What is Affiliate Marketing?

I recently scoured the internet looking for the right description to describe Affiliate Marketing. investopedia.com says, “Affiliate Marketing is a marketing arrangement by which an online retailer pays a commission to an external website for traffic or sales generated from its referrals.” However, Wikipedia, a most trusted source these days, unfortunately, says, ” 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 marketing efforts.

Now, I will admit and stand corrected that Wikipedia’s definition is more understandable and makes sense. My definition of Affiliate marketing in layman’s terms is:” A person chooses to earn a commission promoting products by writing reviews about that product in hopes that their review will entice a potential customer to click and or purchase the product because of your review. Then you earn a percentage of said sale. 

Choose Your Niche

Now that we have discussed the meaning of Affiliate Marketing, let’s discuss how to get started. The first thing you will need to do is find your niche. To find your niche in a product is to find a product you believe in or feel comfortable promoting. If you wouldn’t buy the product yourself, then why would you try to sell it to someone else?

Better yet, if you don’t offer this product to family or friends, then you have not found your niche. Now I know what you’re saying: Why not promote a product that gives the most commission? Well, if you are the type of person that can sell ice water to an Eskimo, I say go for it, but if you’re like me, if I wouldn’t buy it, then how can I sell it? 

Build Your Website

Hopefully, you now have a better idea of what Affiliate Marketing is, and you have found a niche product. Let’s discuss how to promote your niche. Well, to promote your niche, you should write a review of the product. A great way to write reviews of a product is by building your website around that niche product. 

Now, some people promote their products on Facebook, Twitter, and news forums. The only problem is if Facebook, Twitter, and News forms think you are spamming their readership, then you could get banned by the site or ignored by the reader. Building A website will show the consumer you are invested in and believe in this niche product.

Attract Visitors & Earn Revenue

If you noticed, I mentioned finding a niche and getting a website to write reviews. The purpose of writing reviews is not only to help promote the product but also to give something of value to the reader. Also, writing reviews will help your website get indexed by Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

If you are not giving value to the consumer, Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, and news forums may not help to promote your niche product. Therefore, you will not build a brand. With no brand, people will not trust you. Without trust, the consumer may not be willing to buy the product you are promoting.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, we discussed what affiliate marketing is and how to get started. However, there are so many more things to learn about Affiliate Marketing and what it takes to be successful in this business that it would be overwhelming to learn everything in one day. I recommend a training program that has taught me a lot about Affiliate Marketing, and that is Wealthy Affiliate.

You can become a member of Wealthy Affiliate for free. Take your time and decide as you learn if Affiliate Marketing will be an excellent way to earn extra income for you! If you are Serious about Learning More about Affiliate Marketing, click on the Let’s Get Started Now Button Below!