How to Run Facebook Ads for Affiliate Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide

Wondering how to run Facebook Ads for Affiliate Marketing? Well, you are in the right place.

Affiliate marketing is a popular and lucrative way to make money online by promoting other people’s products or services and earning commissions for every sale or action.

However, affiliate marketing can also be challenging, especially when it comes to driving traffic to your offers.

Facebook ads are one of the most effective and affordable ways to reach your target audience, generate leads, and increase conversions.

Facebook has over 2.9 billion monthly active users, making it the largest social media platform in the world.

It also has a powerful advertising system that allows you to create and run ads for different objectives, such as awareness, consideration, or conversion.

In this article, we will answer these questions and show you how to run Facebook ads for affiliate marketing in 2023.

Can I make Facebook ads for affiliate marketing?

Yes, you can make Facebook ads for affiliate marketing, but you need to be careful and follow some guidelines.

Facebook does not prohibit affiliate marketing on its platform, but it does have strict policies that you need to adhere to.

These policies are designed to protect the users’ experience and prevent spam, fraud, and misleading claims.

Therefore, it is important to read and understand Facebook’s advertising policies before creating your ads.

But don’t worry, I will tell you all about them below.

How to run Facebook ads for affiliate marketing

Now that you know the rules and regulations of Facebook ads for affiliate marketing, let’s see how to actually create and run your ads.

Choose a niche and an offer

The first step is to choose a niche and an offer that you want to promote as an affiliate.

You can use platforms like ClickBank, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, or Amazon Associates to find products or services that suit your niche and audience.

Make sure to choose an offer that has a high demand, a good commission rate, and a reputable vendor.

Create a landing page or a bridge page

The next step is to create a landing page or a bridge page that will act as an intermediary between your ad and your affiliate link.

A landing page is a web page that provides more information about the offer and persuades the user to take action.

A bridge page is a web page that provides value and builds trust with the user before sending them to the offer.

You can use tools like Leadpages, Unbounce, Instapage, or WordPress to create your landing page or bridge page easily.

Set up your Facebook Business Page and Ads account

The third step is to set up your Facebook Business Page and Ads account.

A Facebook Business Page is a public profile that represents your brand or business on Facebook.

You can use it to post content, interact with your audience, and run ads.

A Facebook Ads account is where you create and manage your ads on Facebook.

You can access it through the Facebook Business Suite or the Ads Manager.

You will need both of these to run Facebook ads for affiliate marketing.

Create your ad campaign

The fourth step is to create your ad campaign on Facebook. An ad campaign is a set of ad sets and ads that share the same objective, budget, and schedule.

You can create your ad campaign through the Ads Manager by following these steps:

• Choose your objective

This is what you want people to do when they see your ads, such as visit your website, sign up for something, or buy something.

For affiliate marketing, you can choose from objectives like Traffic, Conversions, Lead Generation, or Catalog Sales.

• Name your campaign

This is how you identify your campaign in the Ads Manager.

You can use a descriptive name that reflects your objective, niche, or offer.

• Set up your campaign budget and schedule

This is how much you want to spend and how long you want to run your campaign.

You can choose between a daily budget or a lifetime budget, and set a start and end date for your campaign.

You can also use advanced options to optimize your campaign delivery, bidding strategy, and attribution window.

• Create your ad set

This is where you define your target audience, placement, and optimization.

An ad set is a group of ads that share the same audience, placement, and optimization settings.

You can create multiple ad sets within a campaign to test different variables and compare their performance.

You can create your ad set by following these steps:

• Name your ad set

This is how you identify your ad set in the Ads Manager.

You can use a descriptive name that reflects your audience, placement, or optimization.

• Choose your audience

This is who you want to see your ads on Facebook.

You can use Facebook’s detailed targeting options to define your audience based on their demographics, interests, behaviors, and more.

You can also use custom audiences or lookalike audiences to target people who have already interacted with you or who are similar to them.

• Choose your placement

This is where you want your ads to appear on Facebook and its partner networks.

You can use automatic placements to let Facebook decide the best places for your ads based on your objective and budget, or manual placements to select the specific places where you want your ads to show up.

• Choose your optimization

This is how you want Facebook to deliver your ads to your audience.

You can choose from different optimization options based on your objectives, such as landing page views, link clicks, conversions, or impressions.

You can also choose how much you are willing to pay for each result, such as cost per click (CPC), cost per thousand impressions (CPM), or cost per action (CPA).

• Create your ad

This is where you design and preview your ad on Facebook.

An ad is the actual creative that people see on Facebook and its partner networks.

You can create multiple ads within an ad set to test different variations and compare their performance.

You can create your ad by following these steps:

• Name your ad

This is how you identify your ad in the Ads Manager.

You can use a descriptive name that reflects your creative, format, or copy.

• Choose your format

This is how you want your ad to look like on Facebook.

You can choose from different formats based on your objective and placement, such as image, video, carousel, collection, or instant experience.

• Add your media

This is the visual element of your ad, such as an image or a video.

You can use Facebook’s free stock images or videos, upload your own media, or create a slideshow or video from multiple images.

• Add your text

This is the verbal element of your ad, such as the headline, description, or call to action.

You can use Facebook’s text fields to write your text, or use the text overlay tool to add text to your media.

You can also use emojis or symbols to make your text more expressive and eye-catching.

• Add your website URL

This is the link that you want people to visit when they click on your ad.

You can use your landing page or bridge page URL here, or use a tracking URL to measure your ad performance.

You can also use a domain verification tool to verify your website ownership and improve your ad quality.

• Add a tracking pixel

This is a code snippet that you can install on your website to track the actions that people take after clicking on your ad, such as signing up, adding to cart, or purchasing.

You can use Facebook’s pixel or a third-party tool like Google Analytics to create and install your tracking pixel.

This will help you optimize your ads and measure your return on ad spend (ROAS).

• Review and launch your ad campaign

The final step is to review and launch your ad campaign on Facebook.

You can preview how your ads will look like on different placements and devices, and edit them if needed.

You can also check if your ads comply with Facebook’s policies and fix any issues that may arise.

Once you are satisfied with your ads, you can submit them for review and approval by Facebook.

This may take from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the volume and complexity of your ads.

Once your ads are approved, they will start running on Facebook and its partner networks.

Facebook affiliate marketing rules

As we mentioned earlier, Facebook does not prohibit affiliate marketing on its platform, but it does have strict policies that you need to follow.

These policies are designed to protect the users’ experience and prevent spam, fraud, and misleading claims.

Some of the main rules that you need to follow when doing affiliate marketing on Facebook are:

• Do not use direct affiliate links in your ads. Instead, use a landing page or a bridge page that provides value and pre-sells the offer before sending the user to the affiliate link.
• Do not make false or exaggerated claims about the product or service you are promoting. For example, do not promise unrealistic results, guarantees, or testimonials.
• Do not promote prohibited or restricted products or services, such as adult content, gambling, drugs, weapons, etc.
• Do not violate the intellectual property rights of others, such as using logos, trademarks, or images without permission.
• Do not use cloaking or deceptive practices to hide the true destination of your affiliate link or landing page.
• Do not use negative or sensational language or images that may offend or scare the users.
• Do disclose your relationship with the product or service you are promoting and use appropriate disclaimers, such as #ad or #sponsored.
• If you violate any of these rules, your ads may be rejected or your account may be suspended or banned. Therefore, it is important to read and understand Facebook’s advertising policies before creating your ads.

How to promote affiliate links on Facebook groups

Another way to do affiliate marketing on Facebook is to promote your affiliate links on Facebook groups.

Facebook groups are communities of people who share a common interest, passion, or goal.

You can join existing groups related to your niche or create your own group and invite people to join.

Promoting affiliate links on Facebook groups can be a great way to reach a targeted and engaged audience who may be interested in your offers.

However, you need to be careful and follow some best practices when doing so.

Here are some tips to follow:

• Provide value and build trust

Before promoting any affiliate link on a Facebook group, you need to provide value and build trust with the group members.

You can do this by posting useful content, answering questions, giving feedback, sharing tips, etc.

You need to establish yourself as an authority and a helpful member of the group before pitching any offer.

• Follow the group rules

Every Facebook group has its own rules and guidelines that you need to follow.

Some groups may allow affiliate links while others may not. Some groups may have specific requirements for posting links while others may not.

You need to read and respect the group rules before posting any affiliate link on a group.

If you break any rule, you may be removed or banned from the group.

• Be transparent and honest

When posting an affiliate link on a Facebook group, you need to be transparent and honest about it.

You need to disclose that you are an affiliate and that you will earn a commission if someone buys through your link.

You also need to provide accurate and relevant information about the product or service you are promoting.

Do not make false or exaggerated claims or promises that may mislead the users.

• Be selective and relevant

When posting an affiliate link on a Facebook group, you need to be selective and relevant.

You need to choose an offer that matches the interest and needs of the group members.

You also need to post your link in a context that makes sense and adds value to the group.

Do not spam the group with irrelevant or low-quality links that may annoy or offend the users.

• Test and track your results

When posting an affiliate link on a Facebook group, you need to test and track your results.

You need to use a tracking tool or a URL shortener to measure the clicks, conversions, and commissions that you generate from your link.

You also need to test different offers, headlines, images, and copy to see what works best for your audience.

Use tools like Bitly, Google URL Shortener, or ClickMeter to create and track your links.

Can you really sell a ClickBank product with Facebook ads?

ClickBank is one of the most popular and trusted platforms for affiliate marketing.

It offers thousands of products and services in various niches that you can promote as an affiliate and earn commissions.

However, can you really sell a ClickBank product with Facebook ads?

The answer is yes, but with some caveats.

You can sell a ClickBank product with Facebook ads, but you need to follow some best practices and tips to do it successfully.

Here are some of them:

• Choose a high-quality product

Not all ClickBank products are created equal.

Some products may have low quality, high refund rates, or poor customer service.

You need to choose a product that has a high quality, a low refund rate, and good customer service.

You can use tools like CBEngine, CBGraph, or CB Snooper to find and analyze the best ClickBank products for your niche.

• Create a landing page or a bridge page

As we mentioned earlier, you cannot use direct affiliate links in your Facebook ads.

You need to use a landing page or a bridge page that provides value and pre-sells the offer before sending the user to the affiliate link.

You can use tools like Leadpages, Unbounce, Instapage, or WordPress to create your landing page or bridge page easily.

• Follow Facebook’s advertising policies

As we mentioned earlier, Facebook has strict policies that you need to follow when creating and running ads on its platform.

These policies are designed to protect the users’ experience and prevent spam, fraud, and misleading claims.

You need to read and understand Facebook’s advertising policies before creating your ads.

• Target the right audience

One of the key factors for selling a ClickBank product with Facebook ads is targeting the right audience.

It would help if you defined your target audience based on their demographics, interests, behaviors, and more.

You can use Facebook’s detailed targeting options to define your audience based on these criteria.

You can also use custom audiences or lookalike audiences to target people who have already interacted with you or who are similar to them.

• Optimize your ad campaign

Another key factor for selling a ClickBank product with Facebook ads is optimizing your ad campaign.

You need to choose the right objective, budget, schedule, placement, and optimization for your ad campaign.

You also need to create multiple ad sets and ads within your campaign to test different variables and compare their performance.

Use tools like AdEspresso, Qwaya, or AdStage to create and optimize your ad campaign.

Conclusion

Facebook ads are one of the most effective and affordable ways to do affiliate marketing online.

By following the steps and tips in this article, you can learn how to run Facebook ads for affiliate marketing in 2023.

You can also learn how to promote affiliate links on Facebook groups and how to sell ClickBank products with Facebook ads.

However, remember that affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

It requires hard work, patience, and persistence.

You need to provide value and build trust with your audience before pitching any offer.

You also need to test and track your results and improve your strategy accordingly.

If you do it right, you can make a lot of money with affiliate marketing on Facebook.

But if you do it wrong, you can lose a lot of money and damage your reputation.