Affilaite Programs Defined
How many times have you heard the term “Affiliate program?”
Considering they are often talked about, advertised and
promoted my guess is you’ve heard the term a lot.
But do you really know what an affiliate program
is?
I’d like to help you understand what affiliate programs
are and what they can do for you.
Sometimes called an associate program, an affiliate program
is basically defined as an arrangement in which an online
merchant (such as Amazon.com) pays you a commission to send
them traffic. This can be done via your own website, blog,
or even a link placed in an email or classified ad.
Each time someone uses your link or website to click onto
the merchant’s website and buys something, you are paid a
certain percentage
There are at least three parties involved in an affiliate
program transaction:
1. The customer or site visitor – your prospect
2. The affiliate site or link – you
3. The merchant site or company – the source of your
commission
Affiliate programs do not bring good profits without some
form of effort and organization on your part. But they can
be very profitable if you learn the system and promote it
the right way. To maximize their profits, most affiliates
choose more than one to promote.
Signing up for an affiliate program is simple. Unfortunately,
many people sign up and then never act upon or promote the
program. After you sign up for a program, you are usually
free to place links on your website and in other places.
Affiliates are paid per a legal arrangement agreed
to during sign-up. Affiliate commissions are based on the
number of people the affiliate sends to the merchant’s site,
or the number of their referrals who make a purchase or take
some other type of action.
Affiliates are paid using three different structures:
1. Per sale: When someone you send to the business’ website
buys something, you earn a certain percentage or designated
dollar amount.
2. Per click: Some companies pay based on the number of
people your link sends to their website, whether they make a
purchase or not.
3. Per lead: You are paid when someone uses your affiliate
link to visit the company’s website and opts in, entering
some required information (like an email address) the
business can use as a sales lead.
As a result of your affiliate link on your website
or other location bringing their business traffic or money,
the merchant will pay you as a result. As an affiliate, you
bring in the customer, and the company does everything
else: order processing, collecting payment, shipping, etc.
Promoting an affiliate program or programs almost
adds up to free money. For businesses, offering an
affiliate program is an excellent way to sell
products online, as well as serves as a powerful, cost-
effective marketing strategy. The company gets you to
promote for them and you get paid.
Affiliate programs can pay huge dividends for both
merchants and affiliates when properly executed and promoted.
Finding a first-class program with a flouriching company
is a great place to start.
Charlie Page owns the Directory of Ezines and is the author of 10 books about Internet marketing. Through his membership sites and personal consulting, Charlie helps people achieve their goal of independence in record time. Can Charlie help you? Find out at http://www.CharliePage.com
