Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts. The industry has four core players: the merchant (also known as ‘retailer’ or ‘brand’), the network (that contains offers for the affiliate to choose from and also takes care of the payments), the publisher (also known as ‘the affiliate’), and the customer. The market has grown in complexity to warrant a secondary tier of players, including affiliate management agencies, super-affiliates and specialized third party vendors. Affiliate marketing overlaps with other Internet marketing methods to some degree, because affiliates often use regular advertising methods. Those methods include organic search engine optimization (SEO), paid search engine marketing (PPC – Pay Per Click), e-mail marketing, content marketing, and (in some sense) display advertising. On the other hand, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques, such as publishing reviews of products or services offered by a partner. Affiliates are paid either by the merchants or the network, depending on the agreement. Affiliate marketing has grown quickly since its inception. The e-commerce website, viewed as a marketing toy in the early days of the Internet, became an integrated part of the overall business plan and in some cases grew to a bigger business than the existing offline business. According to one report, the total sales amount generated through affiliate networks in 2006 was £2.16 billion in the United Kingdom alone. The estimates were £1.35 billion in sales in 2005. MarketingSherpa’s research team estimated that, in 2006, affiliates worldwide earned $6.5 billion in bounty and commissions from a variety of sources in retail, personal finance, gaming and gambling, travel, telecom, education, publishing, and forms of lead generation other than contextual advertising programs.
Affiliate marketing is a great way to grow your business. It is a performance-based marketing strategy that rewards affiliates for driving traffic to your website or product. Affiliates are typically paid a commission for each sale they generate. Affiliate marketing is a cost-effective way to increase your customer base and reach new markets. It is also a great way to build relationships with other businesses and influencers in your industry. To get started, you’ll need to find affiliates who are interested in promoting your product or service. You can do this by reaching out to influencers in your industry, or by joining an affiliate network. Once you have identified potential affiliates, you’ll need to create an affiliate program. This will include setting commission rates, creating promotional materials, and providing support to your affiliates. You’ll also need to track your affiliate sales and pay your affiliates on time. With the right strategy, affiliate marketing can be a powerful tool for growing your business.
