AFF - What is Affiliate Marketing? - How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

You may be wondering, what is affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing isn't a new phrase or slang word for something else. In fact, it's been around for quite a long time but has become increasingly popular over the past 10 years.

So, what is affiliate marketing exactly? Affiliate marketing is the sharing of revenue between an online advertiser or merchant and publishers/salespeople. Compensation is based on either sales, clicks, or registrations, just to name a few.

The publishers/salespeople are considered affiliates, and when the act of promoting products, services, etc. for the advertisers or merchants is considered marketing. This is how we get the term affiliate marketer. That's roughly what affiliate marketing is in a nutshell.

So, how does it all work? As an affiliate, you're given a specific ID number for the product, program or service you want to promote. This ID is embedded into a link that you advertise, and any time someone clicks through to your link and buys, you earn a commission. The amount of money you can make per commission is predetermined by the publisher/merchant but usually ranges from 50% up to 75% of the sale price.

The nice thing about being an affiliate is that you're not limited to how much you can make. The sky really is the limit, so the harder you work and the more sales you generate, the more commissions you'll bank. Your goal should be to get as much exposure to your affiliate links as possible because this is how you'll get credited for all sales. It helps if you can target your potential customers so that they're interested in what you're offering.

Hopefully now you have a better understanding of how affiliate marketing works. The next time someone asks you, "what is affiliate marketing?" you'll be able to proudly answer them and let them know you're making money online as an affiliate marketer. Or, simply send them to this article so they can find out for themselves.