Affiliate marketing is an internet marketing method that allows websites to share
traffic and revenue using banner and text advertisements. Online merchants who
sell goods and services pay commissions to registered and approved website
owners (Affiliates) for sending traffic to their site.
Your sales are tracked through your own unique Affiliate ID that is encoded in a
special link or URL. These special codes can be used in a variety of ways, from
banner ads to embedded text ads. Visitors that arrive through your special link
to the Merchant’s site are tracked and all sales from these visitors are credited
to your Affiliate commissionaccount. The length of time that you are paid on each
visitor's sales varies from a single visit to “lifetime”, depending on the individual Merchant policy.
Commissions or revenues are earned by Affiliates through a variety of methods
that fall under these basic categories:
Cost Per Sale (CPS or CPA)
A visitor referred by the Affiliate purchases goods and services from the
Merchant. This payment structure is referred to as - cost-per-sale or cost per
acquisition (cpa). This is currently the most common payment method used
today, and provides the most cost effective results for the merchant.
Cost Per Lead (CPL)
A visitor referred by the Affiliate completes a form on the Merchant’s website.
This is payment structure is referred to as - cost per lead (CPL). This is most
common in programs for insurance and mortgage companies, or high end items
such as automobiles, or high-end cruises, seminars, etc.
Cost Per Click (CPC) or Cost Per 1000 Impressions (CPM)
A visitor to the Affiliate’s website clicks on a Merchant’s banner and visits the
Merchants website. CPC pays for each click & visit, while the CPM pays on a
per thousand basis for the display of the banner, not on the actual click through
to the site. Although these were very popular forms in the early days of online
marketing, they have not proven to deliver the best results for the merchant in
today’s competitive market.
So for the Merchant online - a well run Affiliate marketing program provides an
excellent method of advertising across thousands of websites, while only paying
a commission for the actual sales made.
Why Become An Affiliate?
Simple - it’s a great way to get your feet wet in online marketing without spending
a fortune or to add extra products and revenue to your existing website, and
maximizing your marketing efforts to your existing customer base.
Here are some of the benefits of becoming an Affiliate:
xx• Low or No Cost Set-up
xx• No Product Costs
xx• No Inventory
xx• No Fees to Join or Licenses to Buy & No Monthly Minimums to Meet
xx• A Product or Service for Virtually Every Conceivable Market Niche
xx• No Sales Experience Required
xx• No Employees
xx• No Merchant Account Needed
xx• No Order Processing or Product Shipping
xx• Little or No Direct Customer Service Involved
xx• 24/7 Business – You Earn Money While You Work, Play or Sleep!
xx• Unlimited Territory!
xx• Income Potential Limited Only by Your Personal Marketing Efforts
What Is Affiliate Marketing? >>>>>
