Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It in 2024? The Pros and Cons of This Income Stream

You may have heard of affiliate marketing. You may be familiar with the principles of how it works. And you may even have considered jumping onto this train yourself.

But there’s still an element of doubt there—will it be worth my time? Affiliate marketing has been around almost as long as online shopping, so something about it works. In this article, we look at the current state of affiliate marketing and explore the pros and cons of launching your own affiliate marketing business.

So, is affiliate marketing worth it in 2024? Let’s find out.

How does affiliate marketing work?

Before discussing statistics, pros, cons, and everything else, let’s ensure we understand how an affiliate marketing business works.

Imagine you’ve bought the best noise-cancelling headphones in the world. You tell your friends about them, and they go to the same store and purchase the same headphones. The store rewards you for this additional business you’ve brought in.

This is essentially what affiliate marketing is, except if you create an affiliate marketing business, you recommend products to a broader audience and do it systematically.

Source: BigCommerce

Here’s how you can start affiliate marketing step-by-step:

1. Find an affiliate program to join in your chosen niche

2. Create a website or join social media platforms to promote affiliate products

3. Publish high-quality content that drives traffic and includes affiliate links

4. Encourage your audience to click on affiliate links that take them to sellers’ sites where they purchase your promoted products

5. Receive a commission from the sales you helped generate

Printful has an affiliate program too! Help your followers order high-quality custom goodies and earn a percentage of their order value.

The commission you get as an affiliate marketer will differ from one affiliate marketing program to another, but the principle stays the same—the more sales you create, the more money you earn.

Now that the basics are clear, let’s examine the state of the affiliate marketing industry in 2024.

Affiliate marketing in 2024

Affiliate marketing has been part of the digital marketing world for decades, and it’s not about to disappear—quite the opposite. The global affiliate marketing industry is estimated at over $17 billion, and it’s expected to grow to nearly $27.78 billion by 2027.

Data shows that brands see the value of affiliate marketing. Over 80% of brands use affiliate partners in their marketing efforts, and it’s estimated affiliate marketing is responsible for 16% of all ecommerce sales in the US and Canada.

Although the competition is fierce, there’s always room for new voices. According to a Statista survey of decision-making marketers, one of affiliate marketing’s main strengths is the potential for brands to find new and innovative marketing partners.

So, given this data, let’s answer the big question.

Is affiliate marketing worth it in 2024?

Yes, affiliate marketing can be worth it and become a profitable revenue stream. But just like with any other venture, you’ll need to invest time and hard work to create a successful affiliate marketing business. If you’re ready to do that and think promoting products could be the job for you, give affiliate marketing a try—the potential to succeed is there.

Pros of affiliate marketing

Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of becoming an affiliate marketer.

Low startup costs

One of the main appeals of affiliate marketing is the fact that you don’t need a massive budget to get started. As an affiliate marketer, you’re making money by being one of the brand’s marketing channels. You only promote products, not sell them, so you’re not responsible for manufacturing, stocking, and shipping them.

In this sense, affiliate marketing shares some similarities with dropshipping. Check out this article on affiliate marketing vs. dropshipping to find out more.

When starting, the main expense you must consider is hosting your website. That’s where you’ll publish your content, including affiliate links, and generate traffic.

For example, BuzzFeed’s site has an entire section dedicated to articles with product recommendations that come with referral links.

Source: BuzzFeed

If you have the budget for it or when you’ve started earning affiliate income, you can explore paid channels, like social media advertising. But it’s not mandatory to invest in paid ads immediately, making this a business with a low barrier to entry.

It’s also possible to skip website creation and make affiliate sales from social media platforms. Many influencers do this by creating content that promotes products to the audiences they’ve built there. 

Potential for passive income

You can turn affiliate marketing into a full-time job, but if that sounds too much, you can treat it as a side hustle. When you create content for your affiliate niche, optimize it for search engines. This way, your website will generate organic traffic as long as it’s active, and people may click on your referral links anytime.

You’ll still need regular maintenance, like reoptimizing your content for your target audience and checking that the affiliate links work. Still, it’s possible to earn passive income from your affiliate campaigns.

Read more: How to Create Passive Income with Affiliate Marketing

Flexibility and freedom

As an affiliate marketer, you’re your own boss, so you can work as much as you want, wherever you want, and whenever you want. For affiliate marketing, you only need a stable internet connection and a willingness to work. 

If you have these two ingredients, you could be making money from home or anywhere else. You can create as much content as you wish and treat affiliate marketing as a hobby or a full-time commitment—it’s all up to you.

However, your income stream depends on how much work you put in. There may be times when you have to invest more effort, especially if you join a highly competitive affiliate program or niche with many successful affiliates.

No customer service responsibilities

As an affiliate marketer, your job is to promote products and generate sales through an affiliate link. When someone orders an item, the store is responsible for customer satisfaction.

However, you have to be sure that the affiliate product you promote is high quality and people won’t be disappointed when they follow your recommendation. You should be as familiar with the products as possible to increase trust.

Source: Camille Styles

For example, an article on denim shorts published on the lifestyle blog Camille Styles shows the author wearing the shorts she recommends to accompany the descriptions and affiliate links.

Diverse revenue streams

As an affiliate marketer, you’re not limited to collaborating with one company. Successful affiliate marketers work with many programs and add several links to products in their articles, videos, or other type of content.

When you settle on a niche, explore what affiliate offers are available, and don’t limit yourself to just one type of product.

Look at the lifestyle brand A Beautiful Mess—their content covers everything from outfits and home decor to recipes, and you’ll find affiliate links in all types of articles.

Cons of affiliate marketing

After looking at the benefits, let’s cover some of the drawbacks of affiliate marketing.

Unpredictable income

Many factors affect your earnings from affiliate marketing. Seasonal trends, consumer behavior changes, and affiliate program updates can make your income balloon at one moment and sink the next. 

To ensure as much stability as possible in your affiliate income, diversify your content and don’t rely on just a handful of affiliate programs. 

Take a look at the fashion blog Sincerely Jules, which shares fashion tips for all seasons and contains affiliate links to various brands.

High competition

Since starting as an affiliate marketer is relatively easy, the competition can be challenging. Like with any other business, you can benefit from narrowing down your niche.

The more specific your content is, the more relevant it will be to your target audience, increasing their chances of clicking on an affiliate link. That’s why it’s a major plus if the niche you choose is something you’re passionate about. You’ll know how to talk to potential buyers and what problems concern them the most.

Affiliate program changes

One potential issue you may run into is the changes brands make to their affiliate marketing policies, including the commissions they pay out. You have to be ready that even the best affiliate program may decide to change its approach.

You should not rely on just a few affiliate marketing sources to avoid disappointments and dips in your income. Diversify your affiliate marketing income streams, and this way, changes won’t affect you as much.

Lack of control over product quality

Although you’re not responsible for the products and order fulfillment, subpar service quality on the part of the brands you promote can reflect poorly on you.

If someone clicks on your affiliate link, it means they trust your recommendation. However, if the product they eventually receive doesn’t live up to expectations, this customer may doubt your judgment or even honesty.

That’s why you must be careful when choosing which brands to collaborate with. Make sure they’re trustworthy and transparent about their business. 

Before promoting their products, check customer reviews to see if they are good or order something for yourself if you can afford it. This way, your recommendation will sound more personal and may encourage more buyers.

Need for constant learning and research

Even if you treat affiliate marketing as a passive income stream, you still need to invest a lot of work into building the basis of your content and initial keyword research.

If you want to do this full-time, you’ll need to stay current on the latest email marketing trends, search engine optimization updates, keyword changes, social media marketing strategies, etc.

And you need to be aware of more than marketing trends. Product popularity fluctuates quickly too (remember the Stanley Cup craze?). This means constantly being aware of new opportunities in your niche and adjusting your marketing strategy.

Creating high-quality content also takes a lot of time. Getting people to click on a referral link can be difficult, so your copy must be creative too.

Looking for some affiliate marketing tips? Check out this article on 10 winning strategies.

When is affiliate marketing not worth it?

Affiliate marketing might not be for you if you don’t feel passionate, interested, or knowledgeable about the products you promote.

If customers doubt how genuine your product recommendation is, it’s unlikely they’ll click on the link to buy it. This is especially crucial if you want to enter a highly competitive niche, like beauty products. Others will beat you by offering more relevant and trustworthy content.

You should also seriously vet the brands you might collaborate with. Make sure they’re reliable and ethical, and look into how they treat their affiliate marketers, how transparent their affiliate policies are, etc.

Ready to launch your affiliate business?

One thing’s clear—to become one of affiliate marketing’s success stories, you’ll need to work hard. But if you’re interested in marketing and there’s a niche you’re familiar with enough to suggest products to others, affiliate marketing can be the perfect match for your talents.

Becoming an affiliate marketer doesn’t require a massive budget, so you’re not risking much. The easiest way to test if this is something for you is to try it. So why not start today?