What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Good question! I keep hearing the same question over and over... what is internet affiliate marketing? And how can I profit from it?

Internet affiliate marketing is defined as a widespread method of promotion in which an affiliate (or associate) is rewarded for every view, sale, and/or registration produced through the affiliate's effort.

It's similar to collecting a finder's-fee or the commissions typical of retail store clerks. The more one sells... the more one gets paid.

What are Affiliate Compensations?

Compensation calculations vary and could be based on any of the following:

PPC (pay-per-click) a specific amount is paid for each visit

PPL (pay-per-lead) where registration or sign-up counts

PPS (pay-per-sale) a specific commission per sale is paid

If your goal is to generate your total income online, you can drive traffic from your subscriber lists to affiliate links just as easily as to your own product links.

What About Sales Strategies?

You'll want to watch for great products and services with the potential to benefit your niche and your mailing lists. To build trust and income, it's best to recommend only those products that will be of specific interest to them. It's a win-win situation for everyone that way.

When an affiliate is marketing any product, the cost of advertising the product is absorbed by the affiliate. It's important to keep this cost in mind when promoting products. The higher the percentage of affiliate income possible from any quality product, the more that product is worth promoting.

When a product is sold through the affiliate's link, depending on the service used, the total sale is divided up among the vendor or service, the affiliate, the taxing authority, the shipper (if any), and the payment processor.

It is common and expected that all affiliate details be spelled out in the affiliate sign-up process. However, you needn't be afraid to contact any vendor to clarify their affiliate program if you have questions. Often you can telephone or email for a fast reply.

Is an Affiliate Lifestyle for Me?

Many standard retailers offer very small rewards for affiliate sales while most internet marketers offer around 50%. This is why being an affiliate of digital products can be very lucrative in a relatively short period of time.

Although the number of affiliate programs for tangible goods and off-line services is rising, a completely digital lifestyle can be developed solely from digital or downloadable internet marketing affiliate products that may never take physical form.

Of course it's important to note that as an affiliate of any tangible product, you generally never do more than promote a link to the product online. So in that sense it's the same as a digital product.

One of the best places to find digital products to affiliate with is ClickBank.com. They have an automatic affiliate 'hoplink' program built into their payment processing service so that affiliate payments are not left up to the product owner to process.