| Imagine that you could earn commissions on a
popular brand-name product just by placing a link on
your website or in your email. That, my friends, is
"Affiliate Marketing"!
OK... So it's not quite that simple, but it
doesn't have to be much more complicated either.
Let's start with a few definitions. An
advertiser, or merchant, is the company who is
selling a product. An affiliate, sometimes referred
to as a publisher or partner, is another person or
company who assists in the promotion of the product
and earns a commission for doing so. (That could be
you!) In between is the account management service
that partners the advertisers with the affiliates
and keeps track of the sales and commissions.
If you want to become an affiliate, you first
need to choose either a product you want to sell, or
an account management service. You will end up with
both, but the choice of one will determine the
choice for the other. If you choose the product
first, the advertiser will direct you to the account
management service that they already work with. If
you choose the account management service first,
they will provide you with a list of merchants that
they do business with.
To see if your favorite product or company offers
an affiliate program, go to their website and check
the menu bar or the bottom of the screen. Look
around for the word "affiliate". Click on that link,
read about their program and requirements, and fill
out their application. Some companies require
specific types of websites to place their links on.
They will email you all you need to know to get
started.
If you don't know what specific product you would
like to promote, or if you want to promote several,
I recommend browsing the participating merchants on
the account management service's website.
Try to stick to products or ideas that you are
familiar with and passionate about. It will be much
easier to market to your visitors if you can add
value to the link you want them to click on.
Personal recommendations or stories will get way
better results than just a banner or solo text link.
Give them a reason to "click here".
Welcome to the world of Affiliate Marketing! Good
luck with your new venture!
About The Author
Kathleen Gagne is a work at home mom providing
website consulting and design services to other
small business owners. Her Website Solutions
information can be found at
http://websitesolutions.connectingrainbows.com |
