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This introductory article for new affiliates will reveal the answer to the question “How does affiliate marketing work?”.
In a nutshell, affiliate marketing works by an arrangement or contract between a person (or company) and a business selling products and services.
The arrangement outlines how much the affiliate will receive on bringing a successful sale to the business.
Once an affiliate introduces a customer to the business and they make a successful sale, the affiliate is given their commission.
How does affiliate marketing work online?
Usually, in online scenarios, this commission will build up in the affiliate’s account with the business and they will receive a payout at the start of the next month for the previous month’s efforts. Sometimes there is a minimum payout level which the affiliate must earn before funds are given out.
How does affiliate marketing work for businesses in general?
Some business owners are skeptical about what affiliate marketing can do for their business. My answer to them is that affiliate marketers help business because having an affiliate doing marketing for you is like paying a commission only sales person. You only part with money when you receive money.
Online, this could potentially mean hundreds or thousands of online sales people reaching potential customers that would cost you much more than if you were to try to contact them yourself.
It’s this benefit that makes it worth it for the business to pay a percentage of the sale to the affiliate. It’s really a win-win.
How does affiliate marketing work from home?
Affiliate marketing can be done from pretty much anywhere.
Many people make a profitable side income by conducting affiliate marketing via their blogs, websites they own, email lists, advertising, and many other ways.
It’s a fun activity that you can do in your spare time, or even as a full time or part time job from home.
Step by step affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing as a process can be described in a few steps:
- Pick a product, service or business to promote
- Sign up for their affiliate program and download the special link required to send a visitor to them
- Promote their product/service on using your own marketing methods. Reviews are good for this, as are recommendations to people in your circles among many other methods.
- Collect your commissions for sending pre-qualified leads that turn into sales
The third step is obviously the difficult part that most affiliate marketers struggle with. If you can nail the marketing of a product and pitch it to the right people however, it can be quite lucrative.
If you want to read another great introductory article check this one out: What is affiliate marketing? We hopw this article sheds some light on your question “how does affiliate marketing work?”
