Perhaps the simplest way to explain affiliate marketing is that it is a way of making money online whereby you as a publisher are rewarded for helping a business by promoting their product, service or site.
There are a number of forms of these types of promotions but in most cases they involve you as a publisher earning a commission when someone follows a link on your blog to another site where they then buy something.
Other variations on this are where you earn an amount for referring a visitor
who takes some kind of action – for example when they sign up for something
and give an email address, where they complete a survey, where they leave
a name and address etc.
who takes some kind of action – for example when they sign up for something
and give an email address, where they complete a survey, where they leave
a name and address etc.
Commissions are often a percentage of a sale but can also be a fixed amount
per conversion.
per conversion.
Conversions are generally tracked when the publisher (you)
uses a link with a code only being used by you embedded
into it that enables the advertiser to track where conversions
come from (usually by cookies). Other times an advertiser
might give a publisher a ‘coupon code’ for their readers to use that helps to
track conversions.
uses a link with a code only being used by you embedded
into it that enables the advertiser to track where conversions
come from (usually by cookies). Other times an advertiser
might give a publisher a ‘coupon code’ for their readers to use that helps to
track conversions.
Why Affiliate Marketing Can Work Well on Blogs
Affiliate marketing isn’t the only way to make money from blogs and
it won’t suit every blog/blogger (more on this below) but there are a
few reasons why it can be profitable in our medium. Perhaps the biggest of
these reasons is that affiliate marketing seems to work best when there’s
a relationship with trust between the publisher and their readership.
it won’t suit every blog/blogger (more on this below) but there are a
few reasons why it can be profitable in our medium. Perhaps the biggest of
these reasons is that affiliate marketing seems to work best when there’s
a relationship with trust between the publisher and their readership.
I’ve found that as this trust deepens that readers are more likely to
follow the recommendations that a blogger makes.
follow the recommendations that a blogger makes.
Of course this can also be a negative with affiliate marketing –
promote the wrong product and trust can be broken (more on this below).
promote the wrong product and trust can be broken (more on this below).
Affiliate Marketing – Easy Money?
While affiliate marketing can be incredibly lucrative it is important to
know that affiliate marketing is not easy money.
Most people who try it make very little as it relies upon numerous factors including:
know that affiliate marketing is not easy money.
Most people who try it make very little as it relies upon numerous factors including:
- traffic (high traffic helps a lot)
- finding relevant products
- finding quality products
- building trust with your readers
- having a readership who is in a ‘buying mood’
- you being able to write good sales copy (and more)
There’s also some risk associated with affiliate marketing in that
if you push too hard or promote products of a low quality you
can actually burn readers and hurt your reputation and brand.
if you push too hard or promote products of a low quality you
can actually burn readers and hurt your reputation and brand.
It’s also worth noting that affiliate marketing doesn’t work on all blogs.
Some blogs are on topics where it is hard to find products to promote –
other blogs attract audiences who are not in a buying frame of mind and
for other blogs it just doesn’t fit with the blogger’s style or approach
Some blogs are on topics where it is hard to find products to promote –
other blogs attract audiences who are not in a buying frame of mind and
for other blogs it just doesn’t fit with the blogger’s style or approach
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