Revealed: Affiliate Marketing Plan for 2023 | How To Make Money Online With Affiliate Marketing

Most people trying affiliate marketing for the first time make the same mistake: they pick a popular product, create content about it, and then wonder why nobody watches it. The problem is not the product. The problem is timing. You walked into a room that was already full and tried to be heard over everyone else.

This plan fixes that. It is a stupid simple process that works on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, or any platform you want to use. It does not matter if you are a complete beginner. It does not matter if you do not want to show your face on camera. What matters is picking the right product at the right time and creating content that answers real questions people already have. By the end of this post, you will know exactly how to do that.

What You’ll Walk Out With

The one product rule that separates channels getting views from channels getting zero
A step-by-step method to find new products in any niche, even one you know nothing about
Real examples of channels with under 500 subscribers pulling thousands of views
The four content formats that consistently drive affiliate traffic to new creators
Why starting at the bottom of the funnel is actually a shortcut, not a limitation
How to move up the funnel and compete for bigger keywords as your channel grows
What to do once you start getting traffic so you can turn viewers into buyers and build an email list for long-term income
Not sure which niche or product type fits your background? finder.platformproof.com will match you to the right starting point in minutes

The One Rule That Changes Everything

Here is the rule: the product you promote has to be new to the market and already getting traction. Not six years old. Not even two years old. Brand new, ideally released in the last few weeks, and at most within the last six months.

Why does this matter? Because when a product launches, there is a window. Demand for information about that product shoots up fast, and the supply of content about it is still low. You are not competing with channels that have been covering this topic for years. You are entering the conversation early, and that early position is almost unfair in how much it helps you get discovered.

When Apple launched the Mac Studio, they marketed it as the next big thing. When ClickFunnels dropped version 2.0, they pushed it to all of their affiliates as the next big thing. These moments create surges in search demand across every platform. The people who moved quickly got the views. The people who waited until the product was well-established had to fight for every click.

This does not mean you need to be an expert on the product. It means you need to find it before the crowd does and start creating helpful content about it before everyone else does. That is a timing game, and it is one you can win even as a brand-new creator.

How to Find New Products in Any Niche

The simplest method is also the most underused: just Google it. Search for something like “new makeup release” or “new tech release” or “new software release” and you will immediately find websites that exist specifically to track new product launches in that category.

For example, searching “new makeup release” brings up beautyville.com. That site lists new makeup releases by month, giving you a full calendar of products with names, launch dates, and links. On December 25th, they listed a product called the Tarte Shape Tape Glow Powder Palette Three-Piece Complexion Set. That single product name, typed into YouTube, will show you exactly what kind of views small channels are already getting from that product.

The same search approach works in any niche. If you are in the software space, search “new SaaS tool release” or “new marketing software.” If you are in fitness, search “new fitness equipment release.” You are looking for products that have launched recently and are already being talked about, but where the content supply on YouTube and other platforms is still thin enough that a small channel can rank and get views.

Once you find a product that fits the criteria, your next step is simple: go to the relevant affiliate program. That might be Amazon Associates, the brand’s direct affiliate program, or a marketplace like ShareASale or Impact. Get your affiliate link and keep it ready. You will put it in the description of every piece of content you create about that product.

Real Examples: Small Channels Getting Serious Views

One of the biggest myths in affiliate marketing is that you need a large audience to make money. The numbers tell a completely different story.

When searching for Mac Studio unboxing videos, here is what actually showed up. One channel with 4,000 subscribers had 900 views on a Mac Studio video. Another channel with only 16 subscribers had 1,800 views on their Mac Studio content. A third had 12,000 views from eight months ago with 746 subscribers. These are not anomalies. This is what happens when a new product launches and small channels cover it early.

The same pattern showed up with ClickFunnels 2.0. A review video posted just eight days before had already pulled 748 views with a channel sitting at 423 subscribers. Another channel with 3,000 subscribers had 18,000 views on their ClickFunnels 2.0 content. A ClickFunnels 2.0 versus Kajabi comparison video from a channel with 345 subscribers had 1,400 views and was ranking number one in search results.

These numbers matter because they prove the strategy works. A 16-subscriber channel getting 1,800 views is not luck. A 345-subscriber channel ranking number one for a competitive comparison keyword is not an accident. It is the result of covering a new product before the big channels caught up.

The Four Types of Content That Drive Affiliate Traffic

Once you have your product and your affiliate link, you need to create content. There are four formats that work especially well for new products, and you should understand what each one does and when to use it.

Unboxing and First Look

When a product is brand new, people want to see what it actually looks like. Unboxing and first-look videos fill that demand immediately. You do not need to be a polished video producer. The audience for a new product just wants honest, real coverage of what they are considering buying. Even a simple screen recording or a straightforward talking-head video will get views if the product is new enough and the title is specific.

Tutorial Content

Tutorials are one of the most sustainable content formats for affiliate marketers because the demand does not go away. People keep buying the product and keep needing to learn how to use it. If you create a tutorial for a product early in its lifecycle, that video keeps getting traffic as more people adopt the product over time. ClickFunnels 2.0 tutorial videos were showing significant view counts precisely because people kept needing help figuring out how to use the new features.

Comparison Videos

Comparison videos hit a very specific moment in the buyer journey: the person knows what product they want but is not sure which version or brand to go with. The Mac Studio vs the iMac 24 example showed 13,000 views on a channel with 315 subscribers. That is a massive return for a single video. Comparison content works because it reaches people who are very close to making a purchase decision, which means your affiliate link in the description is far more likely to convert into an actual sale.

Review and Pros/Cons

Reviews are where you share an honest assessment of a product, including what it does well and where it falls short. Honest reviews build trust faster than any other format. When you tell someone a product has a real limitation, they trust your recommendation far more than someone who only says positive things. ClickFunnels 2.0 review content was showing up with real view counts across channels of all sizes because people want honest opinions before they spend money.

Start at the Bottom of the Funnel

This is the part of the strategy most beginners skip, and it costs them weeks of wasted effort. There is a concept called the funnel: at the top you have people who are just starting to research a broad problem, and at the bottom you have people who already know exactly what they want and are ready to buy. When you are starting out, you want to create content for the people at the bottom.

People at the bottom of the funnel are searching for specific things. They search “Mac Studio review.” They search “ClickFunnels 2.0 vs Kajabi.” They search “tarte shape tape glow palette tutorial.” These people already know the product. They already know they have a problem. They are, in a sense, credit cards out and ready to purchase. They just need one more piece of information to make their decision.

Creating content for these high-intent searchers is dramatically easier than trying to rank for broad, competitive terms. A 16-subscriber channel can rank for “Mac Studio unboxing” when it is a new product. That same channel would never rank for “best laptop” because that term is owned by channels with hundreds of thousands of subscribers and years of domain authority behind them.

Starting at the bottom also means you start getting results faster. Views come in sooner, commissions start sooner, and you build proof that the strategy works before you try to scale to bigger, more competitive content.

Not sure which niche or product category matches what you already know?

The Platform Proof Finder takes about two minutes and matches you to the right starting lane based on your skills and background. Try it at finder.platformproof.com.

How to Move Up the Funnel as You Grow

Starting at the bottom does not mean staying there forever. As your channel or account builds domain authority and gains followers, you can start targeting bigger and more competitive keywords.

The progression looks like this. You start with specific product searches: exact product names, unboxing, reviews, and comparison content for products released in the last six months. Once you start getting consistent views and your channel grows, you can move to category-level searches like “best sales funnel builder” or “best makeup palette under fifty dollars.” These searches have higher competition, but by the time you target them, your channel has enough authority to compete.

From there, you can move into educational how-to content like “how to build a sales funnel from scratch” or “how to do a full glam makeup look.” These searches have massive volume and bring in people at the very top of the funnel who need to be educated before they are ready to buy. This audience takes longer to convert, but there are far more of them, and the traffic potential is much larger.

The key is not to try to compete at all three levels at once when you are just starting. Pick a product. Get the bottom-of-funnel content working. Build the foundation. Then move up when you have the authority to compete.

What to Do With the Traffic Once You Have It

Getting traffic is only half the equation. What you do with that traffic determines how much you actually earn and how sustainable the business becomes.

Step one is straightforward: put your affiliate link in the description of your content. On YouTube, that means the video description. On TikTok, that means the bio link since TikTok does not allow clickable links in the caption itself. On a blog, that means linking directly in the post. Make it easy for someone watching your content to immediately access the product you are talking about.

Step two, once you are getting consistent views, is to start collecting email addresses. An email list turns a one-time viewer into a long-term customer. Instead of sending people directly to the product, you can send them to a landing page that captures their email first. You give them something useful, like a free checklist or guide related to the product, and in exchange you get their email address. Now you can follow up with them, recommend other products, and build income that does not depend entirely on whether a single video keeps getting views.

The affiliate marketing plan only works long term if you are building an asset, not just chasing individual commissions. Traffic from a single video can dry up when a newer product takes its place. An email list does not go away. That is why the end goal is always to shift from placing affiliate links in content to collecting emails and building relationships with your audience over time.

The Affiliate Marketing Plan: Step by Step

Here is the full process laid out in a clear order so you can start implementing it today.

Find a new product. Search “[your niche] new release” on Google. Look for products that launched in the last few weeks. Six months old is the outer limit. Confirm the product is getting search interest by typing the name into YouTube and seeing that other videos, even from tiny channels, are getting real views.
Get your affiliate link. Apply to the brand’s affiliate program directly, or find the product on Amazon Associates, ShareASale, Impact, or another marketplace. Some programs approve you instantly. Others take a few days. Apply early so you are ready when your content goes live.
Research the product thoroughly. Watch other videos about it. Read reviews. Learn the main questions people are asking about it. Understand what it does well and where it has limitations. You do not need to own the product to create content about it, but you do need to understand it well enough to be genuinely helpful.
Create bottom-of-funnel content first. Start with an unboxing or first-look video if the product is very new. Add a review or pros-and-cons piece. Do a comparison against the most common alternative. These are the formats that get clicks from people ready to buy.
Put the affiliate link in the description or bio. Make it visible, make it specific, and add a clear call to action telling people where to click.
Keep creating content around that same product. Do not jump to a new product every week. Build a small library of videos about the same product. Each additional piece of content reinforces the others and increases the chances that someone finds your channel through at least one of them.
As traffic builds, start collecting emails. Set up a simple landing page with a free download related to your niche. Route your affiliate traffic through it. This turns one-time visitors into a lasting audience you can reach any time.
When your channel has consistent views, expand to mid-funnel keywords. Start targeting “best” and “top” searches in your category. These are more competitive but much higher volume. By this point, your domain authority is strong enough to compete.

Honest Drawbacks to Know Before You Start

This plan works, but it has real limitations that deserve an honest mention.

First, the window for a new product closes. If a product has been on the market for more than six months, the opportunity is shrinking. You can still make content about it, but you are no longer entering early and you will face more competition. That means you need to stay on top of new releases in your niche, which requires ongoing attention. This is not a set-it-and-forget-it system in the early stages.

Second, affiliate commissions on physical products, particularly through Amazon, are relatively low. If you are promoting a sixty-dollar product at a three percent commission rate, you are earning less than two dollars per sale. Volume matters a lot. Low-commission physical products work when you are driving significant traffic. Higher-ticket or recurring-commission software products like ClickFunnels pay substantially more, which is why many affiliate marketers gravitate toward software once they have some traffic.

Third, this takes time to compound. Your first few videos might get small numbers even if you do everything right. The strategy works because you are building multiple pieces of content, each adding to your traffic. One video that gets 200 views does not change your income. Twenty videos, each getting 200 views, starts to matter. Forty videos changes the picture significantly. You need to be willing to create before you see results.

Find Your X

The hardest part of starting affiliate marketing is not the content creation. It is figuring out which niche and which product category actually fits your background and the time you have available. If you pick a niche you have no interest in, you will run out of motivation before the content starts working.

The Platform Proof Finder is designed to solve exactly that problem. It asks you a few questions about what you already know, what platforms you are comfortable with, and what kind of income you are trying to build. Then it matches you to the best starting point for your situation. You can get your match at finder.platformproof.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to show my face to make affiliate marketing work?

No. The strategy described here works whether you show your face or not. What matters is that you are producing quality content that genuinely helps someone make a decision about a product. Screen recordings, voiceovers, and slide-based videos all perform well in this format. The audience for a product review cares about information, not about seeing a particular person on screen.

Which platform should I start on?

This plan works on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn. YouTube is the most common starting point for affiliate marketers because videos stay discoverable through search for a long time after they are posted. TikTok can drive faster initial traffic but the content has a shorter shelf life. If you are comfortable on a specific platform already, start there. The underlying strategy of finding new products and creating helpful content works the same way everywhere.

How new does the product actually need to be?

The sweet spot is products released in the last few weeks. Six months is the outer limit. Once a product has been out longer than that, the wave of initial search demand has usually passed and the larger channels have moved in. There are exceptions, like when a product goes through a major version update or gets a viral moment, but as a general rule you want to be within that six-month window to get the benefit of early positioning.

Do I need to own the product to review it?

Not necessarily. Many successful affiliate creators do their research by studying other reviews, reading the official documentation, and watching early coverage from people who do have the product. That said, if you can get your hands on the product yourself, the content you create will be more specific and more trustworthy. For software products, most companies offer free trials that let you test the tool before you decide whether to promote it.

What if I do not know anything about the niche I picked?

You do not need to be an expert. The transcript of this strategy explicitly noted that searching “new makeup release” was done by someone who admitted to knowing nothing about makeup. The process works regardless of your prior knowledge because you are doing live research as you create. You learn the product as you research it, and that learning process often makes for better content because you are asking the same questions your audience is asking.

How many pieces of content should I create for one product?

Create content around a single product until you are getting consistent traffic from it before moving on. Think in terms of content types rather than content count: unboxing, review, tutorial, comparison, pros and cons, specific use-case videos. A single product can easily support five to ten pieces of content. Running one product deep is more effective than spreading yourself thin across many products when you are just starting out.

When should I start collecting email addresses?

As soon as you are getting any consistent traffic, even a small amount. Set up a simple landing page with a free guide or checklist related to your niche. Route at least some of your affiliate traffic through it before sending people to the product page. Building an email list early means you have an audience you own, not just one that depends on algorithm traffic staying consistent. Even fifty email subscribers is a more durable asset than a thousand monthly video views.

Is affiliate marketing still worth starting in 2024 or 2025?

The underlying mechanics of affiliate marketing have not changed. People still search for information about products before they buy. New products still launch every week across every niche. The platforms that carry content still reward creators who produce specific, helpful material that matches what people are searching for. The creators who struggle are the ones who try to compete on oversaturated general keywords. The ones who succeed follow a timing-based strategy exactly like the one described in this post.

Sources

Alston Godbolt, “Revealed: Affiliate Marketing plan for 2023,” YouTube, https://youtu.be/iYQBMYNMtBg
beautyville.com, new makeup releases by month, referenced in the video
Apple Mac Studio product page, used as niche product example in the video
ClickFunnels 2.0, used as a software niche product example in the video