Affiliate Marketing Basics

Affiliate Marketing Basics

Alright, so now that we know affiliate marketing is not some get-rich-quick strategy, we can dive a bit more into the question of does affiliate marketing really work? We’ll have to start with the basics of just what affiliate marketing is. Unlike some other types of opportunities online, affiliate marketing is a very real way to earn money that could reward you in a big way, so long as you’re willing to put in the time and effort to get there. Here’s the quick version of what it involves:

• You’ll sign up for an affiliate account from a company that has an affiliate marketing program in place. There are hundreds of options out there from the Amazon Associates Affiliate Program to Target and Walmart to Clickbank and Commission Junction. There’s an affiliate program out there for just about everything.
• Once you’re signed up, you review the different products available. Again, there are thousands of products and services that are covered under affiliate programs. You’ll need to select some that you feel you can market effectively. For example, I have a website that reviews dog food and uses the Amazon associates affiliate program to earn revenue.
• Use the internet to spread awareness about the products and essentially market them for the company. Here, you’ll have to think of yourself as a professional marketer. Your goal is to get potential shoppers to click your links to the products and then make a purchase of them. This is the hard part, and my “secret sauce” on how to do this is what is called the CTPM Process.
• You get a commission fee for every product that is purchased through your affiliate links. If no product is purchased, you won’t earn anything. In this way, affiliate marketing differs from the traditional ‘click-through’ marketing of the past – but the commissions are much more substantial. In some cases, I earn up to 75% commissions.

Here’s a quick visual of how it all ties together…

That’s the process in a nutshell, but there is obviously more to it. If you want the answer to ‘does affiliate marketing really work’? to be a yes, you’ll have to master some other aspects of the process. This may include things like building your website, setting up social media accounts, using social media, creating great content for your website, and more. At Wealthy Affiliate, you can learn every aspect of building an affiliate marketing business.

So, does affiliate marketing really work? It could, but the first step is knowing the different ways it works and how to make it work for you. The basics above are the keys to understanding just that. Below is a pretty cool video from a guy called the Lazy Ass Stoner (don’t let the name fool you he’s super smart) on how affiliate marketing works if you want a bit more of an explanation. The reason I love this video is because he explains it so well and in a way anyone can understand.