How Does Affiliate marketing Work: People who want to make money online usually struggle with creating a website, ads, sales and closing scripts. They also have their own merchant account services. A few people may actually enjoy going through that process, but for those who don’t have the time, energy, or desire to put forth that much energy, affiliate marketing is ideal.
If you want to make money online using affiliate marketing, you don’t have to worry about the setup. The company usually provides you with information about the product and product reviews or testimonials that you can use, however, most people prefer to write their own personal product reviews.
Your payment gateway is already set up by the business. You don’t have to worry about handling the money or dealing with refunds.
Here are a few different areas of affiliate marketing and how it works in these areas:
All you need to do is use a search engine like Google, and you can find a list of affiliate programs. A broad search will let you
know every program out there. You may want to only be an affiliate for products in your niche. If so, then just search for the niche you’re interested in such as:
· Electronics Affiliate Programs
· Cosmetic Affiliate Programs
· Food Preparation Affiliate Programs
Whatever niche you want can probably be found by simple searching for it. You may want to look at some of the affiliate resources that are popular like Home – ClickBank or Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more. There will be a distributor form. It has the terms and conditions that tell you how you’re allowed to sell their products and what the commission is.
Here are a few good tips to remember when you’re selecting a product:
1. First, you have either have a website or blog to make decent earnings. If you don’t at least have a blog, you should begin one today. Focus it on topics that you are interested in and know a lot about. With each Clickbank product there are some statistics mentioned, let me explain them:
2. Select products that are related to the niche of your website/blog.
3. Find items where you’ll end up making at least $20 per sale.
4. A good gravity range for selecting products is a range of 50- 120.
5. There are some products out there that offer at least 75% commission. It is good to select those where you’ll make at least 50%.
6. Find products with good landing pages. If you’re not satisfied with the way the website looks for the product you’re promoting, it will probably be hard for you to convince your audience to buy those products. Look for well-written sales copy.
7. The best way to sell the products you promote is to find those products that help your readers solve a problem.
2. Cost
It is usually free to sign up to be an affiliate. Some programs require a small monthly or annual fee. This helps the business their website, training, overhead, and use of their payment processors.
Some vendors will require that the affiliate purchase the product in order to make the biggest commission. They feel you should have the product and use it so you’ll be prepared to give it a better recommendation based on your first-hand experience working with the product.
The percentage of commission will vary depending on the vendor’s terms and the vendor’s conditions. There isn’t a set commission, and the amount of commission can vary greatly.
The commission you receive is based on these things:
· Commission structure of the product you wish to sell
· The number of people who purchase the product—this will depend on how you advertise it and how well you connect with the audience you are targeting
· Whether or not the affiliate program is a program that is leveraged
It is practically impossible to truly determine how much you will make. The variables are just too great. It really depends on you.
4. Receiving commissions
Every vendor has their own method of paying commissions. There are vendors that will pay you on a regular basis no matter how little or how much you earn. Others, however, will not pay you until you reach a minimum threshold. They can pay you in different intervals such as: Instantly, weekly, bi- monthly, monthly, or quarterly.
The types of payment you receive can vary as well. You can be paid by using ways such as: A check in the mail, PayPal, direct deposit, Federal Express, or pay through a debit card.
5. Tracking sales
You will be assigned your own ID. It will be built into your website URL when you sign up and are approved to be an affiliate.
Sometimes the company assigns you something different. Sometimes it just looks like a very long line of numbers, letters, and characters. Whatever is used, that’s the URL you need to use
to send your traffic to. When they buy by clicking on your link, you get the agreed upon commission.
6. Sign up process
Research and find an affiliate that right for you. When you find it, go to their website. Look for something like, “Affiliates,” “Join Affiliate Program,” or “Partners Program.” Carefully read their terms and conditions. View all the products they offer. You want to make sure they are what you’re looking for.
If you clearly understand what you can and can’t do when selling the product and you feel the commission rate is sufficient, sign up. They should direct you to a form to fill out online. If you don’t find an affiliate application, you can either call them or email them and request one.
They will want to know your name, address, phone, email, and if they give you a choice, how you want to be paid. Be prepared to give them your Social Security number. This is for tax purposes, and you will receive a 1099at the end of the year. Some request it at the time of the application and others hold your earnings until they receive it. If you don’t provide it within the time frame requested, however, you will forfeit any earnings you’ve made.
7. Marketing
There are many different ways you can market your product/service online. Sometimes, it will depend on what the product or service is. It will also depend on you and where your talents and preferences lie. Here are a few of them:
· Blogging—If you like to write, you may want to write a blog post that tells what the benefit of your product/service is. You can use your unique URL and link it to your affiliate website.
· Videos—If you don’t like to write, perhaps making a video would work better for you. You can tell your viewers about the benefits of your product. Then, just like the blog, you link it using your URL.
· Articles—You can write and submit articles. When you submit the articles to directories, you include the benefits of the product/service. Always remember to link it to the affiliate with your own URL.
· Social Media—The benefits of social media are endless. If you don’t have a social media page of some kind, such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, you need to have at least one. You can write a blog or make a note why you’re recommending this particular product/service and post your link on your wall.
· Solo Ads—You can find a list that is a good fit for your product/service with an audience that will be interested in it and have solo ads for that product
