Affiliate marketing is probably the best, as well as the easiest, way to make money on the Internet. Truth be told, an affiliate marketing campaign can be up and running in minutes. So exactly what is affiliate marketing and where do you start? Let’s break it down and make it simple.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing, very simply, is where you sell other people’s items or products for a healthy commissions. There are numerous affiliate product sites all over the Internet for this purpose. The good thing is that most of them are free to join and easy for the affiliate marketing newbie to get going.
Why are the sites free to join?
Affiliate marketing sites are designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to provide large businesses with an outlet for their product. These businesses pay to list their products on the site.
You, the affiliate marketing newbie, comes along and decide to promote that product and receive healthy commissions for each sale you make. In this way, the marketing site makes money (from the listing fee), the product supplier makes money (from product sales) and YOU make money (from commissions on sales). Everybody is happy!
How much can I make?
This really depends on you based on your promotion efforts. More promotion equals more sales equals more healthy commissions. The harder you work, the more you make.
What kind of commission can I expect?
Usually, this is set by the business offering the product. Some commissions are as high as 75% while others may be as low as 10%. Look around a bit and see what’s out there.
How do I get paid?
This can vary from site to site. Some might utilize PayPal as a payment medium, some may do a direct deposit to your bank account and some send checks out at specified times.
Every market site has a “back office” area that reports your earnings at any given moment. You can see what you have coming any time you want. They also report on sales activity, so you can see what is working and what isn’t.
Sounds great! Where do I go to start?
There are several affiliate sites called marketplaces. The biggest and most trusted is Clickbank. They have been around for quite a few years and know how to treat their customers and affiliates.
How does the site know when I make a sale?
All affiliates are given an identification code or number. When you select the products you want, your code is attached to the link and is tracked back to the marketplace where it is reported in your “back office”, where you can see it.
Do I need to learn HTML to be an affiliate marketer?
Absolutely not. Anybody can open an affiliate marketing business. All you need to do is copy & paste. It couldn’t be simpler or easier to do.
Will I need a web site?
This is highly recommended for a place to drive customers to. A central web site is definitely a plus, though not necessary. You could simply do your promotion via email using the sales materials from the marketplace.
5 Top Benefits of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is of excellent service to both merchants and affiliate marketers. Its popularity has resulted in many earning high profits from websites and helps the merchants increase their sales figures. In relation to other earning methods, Affiliate markets prove to be the cheapest internet business with the highest financial returns/ rewards. In brief, here are some important benefits of affiliate marketing to affiliate marketers and merchants.
Benefits to Affiliate Marketer
- No Need to Create a Product!
Unlike many other businesses, affiliate marketing frees you from creating or producing products. Those responsible for creating products are the merchants and the marketers
- Little or with No Money Needed
A second important feature of affiliate marketing is that you do not need a hefty sum of money to get your business going. You can invest as little as $100.00 in a business that is viable and sustainable. Assuming you have no money to invest, you can always use free tools to start your business.
- Effortless Online Business
In terms of simplicity and ease, Affiliate Marketing is the easiest online business anyone can undertake. The reason being, that the merchants are engaged in all the hard work like creating products, delivering products to consumers, handling money transactions etc.
- Generate Income While You Sleep
Because your affiliate links on the website is a permanent fixture, there is no real need to devote all your time to staying online to keep in contact with your customers. Customers have the ability to access your site whenever it suits them and can also check your affiliate links.
- Access Hot Markets Fast!
One other easy way to make money fast is by choosing a hot market at a time convenient to you.
If the hot market you have chosen is successful and is making a considerable amount of money through selling a particular product for example, hair growth creams, then afterwards register with an affiliate program to get some hot hair growth related products