Free traffic sources aren't just for beginner affiliate marketers with limited budgets. Even professionals often tap into free channels. Let's explore whether affiliate marketing without investments is possible and which free channels suit media buyers.
1. Own Website
If you have your own site, it can and should become a source of passive income. By placing a link to an offer or, a Smartlink, or a push subscription code, the site owner will receive a reward. You are free from moderation concerns and can integrate advertising in any format you choose. Actively attracting traffic to your site by filling it with quality content and improving its search result position can increase income. If you have the technical skills, you can create and SEO-promote a website for monetization for free. However, remember that time is also money, and significant effort is required.
2. Thematic Communities
Thematic forums and public pages are free sources where you can create topics and leave comments with links. While many resources prohibit promoting most verticals and remove active links, you can still find communities with relatively lenient rules. Some webmasters bend the rules to collect free traffic.
3. Social Media
Despite strict moderation, social networks remain a highly popular traffic source for affiliate marketers. Platforms like Facebook, Vkontakte, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram each have their own rules, features, and restrictions. For example, Instagram values original visuals and unique text, TikTok requires trend adherence, and Vkontakte favors posts with useful and expert content. Social networks continue to be a promising channel. Affiliate marketers have even adapted to using strict platforms like Facebook by employing affiliate marketing tools. By the way, mixed traffic from social networks perfectly complements LosPollos Smartlinks.
4. Question and Answer Services
Platforms like Quora, Yandex Q, and Mail.ru Answers allow users to obtain expert answers or advice quickly. While registration is easy, you need to demonstrate activity, boost your profile rating, and prove your expertise before dropping links. Ideally, you need to have several profiles - for the one who asks and for those who answer. Without anti-detect browsers or proxies, moderation will quickly spot the connection between accounts. An educated, literate audience on these platforms requires an appropriate approach.
5. Messengers
Almost every phone has Telegram, Viber, or WhatsApp; people use these apps to communicate and receive offers. This channel has immense reach and a diverse audience, suitable for all GEOs and verticals. With the right strategy, you can generate free leads, even for adult and gambling sectors.
6. Blog
You can create a blog on a popular platform and actively promote it, attracting audiences from various channels. This requires regular content publication, trend monitoring, and impression tracking. The same strict rules as on social networks apply, making work with prohibited verticals challenging but feasible.
7. YouTube Channel
You can get free traffic from your YouTube channel. Actively promoting the channel, increasing subscribers, views, and engagement, and optimizing content for keywords in titles, descriptions, and video content are all essential. Although creation is free, producing quality videos may require equipment. Using stock videos and making them unique is labor-intensive but can pay off.
8. Doorways
These are sites tailored to specific keywords but contain little useful information. Quickly detected and blocked by search engines, especially those with prohibited content, doorways can be created in batches using special software, incurring costs only for domain and hosting. "White" doorways with quality content last longer and actually bring traffic.
9. Email Newsletters.
Email newsletters are excellent for warming up audiences and generating potential leads. This traffic source can be free if you use email marketing services with free trials. Not to be confused with spam emails, traffic from ethical email marketing comes from users who have opted to receive emails. Moreover, affiliate network anti-fraud systems won't allow spam traffic.
10. Online Message Boards.
Advertisement sites like Avito, Prom, Slando, and OLX are relevant for SEO promotion; there's no need to warm up users (visitors of these resources do not have clearly formed intentions), but scaling advertising campaigns is challenging. Communication with potential leads, including by phone, is necessary.
Traffic can indeed be free if evaluated solely in monetary terms. If you understand the value of your time and are willing to invest it in attracting free traffic, you might find success. Free and inexpensive channels are ideal for practice before handling larger budgets. If you have mixed traffic, consider directing it to LosPollos Smartlinks. The affiliate network works with 1000+ direct advertisers and accepts traffic from worldwide and all sources (including those introduced in this article). Smartlinks are an effective tool for the automatic monetization of mixed traffic. If you're interested in streaming to the mainstream, dating, gambling, crypto, webcam, and gay dating with high rates, be sure to try LosPollos Smartlink.