What is Affiliate Marketing?

Whenever you read an article for online services and digital marketing, you always come across a term known as Affiliate marketing. Bloggers and digital marketers who are into online marketing are well aware of this term, however, those who are new to digital marketing or online marketing might not know what affiliate marketing is and how it helps you to earn money just sitting at home.

What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate Marketing is the performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more persons (affiliates) for each visitor and purchase made through affiliates. In simple language, it is the form of marketing wherein you refer someone to any online product and when the person buys the product based on your recommendation without meeting them and you get a commission on the same purchase.

It can vary from $1 to $10,000 depending on the company and product you are promoting. Many companies who sell products or services online offer an affiliate program too. You can simply sign up the program and get your unique tracking link.

Affiliate Marketing has three core players or relationships i.e. Advertiser, Publisher and Consumer.

Pic Credit: CJ

• The Advertiser can be a person or company who sells products or services like electronics, airline tickets, clothes, car parts, insurance services and selling company policies. Advertisers are the one who is ready to pay people who promote their products or services.

• A Publisher is an individual or company that promotes an advertiser’s products or services in exchange for earning a commission. The publisher can be a blogger or company who agrees contractually to work with the advertiser, publish the content with advertiser’s links, banners or text ads or even unique phone numbers that a publisher incorporates into their websites.

• The Consumer is the final component that completes the affiliate relationship triangle. The consumer is the one who sees the ads or links, make an action by clicking the same and the complete the purchase action, which we call as conversion. It can be in any form like purchasing a product directly of submitting the details for further action.

Before jumping into starting an affiliate marketing business, one need to understand the concept fully and steps required to become a successful affiliate marketer. More importantly, if you have decided to become an affiliate marketer or add any company for the same, understand the business and company policies, make a plan and involve daily to make money with online affiliate marketing.