What Is Affiliate Marketing… and how does it work? post updated 3-11-23
Affiliate marketing can be defined as a widespread method of promotion in which an affiliate is rewarded by a company. It can be online merchants, such as Amazon, Clickbank, and eBay. Websites that have products to sell, (ebooks, how-to books) website hosting providers, websites that teach affiliate marketing, and thousands of other brands are also a part of affiliate marketing.
For every view, sale, and/or registration produced through the affiliate’s efforts, usually links within their website or banners (depending on the type of affiliate program).
It’s similar to collecting commissions as a typical salesperson would. The more the affiliate sells… the more the affiliate gets paid. It’s as simple as that!
Compensation calculations vary but are typically based on one of the following:
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) – a specific amount is paid for each visitor the affiliate sends
Pay-Per-Lead (PPL) – where the affiliate is paid for registrations or sign-ups
Pay-Per-Sale (PPS) – a specific commission per sale is paid to the affiliate
If your goal is to generate your entire income online you can drive traffic from your subscriber lists. These are the people who have signed up on your websites, and from other marketing methods to affiliate links, banners, or to a seller’s promotion page.
What About Product Sales and Marketing?
Affiliate marketing can be somewhat daunting and is not always a fast process. This is because you have to watch for great products and services with the potential to benefit your niche market and your mailing lists. To build trust and income, it’s best to recommend only those products that will be of specific interest to your customers.
When an affiliate is marketing any product, many people offer only products they have tested themselves. Not everyone does that, however, you certainly build more trust that way.
Typically the higher the percentage of affiliate commissions possible from any quality product, the more that product is worth promoting.
When a product is sold through the affiliate’s personal link, banners, or sending them to the seller’s website, you get a commission. This commission strategy is always understood before promotion. Depending on the vendor, or company used, they have a standard promotion policy that you must adhere to.
It is common and expected that all affiliate details be spelled out in the affiliate sign-up process. However, you shouldn’t be afraid to contact any vendor to clarify their affiliate program if you have questions. Often you can telephone or email for a fast reply. If they are not willing to answer your questions then you should stay away from them.
There are plenty of other quality affiliate programs that would love to have you!
Is a Digital Lifestyle for Me?
Many standard retailers offer very small commissions for affiliate sales. Most internet marketers (those markets who sell “how-to” eBooks, planners, courses, training, affiliate managers, etc.); offer around 50%-75% of the sale. This is to entice you for being an affiliate of their digital product. That is why being an affiliate of digital products can be very lucrative if you want to teach other people about marketing.
Some people are in Internet Marketing as a teacher to other people who are contemplating getting into online marketing. There are people who sell their services for setting up websites, SEO, setting up WordPress, or any form of online marketing. Many of these also have affiliates who sponsor them.
For instance: Namecheap, HostGator, Bluehost, Names.com, Weebly, WordPress Engine, and many more.
Then there is a number of affiliate programs for tangible goods and off-line services. A completely digital lifestyle can be developed solely from digital or downloadable affiliate products that may never take physical form.
Of course, it’s important to note that as an affiliate of any tangible product, you generally never do more than promote a link to the product online. So in that sense, it’s basically the same as a digital product.
Affiliate Programs – but too many to list here
One of the best places to find digital products to affiliate with is ClickBank.com. They have an automatic affiliate program built into their payment processing service. This is so that affiliate payments are not left up to the product owner to process.
Here are other good affiliate programs to check into:
CJ.com (Commission Junction)
Amazon.com
ShareASale.com – has many merchants and this is one that I use. It is free to sign up… costs you nothing and you get instructions on how to use it.
Staying with reputable, well-known internet vendors makes a great deal of sense because you know you will get paid. You know when to expect a check or bank deposit, and you can see your account details online at any time. Plus, if you do have a problem they are more than willing to take care of it.
How Do I Get Started?
There are many ways to start with affiliate marketing, but a basic starting point is to have a website with text or image affiliate links to products you want to promote.
Generally, you want to stay focused within a niche or interest group to increase your sales potential. In other words, you don’t want to have many different affiliate links to a variety of completely different markets on your website.
Everyone does not abide by the above statement. However, to begin with, you may want to start out small and then venture into broader topics/niches.
Product Review Site
Many people do product reviews. They even use Amazon for product reviews. If you have used the products, your promotional efforts could include a product review. With this option, your recommendation is based on your own experience along with images and other supporting information.
Email Marketing/Opt-in To Get You Dedicate Base of Subscribers
Developing an email opt-in list is helpful in affiliate marketing because it gives you the opportunity to find the products and information your list is interested in. It gives you the most potential benefit for a group of like-minded individuals (your subscribers) and your ability to tell them about it. A targeted list of subscribers, that you have built a good relationship, could be worth thousands of dollars over time.
By promoting affiliate products to niche markets, it is possible to create a substantial income over time. Especially when the affiliate marketer is only promoting quality products with a real potential to benefit customers within the niche.
I Do Not Recommend Starting Out With More Than One Niche Website
You learn from your mistakes, and I can say that because I did. I wanted success all at once. Therefore I had several websites, at one time about 5 plus. I did not search out all of the resources to help me realize that it is important to make ‘one’ site successful before you build another.
Success is not going to happen overnight, it does not happen, it will not happen, it takes time and if anyone tells you otherwise…you need to find someone else to talk to.
In Conclusion- For What Is Affiliate Marketing –affiliate marketing for beginners
Affiliate marketing is a great way to build an income without having a product of your own. It is important that you work to get interested people to view product information through your affiliate links.
It’s very easy to get started and can eventually it can put a lot of money in your pocket. But be prepared to put in a lot of time and effort. Making money online through affiliate programs is not easy. If it was everyone would be rich.
Notice: We share “affiliate” links here on these pages. If you purchase through our links, we may get a commission. This does not change the price you pay.
