Affiliate marketing is a big topic, so this article is just an introduction. But if you aren't aware of how it works, then this information may prove to be very helpful.
Basically the concept is very old. A company has a product, but they want more people to know about it and to buy it. So how can companies expand their reach without incurring huge costs? They recruit people to sell for them. That's really it. The cost to pay the commission to the salesperson is covered by the revenue from the sale - and the possibility of future sales.
Why do individuals become affiliate marketers? The quick answer is that there is a possibility of earning a commission without having to make a product.
If you make homemade jam and sell it at the county fair. Then you make a fixed amount of money per jar, and maybe you give out your business card. An affiliate marketing model would mean you let people refer customers to your booth, and if you make the sale, you give those people a percentage of the sale. It's win-win. You make a little less than you would have, but you sell a lot more jam.
So how would that work? You would need a way to tie the customer to the person who brought the referral. One option is to hand out a coupon or a card with a code on it. Then when the person buys the jam, you see the code of the person who referred the client. You keep a tally, and at the end of the fair you pay the money to the people who referred clients.
Do you think you could do that?
1. You have to believe that the jam is high quality. And it's a lot better if you really like jam personally.
2. You have to find a way to meet and convince as many people as possible to go by the booth and buy the jam.
3. You have to trust that the person selling the jam will actually pay you.
4. You have to think about what you will earn tomorrow. There is only one fair, so what do you do next?
These are the basic questions any affiliate marketer has to think about.
So suppose you have a blog. The process would work the same essentially, but the product you would be selling could be electronic and not physical.
If people visit your blog, you would tell them about the product and provide a link to the product website. That link has a code tying the customer to you. If the customer buys the product, you get a commission.
Sounds like easy money, but it's not. However, it is doable and the barrier to entry is low.
One final thought. The Golden Rule says we should treat others the way we want to be treated. If you believe the "jam" is really good for your customers, then you are doing fine. If you push something of low quality or not beneficial, then it won't go well.
It's just like any other business.
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