What is
Affiliate Internet Marketing?
Definition
Affiliate internet marketing is a superb introduction to ecommerce and
earning extra money, but according to TamingTheBeast.net, it's also "a
numbers game."
In a nutshell, affiliate internet marketing is an advertising
arrangement, so to speak, in which a company offers to pay you, as an
individual or business owner, an agreed sum of money based one of the following
advertising results from your site:
- a click through from your web site to the business' site;
- a fixed amount for a lead, where a visitor would sign up for a
newsletter or other special offer; or
- a percentage of the amount of a purchase made by a visitor as a result
of a click through from a link posted at your web site.
Often times, affiliate internet marketing allows for a "cookie
duration" of 30 to 90 days. What this means is that if a visitor clicks
through from your web site to the business' web site, the visitor will have the
cookie in their cache. When the visitor returns to the business' web site to
make a purchase in the given period of time, even if they don't first hit on
your web site, the cookie will still be in their cache, and you will receive
your commission from the purchase for that visitor. Prior to signing on to an
affiliate internet marketing agreement, however, don't assume this to be the
case in all agreements. It is something to be inquired about prior to agreeing
to the affiliate internet marketing program.
Finding an
Affiliate Internet Marketing Program for Your Web Site
Locating the best affiliate internet marketing program for your site can
be difficult and tedious. An extended amount of time is highly recommended in
order to search the details of an appropriate affiliate internet marketing
programs for your particular needs; implement the links; and monitor their
activity. It can require long hours and may prove to not be a big money maker.
Additionally, many affiliate programs come into existence and then disappear
just as quickly, meaning that purchases or click throughs from your web site
may not be paid in such incidences, which is why careful monitoring of the programs
is crucial.
Approach the search for affiliate internet marketing opportunities with
care. For example, choose an affiliate program with a major advertising agency,
who can offer you hundreds or thousands of advertisers in which to choose.
Another option is to consider individual companies to represent on your web
site. If the company is one that is well known, has a good product or service,
offers great affiliate support, and commits to regular payment with a low
payout threshold, they can actually perform better than some agency
associations. This can most definitely be the instance at hand if the business
you're representing offers residual income, or monthly commissions from
referred clients for services that might include web hosting or magazine subscriptions,
for example, for as long as the client is with the company. Affiliation with
these types of individual advertisers, over time, can build a steady stream of
reliable income for you.
Be wary affiliate internet marketing programs that you have to pay to
join. These types of affiliate internet marketing programs are actually called
of Multi Level Marketing associations, or MLMs. There are some very successful
and respectable MLMs around, but there are also many that are complete scams
that are simply out to take your money, offering no support. Research the MLM
carefully before committing to their affiliate internet marketing program.
Setting Up
an Affiliate Internet Marketing Program on Your Web Site
An affiliate internet marketing program is extremely simple to set up on
your web site, and can be an excellent way to generate some extra income. While
it's not realistic to think that it will be a huge money maker, it can be an
effective tool to use in generating added money for your business or simply for
your household.
Once you've located an effective affiliate internet marketing program
that satisfies your needs, you'll need to advertise that affiliate's URL on
your web site. This can be in the form of banner advertising, text links,
reviews, email, or through other resources. The advertisers compensate
webmasters by paying them for displaying the ads, or for click throughs sent to
them, or, as is most common today, a commission on sales resulting as a referral
from their web site or email message. Your chosen affiliate internet marketing
program will have the information you need to get started with their particular
program.
Be aware of affiliate internet marketing programs that promise they're
the best, giving you the impression that all you have to do is implement their
banners and links, and wait for the commission checks to start rolling. That
can certainly be the case with very large web sites that have massive web
traffic relevant to the product or service being offered by the affiliate.
However, for the rest of the sites that are not that huge, being a successful
affiliate requires just a bit more work.
Another thing to watch for when setting up an affiliate internet
marketing program is the company's minimum payout level. Often, the business
will set an unachievable level for an affiliate to achieve, but they themselves
will greatly benefit from affiliates that don't reach their minimum. For
example, consider a company that launches an affiliate program with a minimum
payout level of $25, which tends to be the industry standard. They then recruit
20,000 or more affiliates. Only the top 1,000 affiliates are able to actually
generate enough in sales to receive payouts on a regular basis. If the
remaining 19,000 affiliates average one sale each, they may lose interest and
drop out of the affiliate internet marketing program. These 19,000 affiliates
made no money at all, but the company still earned what could actually be
millions of dollars in sales.
Success with
Affiliate Internet Marketing Programs
Though there is much information to obtain prior to becoming an
affiliate, it can definitely pay off in the long run. Being an affiliate is
hard work, but can also be very rewarding when you team up with the right
merchants. Take the time required to learn all of the details of an affiliate
internet marketing program offered by a business, and don't sign on with a
program that leaves questions unanswered or offers little or poor
communications to their affiliates.
Rebecca Game is the founder of Digital Women ®, Digital-Women.com, an
online community for women in business. She is a 30 year entrepreneur and
dedicated to helping other women find business loans and business grants. Visit
her site: Business Grants and Loans for Women
http://www.digital-women.com
Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Hubbard_Game
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