How does affiliate marketing work?

If you are not participating in affiliate marketing, it is time to consider taking advantage of this lucrative revenue stream.

We will introduce you to everything you need to know to master affiliate marketing in four easy steps.

Find a network or join a program 

You can either join an individual affiliate program or join a network. Affiliate Networks act as a middleman between companies and their affiliates. They support you with different matters, such as managing relationships and providing third-party checks and balances.

If you are unsure whether you should join a network, a self-service platform, or a program, read this article to find the best solution for you individually.

Different parties in Affiliate Marketing 

Affiliate marketing works by distributing the responsibilities for product marketing and creation among several parties. This manages to harness the skills of a variety of people for a more effective marketing strategy while giving contributors a share of the profits.

The Affiliate

The Affiliate can be a company, a retailer, a product creator and so on. The publisher will promote a brand’s products or services on their site.

The Consumer 

Consumers are the drivers of affiliate marketing. Affiliates promote products and services, convincing consumers to buy a product through their link. Once they have bought the product, the seller and the affiliate share the profits.

The Advertiser

The Advertiser can be a solo entrepreneur or large enterprise, a retailer or someone else. The advertiser wants to promote his product to a market.

The Program/Network 

An affiliate network acts as an intermediary between the merchants and their affiliates. They manage relationships, provide third-party checks, and pay commissions to the affiliate (based on the rules set by the brand).

How do you get paid? 

But how does an affiliate get paid after linking the seller to the consumer? Well, first of all, the consumer does not always have to buy a product, for the affiliate to get a share. The affiliate’s contribution will mostly depend on the affiliate program.

1. Pay per Sale (PPS): Companies pay a percentage of all qualified sales.

2. Pay per Lead (PPL): Companies pay a fixed commission for every qualified action a click generated.

3. Pay per Click (PPC): An affiliate gets paid for all the valid clicks generated regardless of whether these clicks resulted in sales or leads.

What are affiliate links? 

After signing up with an affiliate program, you will get an affiliate link or a special URL that contains your affiliate username or ID.

By using that link, the network (or the advertiser) can track if they have gained a customer due to the publishers marketing efforts.

Start earning today! 

One of the reasons affiliate programs are so popular is that that offer a win-win situation for both merchant and affiliate. Click here to learn how to join us