What Is Affiliate Marketing And How Does It Work?

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Ecommerce entrepreneurs understand that there are several ways they can help their business grow. One of the best things you can do for your business is to find extra sources of income. However, identifying these opportunities and making the most of them can be difficult. One way to make extra income is to utilize affiliate marketing. But what is affiliate marketing and how can you make it work for you? Here’s what you need to know. 

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is when you earn commissions by promoting the products or services of another company. Essentially, receive a monetary payout by providing the desired result of another retailer. 

While there are a few ways that this process can unfold, it typically results in a sale. However, you can also receive payouts for directing traffic to a website or generating leads for another company. 

Affiliate marketing opportunities are relatively easy to find as there are many free affiliate programs that will partner you with a retailer. Since affiliate marketing is performance-based, you generally get out of it what you put into it. 

Can You Get Paid For Affiliate Marketing?

One of the greatest benefits of affiliate marketing is that after you initially set up a deal with an e-commerce company, you earn a commission each time someone uses your link or makes a purchase. This means that you can get paid at all hours of the day, simply because you partnered with an e-commerce company.

Essentially, it looks like this.

  1. You show an ad or a link for an e-commerce company on your website, blog, social network, etc
  2. A consumer clicks on your individual link.
  3. The consumer then makes a purchase on the e-commerce website.
  4. The affiliate network records the transaction.
  5. Receive your commission.

Commission can change depending on your agreement with the e-commerce company. Generally, you’ll make around 5% of the transaction. However, you can negotiate all the way up to 50%. The more affiliate links you set up, the more you can make from affiliate marketing.

Getting Started In Affiliate Marketing

You’re probably thinking “passive income? I’m in!” but you may not fully understand how to get started with affiliate marketing. After all, if it were super simple, everyone would do it, right? Thankfully, it isn’t complicated, you just have to be dedicated and follow a few simple guidelines. Here’s how to get started.

  • Choose a platform. (social, blog posts, vlog, etc)
  • Choose your niche.
  • Find affiliate programs to join. There are several programs you can join or you can reach out to someone independently to set up a deal.
  • Create great content. The more traffic you draw in the more traffic you can push through your affiliate link.
  • Drive traffic to your affiliate site.

That’s all there is to it. While it’s simple, it’s important to focus on generating traffic to your site and finding a partner with a product worth purchasing. Generally, it’s a good idea to find an affiliate partner with a product related to your blog post or typical content. For example, if you write a blog article on dog grooming tips, a good affiliate link would be a page that sells dog shampoo.

While affiliate marketing is a fun and potentially lucrative process, remember that the most important aspect of successful affiliate marketing is a successful website. If you aren’t generating traffic to your website or social media channels, you’ll never see a return from your affiliate links. If you need help getting your website to where it should be, reach out to a digital marketing expert today.

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Effect Web Agency partners with businesses to help them achieve the maximum results from their digital marketing efforts. Contact Effect for your free web consultation. 

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