Affiliate marketing is different things to different
people, but essentially, affiliate marketing is the act
of marketing someone else’s products or services for a
portion, or commission, of each sale that you make.
Some people do affiliate marketing as their full time
jobs. That’s it. That’s all they do – they market other
people’s products or services, collect their
commissions, and live their lives as they wish. They do
not have to deal with customer service, shipping orders,
or anything else. All they do is promote other people’s
products or services, everyday.
Other people use affiliate programs in conjunction with
their own products or services, using affiliate programs
as front end products, upsells, and back end products.
For example, if you had an information product about
weight loss, you might want to market exercise
equipment, exercise clothing, vitamins, or other items
or services that are related to weight loss along with
your weight loss information product – to increase your
revenue.
Obviously you would not want to create these items, so
you would find these related products or services, and
sign up for the affiliate programs, allowing you to
promote them. Some people even create low cost information
products, such as ebooks, in order to sell high ticket
affiliate products or services. Alternately, some people
just use inexpensive affiliate products to enhance their
own high ticket products or continuity programs, such as
membership sites.
Don't Get Confused
Some people are confused about what affiliate marketing
actually is. For instance, many people who have products
and offer affiliate programs for those products might
say that they sell their product through affiliate
marketing. What they mean is that they have affiliates
who sell the product for them, but they are actually
merchants or affiliate managers, in affiliate marketing
terms.
But basically, affiliate marketing is selling someone
else’s products or services through various means, for
various reasons – either to earn an income, to enhance a
product, or even to sell an additional product. In fact,
many people use low end affiliate products as lead ins,
or entry level products, for higher end affiliate
products – never actually creating or promoting a
product or service of their own.
Is money being made?
You better believe there is! If you
include all products and services that are sold through
affiliates, affiliate marketing is essentially a billion
dollar industry, even though it isn’t technically
considered an industry in its own right. Many people
don’t even consider it a career, but they are mistaken.
Right now, at this very moment, there are thousands of
affiliate marketers that you have never even heard of
quietly promoting affiliate products and collecting huge
commission checks every month. Why haven’t you heard of
them? You haven’t heard of them because they are not in
the Internet Marketing products market. They are in
other ‘consumer’ niches, such as weight loss,
healthcare, sports, gambling, education, financial
products, etc.
Now, if you have an active interest in those things, or
any other conceivable thing, you have probably searched
for information or products related to your interest on
the Internet. If this is the case, you have most likely
come into contact with an affiliate marketer, without
even being aware of it. You may have even purchased a
product through an affiliate marketer without ever
knowing it.
Even Google has an affiliate program. That’s what Google
AdSense is all about. It’s an affiliate program, but it
isn’t technically called that. EBay has an affiliate
program, as does Microsoft. There is an affiliate
program available for just about any product that you
can imagine, but not all ‘brands’ have affiliate
programs – which of course is their mistake.
Affiliate marketing presents a win-win-win situation.
The owner or maker of the product being sold is making
money. The affiliate marketer is making money, and the
customer is getting what they want or need. Everybody
wins. Affiliate marketing has been around longer than
you think it has as well.
Many people think that affiliate marketing started
sometime after the Internet came into existence. This is
wrong. Amway, Avon, Mary Kay – all of these are
essentially affiliate programs, but the people who were
actually doing the affiliate marketing were called
distributors or representatives – and they are still
called distributors or representatives to this day.
Affiliate marketing can even entail network marketing.
Affiliate marketing is the act of selling a product for
a commission. Network marketing also involves selling a
product for a commission, but also focuses on bringing
other resellers (or affiliate marketers, distributors or
representatives) into the program as well. Sometimes,
however, affiliate marketing also allows and encourages
you to bring other affiliate marketers into the program.
Again, affiliate marketing is different things to
different people, but the goal is the same – to make
money. Affiliate marketing offers you the opportunity
and ability to make money without creating a product of
your own.
1.
What
really is affiliate marketing?
2.
Affiliate Marketing: Getting Started
3.
Understand The Terms And Language Of Affiliate
Marketing
4.
Know Where To Find The Best Affiliate Programs
5.
Affiliate Programs: One-Time or Residual?
6.
Get The Best Commission Promoting Affiliate Programs
7.
Promote the Product and The Program
