Affiliate Marketing is the act of representing somebody else’s product and service

and when such representation results in a sale, you are compensated with an amount based on pre-agreed rates.

 Affiliate marketing is actually no different from being a Avon, Amway or Tupperware representative, except that it is typically done online,

 and there are little or no personal interaction involved between the buyer, the seller, and even you as the intermediary or affiliate marketer.

To get into affiliate marketing,

one has to signify their intention by opening an account with a company they wish to represent by filling up an online form. For some like Clickbank and Hostgator, the account opening is free and the approval is immediate. For other networks like Commission Junction, you will have to be approved. Then when you are approved, some of the advertisers they carry might need to approve your account to promote them on a case-per-case basis. Other networks like PeerFly and TrialPay also take some time to review and even verify your application details, prior to approving your account. PeerFly even conducts automated phone call verification.

When you have your affiliate marketing account approved, that means that you can now generate your very own affiliate links so that when you promote the product, and prospective buyers click and buy through your link, the transaction will be traced back to you so that you may receive the commissions generated for your account. For Clickbank, they are called hoplinks and are typically encrypted so that other unscrupulous affiliates cannot steal the sale from you. Encryption also makes it virtually impossible to edit out your account name should the sale materialize later on.

Now since you now have you affiliate marketing link or “affiliate link”, for short,  you need a way to promote it. And I wouldn’t advise that you just carelessly advertise it in forums and other blogs. That would be spamming. The best way to promote affiliate links is by having your own website or blog. You should be generous in sharing helpful information and resources with your readers, so that when you recommend products and services, they would actually consider buying from you. People typically do not like to be sold to. They buy because they want to buy, not necessarily because you persuaded them to buy.

Also, since you now have your own site or blog for affiliate marketing, do aim to capture the names and addresses of your site visitors so that you can progressively introduce yourself to them through a series of value adding or professionally enriching messages. Let them know that you are somebody that they can know, like and trust.  

Welcome to Affiliate Marketing!

If you want to get into the future of affiliate marketing, check this out!

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