What Exactly Is Affiliate Marketing?
Back in primitive times (pre-internet) any successful business had its highest-paid employees.
And no, they weren't the executives.
Not even the CEO.
Can you guess who they were.
If you guessed the commission salesmen (and back then, they were almost always men) you're right. The employees who made the most money were those who sold their company's products on commission. It was a win-win situation. The better the salesperson was at their job, the more money they made for both their company and themselves.
To the extent that it was considered a coup if one company could poach another's top commission earning salespeople.
Well, you can still make a lot of money as a commissioned salesperson.
On the internet.
Through affiliate marketing.
Commission Salesperson and Affiliate Marketer: What's the Difference?
In the most basic terms, none at all.
In both cases, you sell someone else's product and get paid a commission for a successful sale.
But as usual, the devil is in the detail.
And the detail comes down firmly on the side of affiliate marketing.
How so?
For starters, being a commissioned sales person meant applying for a job, which you wouldn't get if you didn't have a great track record. It was the old Catch-22. "I can't get a job because I have no experience... but I have no experience because I can't get a job." And so the vicious circle went on.
In contrast, anyone with a halfway decent website can get into affiliate marketing. And, unlike the commissioned salesperson, for any number of vendors with affiliate programs.
A commission salesperson could be fired. This might be for a performance based reason, such as not making quota or, really, for any reason at all. There were no unfair dismissal laws back then.
Whereas the only affiliate marketing vendor I've ever come across who'll fire you for non-performance is Amazon.
But all you have to do to avoid it is to make 3 sales within 6 months of joining their program.
And even then, you just reapply online. You'll automatically get a new affiliate id, which you'll need to update on your website. Easy as!
Also... what has the Scottish Fold kitten got to do with affiliate marketing?
Well, nothing really. It's just there to make you feel warm and fuzzy. Which is something you'll need to do with your customers if you are to succeed as an affiliate marketer.
The Nuts and Bolts of Affiliate Marketing
There is nothing like a successful online business to give you money and freedom.
The freedom to work when you like and where you like. Anywhere in the world, in fact, that has an internet connection.
All without ever having to engage in face-to-face selling.
It's all done online.
Your prospective customers come to your website, click on a link, buy the product you're promoting and you get paid the affiliate commission.
Imagine the joy of being able to take an extended holiday and watch the money still pouring in, even while you sleep.
OK, so how do you become a successful affiliate marketer?
There are a number of discrete steps involved, but it's not rocket science.
In fact, I've tried to answer all your questions in Affiliate Marketing: Your Questions Answered.
But, in a nutshell:
- Decide on your niche (what your business is all about
- Register a domain name related to your niche
- Engage a web host to host your website
- Build and launch your website
- Apply to vendors in your niche to become an affiliate marketer for them
- Promote products on your website that include your affiliate link.
Now, as always, the devil is in the detail.
Some of these steps are harder than others, maybe all of them if you are just starting out.
Why not let me help you?
Even to the extent of building your first affiliate marketing website for you.
