Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing Made Simple

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based sales technique where an online business pays affiliates for driving web traffic and sales. Affiliates sign up under an affiliate program to promote the business, merchant or brand. When an affiliate generates a sale or lead, they earn a commission.

Affiliate marketing benefits both affiliates and merchants. Affiliates earn money when they drive sales while merchants gain visibility, qualified traffic and sales through affiliates' promotions. It is a cost-effective way for merchants to scale and grow their businesses.

How It Works

Merchants create an affiliate program, providing promotional tools like banner ads, hyperlinks and product feeds. Affiliates integrate these tools into their websites, blog posts or social media. When visitors click through from an affiliate's content and make a purchase, the merchant pays the affiliate a commission.

Commonly, merchants offer tiered commission percentages based on product or service type. Higher margin products typically have higher commission rates. Commissions can be a fixed amount or a percentage of the sale price.

Popular Programs

Popular types of products promoted through affiliate marketing include ecommerce items, digital products, financial services, subscription services and more. Major ecommerce platforms offering affiliate programs include Amazon, eBay, ClickBank and CJ Affiliate. Well-known brands like Airbnb, Booking.com and PayPal also have affiliate programs.

Benefits

For merchants:

• Increased sales and exposure

• New customer acquisition at lower costs

• Access to targeted niche traffic

For affiliates:

• Opportunity to earn passive income

• Flexible work arrangement

• Access to a broad range of products to promote

With tools and resources improving constantly, affiliate marketing remains an effective method for businesses and publishers to profit in the digital space. When executed well, it presents a win-win opportunity for both affiliates and merchants.