1. Basics of affiliate marketing
Becoming a member of an affiliate network is usually free, and offers you a lot of opportunities in countless markets and market niches by basically pushing other people’s products. You can earn some side income or even make a handsome living by collecting commissions on sales made through your website, blog or even through other sites. Commissions can sometimes reach 50–75% or more on each sale resulting from your sales efforts.
2. Differentiators
The Internet is full of affiliate programs, which can be hard to be told apart by a rookie. Usually the biggest difference among them is the type of products they promote. Their strategies vary widely, from requiring affiliates to post links to the products sold, to those that offer comprehensive training and skills honing. The fundamental business model is the same: earning commissions by selling products, content and/or subscriptions.
3. Common pay models
As an affiliate marketer, you can earn money in three different ways:
· Cost-per-click: Most suitable for high-traffic content. Revenue is made by earning a small amount for every click made from your page or content site onto the advertiser’s site.
· Cost-per-lead: The strategy here is getting people to sign up or fill out a form with the advertiser from a link on your site. Earnings per lead are still pretty low, but still slightly higher than cost-per-click.
· Cost-per-acquisition: This one is good for niche-specific and/or high-quality products. Commissions, which can be fixed or percentage-based, are made every time an actual sale is made by the advertiser to leads forwarded through a link on your website or content page.
4. Making up your mind
It’s always wise to pick a theme you feel passionate about, and also one in which you have some expert and/or insider knowledge that you can share with others. Home and gardening, health and fitness, pet training, you name it! Find a network that offers the kind of products you are most interested in, like Commission Junction, LinkShare, ShareaSale, Clickbank, and Amazon. Bear in mind, though, that it isn’t really about deciding which affiliate program to join; rather, it’s about finding a network which offers products relevant to your area of interest and the content you promote.
Becoming a member of an affiliate network is usually free, and offers you a lot of opportunities in countless markets and market niches by basically pushing other people’s products. You can earn some side income or even make a handsome living by collecting commissions on sales made through your website, blog or even through other sites. Commissions can sometimes reach 50–75% or more on each sale resulting from your sales efforts.
2. Differentiators
The Internet is full of affiliate programs, which can be hard to be told apart by a rookie. Usually the biggest difference among them is the type of products they promote. Their strategies vary widely, from requiring affiliates to post links to the products sold, to those that offer comprehensive training and skills honing. The fundamental business model is the same: earning commissions by selling products, content and/or subscriptions.
3. Common pay models
As an affiliate marketer, you can earn money in three different ways:
· Cost-per-click: Most suitable for high-traffic content. Revenue is made by earning a small amount for every click made from your page or content site onto the advertiser’s site.
· Cost-per-lead: The strategy here is getting people to sign up or fill out a form with the advertiser from a link on your site. Earnings per lead are still pretty low, but still slightly higher than cost-per-click.
· Cost-per-acquisition: This one is good for niche-specific and/or high-quality products. Commissions, which can be fixed or percentage-based, are made every time an actual sale is made by the advertiser to leads forwarded through a link on your website or content page.
4. Making up your mind
It’s always wise to pick a theme you feel passionate about, and also one in which you have some expert and/or insider knowledge that you can share with others. Home and gardening, health and fitness, pet training, you name it! Find a network that offers the kind of products you are most interested in, like Commission Junction, LinkShare, ShareaSale, Clickbank, and Amazon. Bear in mind, though, that it isn’t really about deciding which affiliate program to join; rather, it’s about finding a network which offers products relevant to your area of interest and the content you promote.
