What is Affiliate Marketing?
In simple terms, affiliate marketing is where you refer visitors from your website to a
merchant's website. A merchant is any individual or company that sells products or
services online. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, eBay, and Yahoo are all examples of merchants
with affiliate programs. These companies pay their affiliates to promote their products
and services online. Merchants with affiliate programs range in size from small
businesses to Fortune 500 companies.
You earn commissions when the visitors you refer complete some type of action on a
merchant's website. For example, you may earn a commission if the visitor you refer
makes a purchase, completes a lead form, or downloads some software.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?
When a visitor comes to your website and clicks on one of your merchant's links, a
tracking cookie is set on the visitor's computer. A cookie, in Internet terms, is nothing
more than a small text file that is placed on a user's computer when they visit a website.
This cookie tells a merchant that a visitor was referred by your website. When that visitor
makes a purchase, or completes some other action on a merchant's website, the merchant
gives you a commission. That's it!
You don't have to fulfill any products, handle customer service issues, or do anything
else. All you're doing is referring visitors from your website to a merchant's website.
The Benefits of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing? What's in it for me? I'm glad you asked. Here is a summary of just a
few of the benefits you can experience as an affiliate:
Flexibility - Business on your terms
Perhaps the #1 benefit for affiliates is flexibility. I haven't had to punch a clock, report to
a boss, or sit in rush-hour traffic since I quit my day job and became a full-time affiliate. I
take vacations whenever I want. I never miss my kid's school or sporting events. And I've
never been happier!
Money - The only limit on your earning potential is you
Almost as nice as the flexibility, is the money. I don't consider it easy money; I've
worked hard for every dollar I've earned. However, I'm in control of what I make! When
you own an affiliate business you're in the driver's seat. If you need to make more money,
you just spend more time working on your affiliate business.
The nice thing about earning money from an affiliate business is that it can be residual.
Wait! What do I mean by residual? It means that my websites make money even when
I'm not working on them. This frees me up to build more money-making websites, which
also earn residual income. As you can see this has a multiplying effect. In the last 2 years
I have developed over 100 websites that have helped me to earn a substantial monthly
income. For the most part, these websites are self-sustaining. If I take a week off and go
on vacation my affiliate websites are still making money.
My affiliate websites are not 100% maintenance free. However, I only have to spend a
minimal amount of time each month maintaining them. This maintenance is mostly just
reviewing reports and trying to determine ways to earn more money.
Low Start-Up Costs - You don't have to mortgage your house to launch an affiliate
business
The costs associated with starting up a typical brick and mortar business range from tens
of thousands of dollars, to millions of dollars. This presents a huge obstacle for most
aspiring entrepreneurs. Even starting your own e-commerce website can be expensive
and difficult.
You can launch a quality affiliate website that can start generating instant cash for just a
few hundred dollars, even if you have little or no experience developing websites.
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