At it's basic level to affiliate is to associate
with or become closely connected with something. An affiliate program
is simply a way to let you associate with an internet business.
Normally in this relationship you will help advertise and send traffic
to the business and they will reward you in some manner with free
items, coupons, or money. The image below illustrates well the relationship.
As you can see, there are two main parts to the
affiliate relationship. The compensation to the affiliate and the
transfer of customers or leads to the business. We'll cover these
two in detail later. From the business standpoint, one of the things
that separates this from other means of advertising is the relationship
between the two processes. In normal advertising you pay a fee and
you may get leads that earn you millions or you may get nothing.
In an affiliate relationship you pay in proportion to the leads
generated or the revenue earned (sales).
For the affiliate this means that you have almost
unlimited revenue potential, but also the potential to earn nothing
if you are unable to generate sales or leads for the company. For
that reason, it is important for potential affiliates to create
a plan for their programs. Signing up as an affiliate and dropping
a link on a page about the family dog is not going to generate leads
for most businesses or generate much money for the affiliate.
Continue reading
how online affiliate programs work?