Introduction to Affiliate Marketing
What is Affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing is also
synonymous with the following terms: associate marketing,
associate programs, bounty programs, revenue-sharing, referral
and partnership programs.
Originating in the USA several years ago with Amazon.com,
affiliate marketing has quickly gained acceptance in North
America as a viable and effective method of obtaining online
screened and targeted site traffic, ongoing revenue generation
and building consumer credibility.
This explosive growth and acceptance of affiliate marketing is
also rapidly expanding into the European and Asian business
community, including being translated into numerous languages.
Associate marketing or associate programs are simply revenue
sharing arrangements established by sponsor companies selling a
variety of online products and services. Web site owners are
financially rewarded for sending referrals or customers to the
business in numerous ways.
Financial compensation results to the website owner when a
referral goes directly to the sponsors site and completes the
sponsors terms of acceptance.
Terms of acceptance could include that the referral do any of
the following: visiting a site, completing an application or
obtaining a quote, registering for a free newsletter,
downloading and installing software or making a consumer
purchase.
The subsequent payment for the lead or referral are defined by
the sponsor, and can range from a simple one time click through
payment or a fixed commission rate, to a multi-tiered payment
scheme resembling a MLM matrix that includes potential revenue
from future lifetime purchases made by referrals of referrals.
Regardless of the payment method chosen, an equitable affiliate
program results is a Win Win Win financial situation for all
parties involved. The Sponsor receives additional site traffic
and potential revenue from a new member; the Webmaster(s)
receives revenue for providing a qualified lead; and the site
visitor finds what they were looking for, at an acceptable price.
There are currently hundreds of thousands of Affiliate programs
available, ranging from corporate sites such as Wal-mart to
individual entrepreneurs promoting a single publication, and new
competition is arriving daily. To help find complimentary
Affiliate programs for your website or general information
purposes, several free directories such as Associate Programs at
http://www.associateprograms.com and Refer-it at
http://www.refer-it.com maintain ongoing catalogues of new,
existing and deleted affiliate programs.
These directory sites also contain a wealth of affiliate
information, proven marketing tips and techniques, consumer
ratings of programs and links to supportive software. The
Associate Programs directory has links to thousands of archived
and informative articles and includes a popular bi-monthly
newsletter that includes the latest affiliate news and global
success stories.
The Refer-it site ranks thousands of listed affiliate programs
with a four star rating, that is extremely accurate concerning
the reliability and integrity of each affiliate program offered.
RECOMMENDED Reading: If you are serious about pursuing the power
of affiliate programs, Register for a free 5 day email course by
Ken Evoy on becoming an internet superstar.
His Affiliate Masters course shows you how to dramatically boost
your income from affiliate programs by following simple, easy to
follow instructions.
All the information is free, and the expert advice can be
applied to any affiliate program.
To take the course, send a blank e-mail to tams@sitesell.net.