The Real Definition of Affiliate Marketing
Have you come across the term “Affiliate Marketer” and wondered what exactly does that mean? In recent times it has become a very well used term, particularly for those people searching for a way to improve their income or give up their full time employment, better known as a “job”.
The simple definition is that an affiliate marketer is a person who forms a business relationship with a merchant selling goods or services, and who is then paid a commission on the sale of goods that they promote for the merchant. If for example you are promoting a specific product or service on your website and a visitor clicks on your link then proceeds to buy the item in question you are paid a percentage of the sale as a commission from the merchant.
As an affiliate you can choose to act on behalf of one specific merchant and set up an arrangement directly with them, or alternatively you can sign up for one of the hundreds of affiliate programs that cater to a wide range of products and services then just search through the offers available and select the ones you are interested in. In this latter case instead of being paid directly through the merchant you are paid by the Affiliate Program Company generally each month. Affiliate marketing has become increasingly popular for those wanting to build up an extra source of income, basically because there is little or no outlay to start up and no great technical knowledge is required.
Before making any decisions as to whether you want to promote an individual merchant or be part of a larger affiliate company it is a good idea to study and learn about the advantage and disadvantages of each type of affiliate program.
Another thing to consider is whether you want to sell physical products or digital products. Visit sites like Amazon and EBay; familiarize yourself with popular products that are currently selling. If digital products have more appeal sign up for Clickbank or PayDotCom, check out gravity and number of affiliates. You can guarantee if a particular product is being promoted by a lot of affiliates it must be selling after all experienced affiliates are not going to promote something that is not getting sales.
It’s important to have the right mindset when you start to set up your affiliate marketing business. Don’t just jump in and expect instant riches, no matter what blurbs and emails you see promising 7 figure incomes within 7 days or at the click of a few buttons. It just doesn’t work out that way. An affiliate marketing business is exactly that a “business” and should be approached with that mind set. Draw up a business plan setting out you goals, time-frames and how much time you are prepared to allocate to your new business.
Don’t rush in, you need to arm yourself with some knowledge first, take the time to join and learn from some of the more experienced forums such as the warriors marketing forum. Read expert blogs, do your research, understand exactly what path you want to follow.
95% of marketers give up when they don’t make their money instantly or see results straight away, why not aspire to be one of the very successful 5% by just following the suggestions above.
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