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publication date: Jul 29, 2009
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author/source: Miles Galliford
 How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?The concept of affiliate marketing is very simple ... but it often gets so bogged down in jargon that the simplicity is lost. So this is my beginners explanation. A website owner agrees to promote a merchants product or service in exchange for a commission from any sales that are made as a result of the promotion. So for example: I have a website about gardening. I agree with a lawnmower manufacturer that I will promote his lawnmowers in exchange for a 3% commission on any sales that result from the promotion on my site. Someone comes to my website and reads a review about a particular lawnmower. As a result of reading my site, they click on the link on my page which takes them to the lawnmower website. When they make a purchase, I get paid 3% commission on the sale. If the lawnmower was $300, my commission payment is $9 (3% x $300). That is affiliate marketing. Who is Who in the Affiliate Marketing Chain?If you are a website owner who promotes third party products, you are known as the 'affiliate' or 'partner'. The person or company with something to sell is known as the 'merchant'. Affiliate Marketing Description with Jargon!An affiliate program is a business arrangement, whereby a merchant agrees to pay another party, known as an affiliate or partner, a referral fee or commission. This commission is paid for all the sales that occur in the event of the end customer clicking the affiliate links which leads to the the merchant's website and results in a purchase. The Simplest Way to Get StartedThe simplest way to get started is to sign up for one of the many affiliate networks. These companies manage the whole affiliate marketing process for you. As a publisher it is free for you to sign-up, although some of them have an approval process to ensure your website is of a high enough standard for their merchants. The networks sign-up hundreds, or even, thousands of merchants and agree with them what products they want promoting and what commissions they are prepared to pay. Commissions vary depending on the products or services being sold. A travel company selling holidays, may pay 0.5%, whereas someone selling a downloadable ebook may offer 50% commission. You can browse through the merchants and select the one you want to promote on your website. Be sure to only promote products and services that are relevant to your audience. The affiliate network takes care of monitoring which of your visitors make purchases, collecting the commissions and ensuring you get paid. A few of the bigger networks include:
Big is not always best, but it is a good place for the beginner to start. There is a further article about The Top Seven Ways to Find an Affiliate Merchant Partner.
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