Affiliate Marketing: How Does It Work?

  If you are reading this, you probably know someone who's making money online or earning a full time income with affiliate marketing. And if you are interested to know how this type of internet business works, you've come to the right place. In this article, you'll learn the basics about what affiliate marketing is, how to join, and how to get started, and how to get paid.

What is affiliate marketing in a nutshell?

  If you will perform a quick search on Google and type in 'affiliate marketing', you'll learn that it is basically the process of referring someone to another's company's products or services and you earn commission in return. Depending on the program, you may get paid monthly or every two weeks. Most affiliate programs are free to join and if they don't, that should set up a red flag. Although, some reseller programs may cost you a joining fee because you will be buying a product then sell it yourself.

So, how do you start?

  Let's say you have a website and you got some content and you want to start promoting another company's product and hopefully get a commission for anything that you sell. The first thing you would do is choose to the company's site with affiliate products that is somehow related to your website. This is very important because there's a greater chance that people who visit your website will check out the product because it is tied to your niche.

  Basically, companies who offer affiliate programs have an info page with the product they are offering and the details about it. Once you have signed up successfully, the company will then send you a tracking code which is usually a link. Now, your tracking code is unique to you and it is important to check that you always use the same link to ensure your commission when someone clicks on it and decides to purchase your affiliate product.

  For example, if you are promoting an email marketing software and someone clicked the link, the tracking code places a cookie in that person's browser. And when that person sign up for that product or service you are affiliated with, it is how your affiliate partner will know that the sale came from you. You will be automatically credited and you will be rewarded. For you to be able to succeed in this, applying techniques on how to drive massive web traffic to your website will greatly help.

How to check if your efforts are paying off?

  A lot of newbie affiliate marketers wonder and often ask how they will know if they are getting paid. Well, everything has been automated for you. This is the beauty of promoting affiliate partners. It is a very straightforward system. Most affiliate programs have a log-in area where you can check your real-time stats. There you can monitor your daily traffic, the sales you've made for the month, your last payment and other important details.

How do you get paid?

  In terms of payment, most companies will pay you via either direct deposit or check, but a lot of programs are now paying through PayPal.

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