportunity.

10. Content and conversion optimization when you start getting traffic

In about 3 to 6 months after starting your affiliate marketing business in Kenya, you will have gained some traffic. You may notice that your traffic isn’t bringing in any revenue and you will therefore need to learn about the various techniques experienced affiliate marketing gurus employ to optimize conversion.

Here is the breakdown of traffic acquisition and how to optimize conversion

Traffic acquisition is only half the marketing equation. This statement has been researched and proven true by Quick Sprouts.

After attracting visitors to your site, you will need to “seal the deal”, by making sure that a high percentage of your visitors buy something that you have reviewed or linked to.

Even after sealing the deal, you will need to convert first-time visitors into recurrent visitors. This is the only way to achieve conversion regularly.

To be successful, you will need to point out the necessary adjustments that will increase the number of sales you make.

A good tool to use is Google Analytics, which can show you the acquisition and dropout rates. With this tool, you can monitor how users interacted with your website and at what point they lost interest and left the site.

After a critical analysis, work on that page. Make sure the loading speed is high and that the user interface & experience is exceptional.

If the content is not appealing to visitors, then make an effort to learn more about crafting good pieces of content.

For the full conversation, read the full article here.

Conclusion

Consider joining our Facebook Page, 254 Affiliate Marketers’ Lounge, and Daily Hub to learn all about starting and running an affiliate marketing business in Kenya. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any queries. We’d be glad to help.