To put it simply, affiliate marketing is marketing through an "affiliate." An affiliate or affiliate marketer is an individual who promotes someone else's products or services and getting referral fees, advertising fees, or commission in return.
Think of an affiliate as a real estate agent.
The only difference is that an affiliate promotes products or services sold online (not just real estate-related), and that he uses digital marketing channels as his main promotional tools. The most common of these channels is a review website, a blog, or social networking sites.
If you become an affiliate, you'll need to sign up for a company that offers an affiliate program. The terms of these programs vary, including how much advertising rate you can earn from each sale.
At the Amazon Associates Program, for instance, the minimum rate is pegged at 4%. If you do the math, you'll earn $4 for every $100 worth of item that you have successfully sold.
The company offering an affiliate program such as Amazon.com is called a merchant or advertiser.
Sometimes, companies may partner with an affiliate network to handle their affiliate program. These networks serve as a third-party that link you and the company. Instead of applying directly to the company, you'll have to sign up for these affiliate networks. An example of an affiliate network is Commission Junction (CJ).
One of the advantages of choosing an affiliate network is that it eliminates the need for multiple registrations. Meaning, one approved application is all it takes to start promoting products from different merchants. Some merchants may still require that they manually approve your application before you can promote their products.
The disadvantage of affiliate networks, however, is the cut they collect from your earnings. If you're not comfortable with this, then I strongly suggest that you sign up directly for a company.
For beginners, I suggest that you join the Amazon Associates Program. It's easy to get approved, and there are literally thousands of products to choose from. Besides, the program has an easy-to-use interface with complete tools to use.
Once you're satisfied with your Amazon earnings, you can sign up for other programs such as Clickbank.
Continue reading...
- What is Affiliate Marketing?
- How to Earn from Affiliate Marketing
- How to Become an Affiliate