You must have heard about- “Make money when you sleep!” That everyone’s dream, right? I think this dream only makes you reach this article. That is how most of us are introduced to What is Affiliate Marketing and you should be well aware of how to do affiliate marketing.
Don’t worry I will explain all about affiliate marketing that I have learned in my whole carrier of affiliate marketing and I may assure after going through this article you will get to know all about affiliate marketing from scrap to advanced that will help to take a step forward in your affiliate marketing carrier.
Let us first understand What is Affiliate Marketing, then we’ll go in-depth and see how you can be a Successful and trusted Affiliate Marketer then you ‘ll learn How to do affiliate marketing.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
“Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products. You find a product you like, promote it to others, and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make.”
In simple words, Affiliate marketing is the arrangement by which online retailer pays a commission for redirecting traffic or sales generated from your referrals.
You can also compare it by a retail shop, as in retail shops you get some percent of your sales just like these retailers like Amazon and Flipkart will give you some percentage of sales generated by you. Most of the time the percentage lies between 3-70% depends upon the product. Some of the companies pay 150% of the amount for one sale(I have experienced it in hoasting related affiliates).
Now you a have basic overview of ‘what is affiliate marketing’, so we have to proceed with working of affiliate marketing.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?
The goal of the affiliate marketing program is to create a win-win framework for both affiliate partners and brands. We will further talk about it later.
Most of the affiliate marketing guides talk about three parts to channelize the marketing framework.
The Consumer:- The consumer/customer is like the backbone of the affiliate framework which leads the affiliate system to proceed over. Without customer/consumer there will be no sale and hence there aren’t any commission to distribute and the whole affiliate framework will be of no use.
The affiliate marketer/publisher will try to market to the consumers on their respective platforms.
Some affiliate marketers believe in transparency so they let their audience/consumers know that they are a part of an affiliate marketing channel but some are not comfortable in sharing, it’s up to the affiliate marketer.
Affiliate links have a tracking framework in the backend if a customer clicks on that link and follow the purchase process just as usual then also affiliate ends up being paid a commission.
The consumers would not have to pay an extra fee to the affiliate adviser as the cost of the affiliate system is incorporated into the retail cost.
However, According to Wikipedia, there are about 4 different parties that are involved in the functioning of affiliate marketing:- the merchant, the network, the publisher, and the customer.
4 Parts Of Affiliate Marketing.
The Merchant.
This is the party who produces products and also known as the brand, the retailer, the vendor, or the creator. It can be a big company/brand, like intel who produces processors.
Or in simple words, anyone who has a product to sell either digital like (online courses) or physical like (I have talked about processors) could be the merchant behind an affiliate marketing program.
The affiliates.
This party can likewise go from a single individual to a whole organization. These are also known as publishers, advertisers, or distributors. The earning of affiliates may vary from a few hundred dollars to millions of dollars in commission each month.
Affiliates/publishers promote one or multiple products as per their potential audience/client interest or niche and if the client winds up with purchasing the promoted product then affiliates get paid for it.
An affiliate could be a niche based blog or content creator.
The Consumer.
The consumer/customer is like the backbone of the affiliate framework which leads the affiliate system to proceed over. Without customer/consumer there will be no sale and hence there aren’t any commission to distribute and the whole affiliate framework will be of no use.
The affiliate marketer/publisher will try to market to the consumers on their respective platforms.
Some affiliate marketers believe in transparency so they let their audience/consumers know that they are a part of an affiliate marketing channel but some are not comfortable in sharing, it’s up to the affiliate marketer.
Affiliate links have a tracking framework in the backend if a customer clicks on that link and follow the purchase process just as usual then also affiliate ends up being paid a commission.
The consumers would not have to pay an extra fee to the affiliate adviser as the cost of the affiliate system is incorporated into the retail cost.
The Network
Some of the affiliate marketing experts might not consider the network as the part of affiliate marketing framework. But in my opinion, an affiliate marketing guide needs to include networks, because, in most of the cases, a network works as an intermediary between the affiliate and the merchant.
The networks like Commission junction or Clickbank handle the installment and product delivery and puts extra seriousness or a more genuine approach in the affiliate marketing program.
If you are a merchant and you only manage your affiliate program then you should have to go through an affiliate network to be able to promote the product easily and efficiently.
To make your campaign easily accessible affiliate network serves a database of lots of products, out of which the affiliate marketer can choose which product/service to promote.
Now you will get to know about some profitable affiliate networks like (CJ)Commission Junction, Clickbank, and Amazon Associates. There are a lot of affiliate network and if you want an in-depth analysis of that so please let me know in the comment box below we will provide a separate article for that.
Commission Junction(CJ):- This is one of the best platforms/networks available out there. In CJ you can as both merchant or affiliates. Here you will be able to find high-quality affiliate products to promote and you can also register as a merchant and find affiliate partners for your product as well.
Here’s some of my affiliate partners at CJ.
How you can start with CJ affiliate?
To start using the network you can simply sign up with a free account.
Once you are signed up, you have to complete your profile properly to ensure that you can get fast approval in affiliate programs.
Now, you can browse affiliate programs of your niche and simply apply for that after reading terms and conditions.
Once you got the approval then you can start promoting products in various ways they will provide you a link, a banner, etc you can use that and start earning.
Amazon Associates:- This is one of the largest affiliate networks in the world. They help content creators to monetize their traffic in form affiliate marketing. Creators just have to leave a link that is being provided by amazon associates and they will get a commission on every purchase. If readers buy other products after following the affiliate link then also creator will get paid for it. The commission may vary from 1-10% according to the type of product you promote.
How to join amazon associates?
Here’ s some simple steps that you can follow to join amazon associates.
- Sign up into amazon associates.
- Submit details that are being asked.
- Verify your identity.
- Choose the payment method.
- Start promoting products by dropping links that are provided by amazon.
Here’ s the list of some top affiliate marketing networks:-
- CJ Affiliate (Formerly Commission Junction)
- ShareASale.
- Awin (Formerly Affiliate Window).
- Amazon Associates.
- Rakuten Marketing (Formerly LinkShare).
- Avangate Affiliate Network.
- FlexOffers.
- ClickBank.
- Walmart Affiliates.
- Peerfly.
So, there are two streams that you can pursue in affiliate marketing.
- Become an affiliate marketer.
- Become a merchant.
So let’s proceed with becoming an affiliate marketer.
How do you become an affiliate marketer?
To become a successful affiliate marketer you must have to follow these four steps that are mentioned below.
4 steps to become a successful affiliate marketer:-
(i) At the initial level, you need to have very particular about your niche and start reviewing products. You can do so by making a youtube channel or start a blog. This is not the only way to start with, I’ m talking about this because it’ s the easiest way. You can also come up with a new idea you have to build an audience and should have the skill to influence people to go with your suggested products.
(ii) Second, You have to build connections with your audience other than that platform where you post your content like you can make an email list or connect them with easily accessible social media platforms.
(iii) For making a lot of sales in a short period, you can use joint venture webinars, while simultaneously creating new contacts (email list).
(iv) Once you start making money then you can scale your growth with PPC (pay per click advertising).
Now, let’s talk about,
How to become a merchant?
I will also tell you four simple, not yet easy, steps that you can take to become a merchant.
Here are the steps to become a merchant:-
(i) Come up with a product idea which should be unique and also easy to produce. Try to produce a digital product as it takes low investment. If you come up with physical products then it will consume a lot of your finances and also it will have a high risk.
(ii)Analyze customer/user base of product that you select. If people actually want it then you should validate your idea add enhancements to your product.
(iii)Once you are done with producing product then you have to launch it on digital e-shopping platforms according to your product.
(iv)Join affiliate networks, decide affiliate commission, choose affiliate partners wisely and you are good to go.
In the above steps, I have not fully explained how to become a merchant these all are basic or rough ideas. If you want a detailed article then kindly let me know in the comment section I will release a full in-depth article about that and also share your views and questions in comments.
Conclusion.
With affiliate marketing you can earn and also discover some amazing products for you.
It’ s not important to create a website for getting into affiliate marketing, you can do it anywhere you have user base/audience, blog or website is only an effective way get started with affiliate marketing. If you want to make blog/website for affiliate marketing so you can checkout web designing tutorial.
You can be an affiliate marketer or merchant it totally depends on your preferences.
In case you have any question regarding affiliate marketing, how it works, how to do affiliate marketing effectively then feel free to ask me in comment section.
Some Affiliate marketing FAQs.
Is affiliate marketing easy?
Yes it is, you just have to grab audience base or you can start a website/blog if you are good at copywriting and marketing skills will add more and more profit.
How can I succeed in affiliate marketing?
There are not some success mantra, but you can use four steps that are mentioned above and for more enhancements you should promote niche based product because they are served over targeted audience so there are higher chances of getting lead.
How much does it cost to start affiliate marketing?
There is no charge for becoming affiliate partner but the cost depends upon the marketing technique you are using like blog post costs nothing but if you are using e-mail marketing and PPC advertisements that comes with various price tags.
How many affiliate programs can I join?
You can join as much you want, some affiliate programs have nominal criteria so if you are eligible then you can join unlimited affiliate programs.
Do you need a website to do affiliate marketing?
No absolutely not, as I mentioned above It’ s not important to create a website for getting into affiliate marketing, you can do it anywhere you have user base/audience, blog or website is only an effective way get started with affiliate marketing.
What are some of the most popular affilaite networks?
CJ Affiliate, ShareASale, Awin, Amazon Associates, Rakuten Marketing, Avangate Affiliate Network, FlexOffers, ClickBank,Walmart Affiliates, Peerfly are some popular affiliate networks available out there.