“If you’re sending people straight to an affiliate link… you’re losing 90% of your income potential.”
Most beginner affiliate marketers do exactly what they’re told not to:
They grab an affiliate link, drop it into their bio or comment, and hope someone buys.
And while yes, someone might… the truth is, you’re giving up the chance to:
• Build a long-term audience
• Capture leads
• Make multiple offers
• Nurture relationships
• Create lifetime customers
You’re promoting a product but not building a business.
That’s where funnels come in.
Funnels are what automate your affiliate business, capture leads on autopilot, and turn cold strangers into raving buyers.
In this post — Part 7 of The 10 Tools Every Affiliate Marketer Needs to Succeed you’ll learn:
What an affiliate funnel really is
Why it outperforms direct linking every time
The essential pages you need
My #1 recommended tool for beginners (free to start!)
Funnel builder alternatives for scaling
How your funnel connects everything you’ve built so far
What Is an Affiliate Marketing Funnel?
A funnel is simply a guided path you send your visitors through designed to:
1.Grab their attention
2.Offer something of value
3.Collect their email
4.Build trust through follow-up
5.Make strategic offers
6.Earn commissions repeatedly
It’s like building a digital shop window and customer journey, instead of shouting on the street and hoping someone buys.
The Core Parts of a Simple Affiliate Funnel
Here’s what a basic but powerful affiliate funnel looks like:
➤ Step 1: Opt-in Page (Landing Page)
This is the first page people see.
Your goal is simple: capture their email address.
How? Offer a free lead magnet, checklist, PDF, video, quiz, or toolkit in exchange for their name and email.
Pro Tip: Make the headline benefit-driven and urgent:
“Download the 3-Step Cheat Sheet That Helped Me Get My First Affiliate Sale in 14 Days”
➤ Step 2: Thank You Page
This page appears immediately after someone opts in.
Purpose:
• Thank them for subscribing
• Set expectations (e.g. “Check your inbox in 2 minutes”)
• Optionally bridge to your affiliate offer
Best practice: Include a short video of you saying thank you and guiding them to the next step:
“Before you go here’s the program that helped me start earning commissions from home.”
This is your first chance to build trust and pre-frame the offer.
➤ Step 3: Email Follow-up Sequence
This is where the magic happens.
You build a relationship through daily or automated emails that:
• Provide value
• Share your story
• Answer objections
• Promote your affiliate offer gradually
Pro Tip: Don’t sell in every email. Give value 3x more than you pitch.
Most beginners skip this and lose 90% of their leads.
➤ Step 4: Affiliate Offer Page
When someone clicks from your email or thank-you page, they land here the affiliate product sales page.
This is where the sale happens and if your funnel did its job, your conversion rate goes way up.
Why Funnels Work (Even for Beginners)
Without a funnel:
• You have no way to follow up
• You can’t build a list
• You lose trust and visibility once someone clicks away
• You’re relying on luck
With a funnel:
• You turn traffic into subscribers
• You follow up even if they don’t buy right away
• You can promote future offers to the same list
• You build real leverage and long-term income
What Is a Funnel Builder?
A funnel builder is a tool that lets you easily create and link the pages in your funnel, including:
• Landing pages
• Thank you pages
• Bridge pages
• Affiliate links
• Email opt-ins
• Basic automations
You don’t need to code or design. Most platforms use drag-and-drop editors and beginner-friendly templates.
My Top Recommendation: Systeme.io
A powerful yet beginner-friendly all-in-one marketing platform. It’s especially good for affiliate marketers starting out on a budget.
Free to start (with unlimited email sending and 2,000 contacts!)
Landing page builder
Built-in email autoresponder
Funnel templates
Affiliate tracking support
Custom domain support
Affiliate program (earn by referring others)
Why I Recommend It: Click Here for a FREE trial
It replaces multiple tools (landing page + email autoresponder + automation tool) without needing tech skills or a credit card to get started.
Yes, I use and promote it as an affiliate.
Other Popular Funnel Builders (Good for Scaling)
Once your business grows and your needs expand, you might consider:
| Tool | Why People Use It | Best For |
| ClickFunnels | Complete marketing system. Easy to build complete sales funnels from opt-in pages to thank-you pages and email follow-ups without needing tech skills. It’s designed to help marketers turn cold traffic into leads and buyers quickly. | Affiliate marketers who want to build their own list, promote offers with bridge pages, and maximise conversions with upsells and email sequences. It’s perfect for beginners who want to create a professional funnel that builds trust and drives consistent commissions. |
| GetResponse | Build complete sales funnels (lead magnet → email sequence → upsell). Landing pages, email automation, product sales, abandoned cart recovery. Integrates with Stripe and PayPal for selling directly | Beginners to intermediate users who want an all-in-one platform |
| AWeber | Landing page creator with drag-and-drop. Simple email automation. Can link landing pages to email opt-ins and product offers | Beginners who want simplicity and email marketing as a core feature |
| Kit | All-in-one platform | Excellent for creators, limited funnel capability |
Start with what’s free and simple. Upgrade when your revenue supports it.
How Funnels Connect Every Tool in This Series
Here’s how everything fits:
| Part | Tool/Asset | Role in the Funnel |
| Part 1 | Blog | Sends warm traffic to your funnel |
| Part 2 | Autoresponder | Delivers your emails and offers |
| Part 3 | Landing Page | Captures leads (built with funnel builder) |
| Part 4 | Lead Magnet | Your opt-in bribe that gets attention |
| Part 5 | Traffic Tools | Drives people into the funnel |
| Part 6 | Tracking Tools | Shows which funnel parts are converting |
| Part 7 | Funnel Builder | Brings all the parts together into one smooth system |
This is your digital sales machine.
Set it up once. Tweak it as you go. Let it work for you day and night.
Pro Funnel Tips (From Experience)
Keep your funnel simple. One offer, one CTA per page.
Use ClickMagick to track clicks and conversions on each step.
Test different headlines on your landing page small changes = big results.
Don’t be afraid to show your face or voice it builds trust.
Send value-packed emails before making the pitch.
Want the Bigger Picture? The Iceberg Effect Explains It All
Funnels are just one of the 4 core components of the affiliate marketing system taught in The Iceberg Effect by Dean Holland.
It’s the book that opened my eyes to:
• Why funnels matter more than flashy tactics
• How to build real business systems as an affiliate
• What separates the 5% who make it from the 95% who don’t
You can get it for free just cover shipping. FREE Copy of the Ice Berg Effect posted to your address anywhere in the world
Action Steps to Take Today
✔️ Choose a funnel builder I recommend starting with Systeme.io
✔️ Create your first 2-page funnel: Opt-in → Thank You
✔️ Plug in your lead magnet and autoresponder
✔️ Start driving traffic
✔️ Track performance with ClickMagick
✔️ Tweak and improve as you go
✔️ Subscribe to my free email newsletter for deeper tutorials and tips
Share this and posts from the 10 part series with friends and family using the sharing links below.
Coming Up Next…
Part 8: Link Management Tools – Keep It Clean, Branded & Clickable
We’ll cover how to:
• Shorten long ugly links
• Track affiliate clicks
• Protect and brand your affiliate URLs
• Improve trust and boost CTR
You don’t want to miss it.
Progress over perfection. Always.
Atif
P.S. Know someone starting online? Share this blog with them, they’ll thank you later.