WHAT IS AFFILIATE MARKETING
Affiliate marketing is a method through which you can
earn money on the Internet simply by referring potential
customers to the website of a merchant who sells products
and/or services on the Internet.
In other words, you send customers (people searching the web)
to websites, and the owner of the website pays you for
each purchase the customer makes. For instance, you
might have a product review website about the Ipod.
Whenever a person buys an Ipod online – via your
affiliate link – you make a commission!
Lets look at affiliate marketing from another angle. It
is similar to the way that commissioned sales work in
the real world.
You (the affiliate marketer) generate sales for a company
(the website), and the company pays you a commission
or percentage of the sale.
As an affiliate marketer, you reap the rewards of
commissioned sales without the stress of face-to-face
selling, the hassle of providing customer service, or the
drudgery of maintaining inventory.
Most exciting of all, you don’t even have to leave your
house! You can literally sit at home in your underwear
and make money!!
Another great benefit of being an affiliate marketer is
that you can work in an area or industry that you know
and are familiar with. When asked the secret to his
success, Warren Buffet, the great stock market investor,
is famous for offering the simple advice, “Do what you
know, and do it well.”
What he means is that you should work in a field
that you already know; you should work in an area
that you are passionate about.
For example, if you are an avid rock climber, you
may want to promote websites that sell rock-climbing
gear. The following is just a small sampling of the larger
companies that are actively seeking affiliate marketers
to promote their products:
Pet Meds
Oakley
Marriott Hotels
Zappos
eBay
American Express
Travelocity
Expedia
Wal-mart
Target
Amazon.com
I hope that you appreciate the amazing potential that
affiliate marketing presents. Again, let me outline the
basics for you once again:
Your website does the selling
There is no customer service, no selling, no products, no employee or building costs
You can operate your business from anywhere
You can promote almost any product or service you like
To get started you only need a website and Internet access..