Affiliate marketing
The term affiliate marketing refers to the concept by which a merchant / distributor who is the advertiser designates one or more advertisers who generate traffic or lead to the merchant’s website, in order to generate higher sales. These advertisers, commonly referred to as affiliates, are paid on the basis of performance measurement or the registrations or direct sales generated by them, according to the terms decided.
The affiliate marketer promotes the products / services of the client merchant through various websites, blogs, posts, articles, etc. direct traffic to the merchant’s website, who then pays a commission or remuneration to said merchant. There could be thousands of affiliate marketers for a website whose motive is to generate website visitors who have the potential to generate sales for the website.
Said marketer makes use of analytical tools to keep track of the types of links and posts that generate actual sales.
How Affiliate Marketing Works
A merchant who wants to reach a wider base of Internet users and buyers can hire an affiliate, who could be the owner of several websites or email marketing lists with a wide network. Then communicate and promote the products offered on the e-commerce platform to your network. You implement banner ads, text ads, and / or links on your multiple websites or via email to your clientele. Advertising can be in the form of articles, videos, images, etc., which are used to draw the audience’s attention to a service or product.
A visitor who clicks on one of these links or advertisements on the affiliate site will be redirected to the e-commerce site. If you end up purchasing the product or service, then the e-commerce merchant credits your account with the agreed-upon commission, which could be 5% to 10% of the sale price of the product.
Marketers become affiliates in a number of ways including:
1) Signing up for retail or e-commerce sites. Shopify, for example, has a program that allows marketers to earn commissions on new buyers.
By surveying existing customers to find out about their favorite products or services and then contacting those companies to inquire about such programs. For example, a small business marketing consultant may become an affiliate of an email list distribution service. The marketer receives a unique URL. They share that unique URL in ads and social media posts. When the potential buyer clicks on these URLs, the merchant pays you.
2) Search online for products that are relevant to the marketer’s site and that appeal to the target audience. Most companies offering these types of programs indicate this with a related link or a “Partners” link at the bottom of their site’s home page.
3) Search for potential affiliate products in program managers that include Commission Junction, ClickBank, and ShareASale.