What is Affiliate Marketing?

What is affiliate marketing? Quite simply it is selling products that belong to someone else. They go to all the trouble of creating the software, service or digital products and you get to sell it! You make lots of money for zero work, what could be better than that?

Affiliate marketing is an agreement between the person developing the product and anyone who willing to sell the product. The developer is known as the affiliate merchant and the seller is the affiliate marketer. This is a win/win situation for both parties. The affiliate merchant wins by increases their money by only having to pay for advertising. The affiliate marketer wins by getting a commission on products he did not make or will he have to guarantee.

Your payments will all depend on the terms of service agreement. Each affiliate program can be set up different. Some people manage their own affiliate programs. They use computer programs to set up the affiliate marketer’s assigned link. This link helps promote the product and sales can be tracked. The affiliate marketer will then be paid at specified intervals using payment methods such as paypal.

Selecting products or services

How much you will make is linked directly to the product you choose. The size of your commission is dependent on the affiliate merchant you decide to work with. Choose a product or a program that you will not be ashamed to take home to mama. Besides, it is hard to sell products that you do not believe in.

The best type of product to be involved with is one you know something about. For example, a cleaning product you already use in your home. This way your sales ads will flow naturally and not be strained. Do not ever work with a company that offers you no assistance. They should have at least minimal training and sales tools such as links and banners.

Finally watch for affiliate programs with commissions of at least 50%. In addition, concentrate on companies that pay on different levels. Many companies have it set up for multilevel marketing. This will allow you to be paid on the initial sale and then receive residual income if that buyer then becomes an affiliate.

29 Comments

  • Tacs

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    Heyas Reed,

    Man your getting good at this m8 😉 Think you ought to start a school or something. More good info.

    Tacs

    Tacss last blog post..Stephen Hawking Sending DNA into Space to Promote the Archon X PRIZE for Genomic

  • Gimme A Dream

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    If 95% of internet marketeers fail, does that mean that choosing an affiliate to market is based on guesswork?
    I have yet to read Zero to Hero…, sorry!

    Gimme A Dreams last blog post..I Have Always Loved Bob Newhart Comedy

  • Bill Masson

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    Hi Reed,
    Multilevel marketing is a favourite of mine, and i think you will agree gives the best payout over the long term. I think the term affiliate marketing is seen as a lazy mans way to making pots of money, but nothing could be further from the truth, sure you can make a fortune but it takes time and a whole lot of determination and guts to see it through.

    One piece of advice i got from a fellow affiliate was when you start any particular program then see it to the end before you start the next one, then just rinse and repeat.

  • John Marena

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    Again i ask how do i get an affiliate
    to sell my product.No one tells you how to find
    someone,they just tell you what an affiliate
    is.Again how do you find an affiliate marketer
    to sell your product????????????????????

  • Jimmy Bradley

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    Great article today! Congratulations on becoming a new father. I want to apologize to you for yesterdays comments. They may have sounded a little harsh but I have read better from you and I know you are under a lot of stress. I still feel though that you could recommend some sources
    for us to check out. That is all that I was really trying to convey to you yesterday.
    Nothing more. Nothing less.
    Take care!
    Jimmy

  • Lorna Arnold

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    I am new to all of this. My experience is in direct mail which is now ancient history. However, I am very interested in hearing more of how you made all of your money and would like to know how I can sell webinars. The information is great and I teach now in person. Seems to me I could teach alot about business in a different venue. Thanks for the info.
    Lorna

  • Smart Online Business

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    Nice post Reed, thanks..
    what affiliate network do you prefer mostly ?!
    which products do you prefer to re-sell, physical or digital ?

    These networks seem quite interesting with great merchants & very nice products, I’ve started to see very encouraging results from them lately:

    http://www.raffimax.com/clixgalore.php
    http://www.raffimax.com/linkshare_affiliate_program.php

    Do you have any experience with these two networks Reed ?!

    Smart Online Businesss last blog post..How to Create a Profitable Online Business?

  • Katja Palmu

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    hmm… you make lots of money for zero work… OK, I now you didn’t mean it like that, but the truth is, that is still is work. And the results aren’t usually instant, that is something many persons giving a try to affiliate marketing seem to forget.

    Regards,

    Katja

  • Chris Imamshah

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    Good post Reed. Affiliate Marketing is a business like any other although it lacks some of the headaches of traditional business such as storing inventory, customer service etc.

    Having said that, people getting into Affiliate Marketing need to understand that it is a businss and, as such, requires effort in order to see results.

    It is a great business that is fast and easy to get into which makes it open to the masses.

    Without the mindset that it is a business, the majority will fail at Affiliate marketing or any business for that matter.

    Thanks for the notification & request to comment.

    Take care,
    Chris
    http://www.fastinternetmarketingtips.com

  • John Bandy

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    Hey Reed,
    I’ve been working and doing a lot of reading on the different ways yo make money on the internet. Being an affiliate seems to be the fasted way to start earning. I appreciate your tips and look forward to the next article.
    John

  • Lynda Mekalick

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    Good brief description of becoming an affiliate,Reed.
    I prefer digital products,as they can be downloaded by the customer straight away.
    Being an affiliate requires consistent work – just like any job. But if you do the consistent work then the rewards are far greater than a regular “job”.
    To John Marena – why don’t you register your product with Clickbank? There’s where your affiliate marketers can come from.
    Enjoy fatherhood,Reed,we have 17 grandchildren – luv em to bits,we do!They’re heaps of fun.
    Cheers,
    Lynda

  • admin

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    @Tacs thank you

    @Gimmie I think a lot of it boils down to not focusing and not taking action. Even I will struggle with those two critical parts.

    @Bill currently I’m not a fan of MLM here’s why…

    I have one successful MLM that I’m in (in other words it pays for itself)

    That one I have 122 people paying $40 a month.

    Last month I got a check for $65 from that.

    However I brought in $4,880 for the company.

    Now let’s say that instead I was marketing an information product and say it was a membership site.

    Even if I dropped the price down to $10 which just about anyone can afford I’d still make $1,220 a month but let’s say we want to go all out and have affiliates promote this.

    Even if I gave out a whopping 75% commission or $915 to my affiliates every month I’d still have $305 profit per month. And I’d say most of these you could get by giving out just 50% a month.

    Now that just an example but I think you can see why I prefer information marketing over MLM.

    @John shoot me an email reedfloren AT gmail.com

    @Lorna direct mail still works. Here’s what you do. 1. Collect leads for free by giving out a report 2. Then have them buy a product of yours where you grab address 3. Send a followup via snail mail to them.

    @Smart I don’t promote a lot of clickbank products but I’m starting to like them more and more because I’ve noticed that there are a lot of marketers who owe me money. I like promoting digital and physical information products. I’ve used linkshare but don’t believe I’ve used clixgalore

    @katja sorry if it seems like I misrepresented how hard affiliate marketing can be. Some days I struggle with it too but the easiest way for me to make money has been from building a list.

    @Chris great points.

  • admin

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    @John thanks, I’m glad you like them.

    @Lynda thank you 🙂

  • Kenny Ritchie

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    Glad you gave us the tip on direct mail out at the end there Reed. Far too many of us think when we turn on a computer phones, faxes and mailboxes vanish into a black hole.

    affiliate marketers are marketers and therefore the best affiliates exploit all possible routes to market.

    Kenny Ritchies last blog post..Twigitt – Twitter meets Digg

  • admin

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    @Kenny thanks, glad you enjoyed that tip.

  • Doug Allitt

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    Hi folks,

    Yeah, truly the only 2 ways to do affiliate marketing is to have a huge list or generate huge traffic to a blog or site. I’m talking thousands here. It’s something you have to work on over a long time.
    Anything that claims large returns in a short time is an outright fraud!!!

    Cheers,

    Doug.

    Doug Allitts last blog post..Take your time – about your day.

  • admin

    Reply Reply September 23, 2008

    @Doug yep no overnight success.

  • David Smyth

    Reply Reply September 24, 2008

    I struggled with my marketing when first starting as an affiliate. A few sales here and there then weeks of no action whatsoever!

    Then I hit upon a winner; I became an affiliate of a few of the top Traffic Exchanges on the net. As I was upgraded in some of them, I had commission levels set at 50%.

    It was a simple matter of using the T.E.’s very best splash pages in other Exchanges. Sign ups began pouring in and my efforts were richly rewarded; Nice!

    All the best with your marketing efforts!

    Regards,
    Dave.

    David Smyths last blog post..A LIST OF SCAM SITES!! ‘BEWARE’!

  • Delords

    Reply Reply September 24, 2008

    Great post and comments
    am really happy reading from your blog,
    affiliate marketing requires patience.and can really be frustrating at times but when you start building it and have good marketing strategies it sure would work fine and bring in loads of cash for anyone.

  • Earn at least USD1

    Reply Reply September 24, 2008

    Hi All,

    Reed, I follow your advice. I have generated new link for affiliate I joined. Most people extremely excited when first heard about making money on the internet. There are hard method and also easy ones. Or course Reed knew all around what it takes to make money, he’s the expert and I don’t think the valuable one is free of charge.

    I am here to offer you the easiest method to earn money, at least before 31st September. What you have to do is:

    1. Go to my website
    2. Get the free report, make sure you download them
    3. Sign up as affiliate
    4. Promote your link to blog like Reed’s. (You don’t even have to have a website)

    When people download thru your link, you’ll earn money. Easy?

    YES! Earn $1.00 Per Referral!

    That’s right! For every person you refer who signs up to download the Traffic Tips Report, you’ll earn $1.00 – no strings attached.

    You’ll get access to professionally written emails you can blast to your list, as well as banners, text ads, articles, reviews and more you can place on your website or blog.

    Your visitors and subscribers will love the free report (and love you for referring them to it) and you’ll earn easy money. It’s win-win 🙂

    Reed may have more advance ways to make money and heck he is making lots more. You can start to earn as little as USD1. Try this!

  • Damji Dharamshi

    Reply Reply September 24, 2008

    Goo Suggestions For New Bes.

  • Damji Dharamshi

    Reply Reply September 24, 2008

    Goo Suggestions For New Bees.

  • admin

    Reply Reply September 25, 2008

    @David congrats on your success

    @Delords I’m glad you like it

    @Earn that comment is rather spammy, please tone it down in the future.

    @Damji glad to help

  • promosyon

    Reply Reply September 27, 2008

    I follow you always, this post is excellent.

  • admin

    Reply Reply September 28, 2008

    @promosyon thank you

  • Hamid Mat Sain

    Reply Reply September 28, 2008

    Excellent article Reed.
    There is some confusion when people talk about Internet Marketing and Network Marketing.
    I think what we are doing online or offline is Network Marketing business.The online Network Marketing=Affiliate Marketing.Some form of Internet Marketing is Non-Affiliate Marketing but rather direct sales between buyer and seller(eg.on eBay)

    Cheers

    Hamid Mat Sain
    leastriskbusiness.blogspot.com

  • admin

    Reply Reply October 3, 2008

    @Hamid thank you, I agree a lot of people get the two confused.

  • Very nice information. This is the information that I’ve been looking for. I’ve been looking for this throughout the web however they are not as informative as this

  • I think that selling a product that you believe in/know about is important. It also makes the whole process easier and more enjoyable.

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