I hated the sound of this word around 7-8 years ago before I actually knew what it meant. Even now it just sounds plain old dodgy if you don’ know its meaning.
But affiliate marketing is a method of marketing that has been revolutionary over the past decade and it is continuously increasing in popularity. Its sometimes called niche marketing or internet marketing.
So what is Affiliate Marketing?
The definition of affiliate marketing is that it is a type of performance based marketing in which a business rewards one or more of its affiliates for each visitor or customer brought to it by the affiliates own marketing efforts.
In this context a customer is not necessarily someone who buys something, it could be someone who signs up for a free trial, registers an account or completes a task such as a survey.
So in essence, you the affiliate marketer get paid a commission for putting in touch a customer (your site visitor) with a merchant who sells goods or services and that customer goes on to buy something or, as suggested above, performs a particular activity.
Does affiliate marketing work?
The very simple answer to this is, of course, yes. Many people are making full time incomes from affiliate marketing and it’s simplicity makes it possible for anyone to do it.
Affiliate marketing is a win-win situation for both the company and for the affiliate marketer. It’s a deadly efficient marketing method for merchants whilst offering affiliates a vast range of products to promote thereby aligning niches and affiliates by commonality in interests. With both sides focusing on their own expertise, the partnership is incredibly efficient and there are thousands of merchants using affiliate programs as a means of marketing their goods and services.
Can I do Affiliate Marketing?
One common misunderstanding is that affiliate marketing is easy to do. Marketing empires take years and years to build up to full fruition but once they are in place, the beauty of them is that they will continue to be benefit you for years and years to come. This latent result for your initial hard work is known as the residual effect and it basically means that long after you have created content, your work will continue to pay you off.
The bottom line is that, anyone can do it. Some will be more successful than others and the separating factor is hard work and education. Some will say it can be done passively and that is true to an extent but if you really want to make it work you do need to commit to it like any other business venture. If you are prepared to learn and work, you will be successful at affiliate marketing. Fact.
The good news is that you actually don’t need any technical capabilities or skills to do this just willingness to learn and some interest in your chosen niche.
How much money can I earn?
There is lots of money that can be made from affiliate marketing and there is no ceiling as to how much you can actually make. With the inception of social media it’s much easier to reach large audiences and so the potential to make huge earnings is there that you would not find in an equivalent bricks and mortar business. Overheads are low as you want them to be, and you will reap what you sow.
So What’s The Trick With Affiliate Marketing?
Sadly people think there is some special trick to the affiliate marketing and will pay to unlock all kinds of nonsense secrets. This is untrue and you should stay away from any type of program that tries to sell you special tricks or unlock secrets for money. The concept is simple and remains true today. Connect the customer with the merchants products/services and you will earn. The more effective and prolific you are the more you will earn.
So why should I start affiliate marketing today?
- You can monetize your hobby or interest which is greatly satisfying
- You can start for free you can do it without any significant or upfront investment.
- You can run your business from wherever you are in the world 24 hours a day 365 days per year;
- You choose your own hours;
- You do not do not need to buy or rent premises;
- You do not need to deal with physical products, services or customers;
- You can make a supplemental, full time or huge income.
Affiliate marketing remains one of the most profitable ways of earning an income online. It is a great way as an individual to see a passion or hobby pay you off and a great way to supplement your income if it’s something you wish to do on the side as opposed to a full time business.
How Can I Get Started With Affiliate Marketing?
If you want to learn about how to get started please click here where I will teach you how and you where you can go to set up two online businesses for free. Click Here to get started.