So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur! (Part 3: What Is Affiliate Marketing?)
Posted by Heather Taskovics · 10 Comments
WOOHOO! So you’ve read Part1 and Part 2 of this blog series in your valiant quest to become an entrepreneur and you find that there is still one more question burning from within the depths of your soul: ”What Is Affiliate Marketing?”
Affiliate Marketing Defined
Affiliate Marketing is a type of marketing system by which companies pay a commission to people (affiliates) for referring their products and/or services to the rest of the world. It is fairly popular with first-time internet marketers as it can be an easy way to earn some extra money.
The Various Types Of Affiliate Marketing Programs
Here are the three types of programs that you will typically find:
- Pay Per Click
- Pay Per Lead
- Pay Per Sale
Pay Per Click (PPC) – Not to be confused with Pay Per Click related to Google Adwords, with this PPC, the affiliate is paid every time a banner ad or a link that is placed on the affiliate’s website has been clicked on. Typically the affiliate is required to get a certain number of clicks on their links before they receive any compensation. For these the pay is rather minimal and should not be used as a sole source of income.
Pay Per Lead (PPL) – With PPL, the affiliate receives commissions every time a lead turns into a potential buyer. Even though the buyer may not complete the purchase, the merchant believes that the lead is still valuable and therefore will pay the affiliate for that lead.
Pay Per Sale (PPS) – PPS is the most common affiliate marketing pay system. In this system, the affiliate receives commissions based on purchases made by the lead. If the lead does not buy anything, the affiliate will receive no compensation.
Examples Of Affiliate Marketing Websites
There are hundreds of affiliate marketing sites out there. The following is a list of what I consider to be the *BIG THREE* in the industry:
- Clickbank.com – This is by far the most popular website for finding affiliate marketing opportunities. There are thousands upon thousands of products available to market–there are even detailed sales stats to help you choose which product(s) to market. Because many of these products are digital, you can easily earn as much as 75% commissions.
- Amazon.com Affiliate Program – Since 1996, everyone’s favorite place to shop for books, CDs, DVDs and clothing (and just about anything else you can think of!), has had an affiliate program. You can earn as much as 15% on purchases and they provide widgets that you can post on your blog site as well as links for marketing on social networks. Many people create complete online *stores* just with Amazon.com affiliate links.
- CommissionJunction.com – Basically, this is THE place to find merchants that offer affiliate programs. It is a central location through which you would receive your commissions earned from numerous merchants that you choose to market. CJ provides you with the affiliate links, which include imbedded tracking code so that you can monitor the performance metrics of the link.
And thus concludes the “So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur” series. I hope you have found this article series useful in your search for finding the right marketing opportunity and learning a bit about the industry. If you like what you have read, go ahead and share it on Twitter and Facebook.
And by all means, please DO leave your comments in the space provided below. I would love to hear from you.
Thank you so much for joining me on this fantastic journey!
As always, until next time…
TO YOUR SUCCESS!
“On A Mission To Help You Achieve Success In Life”
http://heathertaskovics.net
contact@heathertaskovics.net
Tel: 781 475 0936
Skype: heather.taskovics
If you liked that post, then try these...
Is It Just Coincidence? by Heather Taskovics on July 28th, 2009
I was watching an episode of "Martha Speaks" (a show on PBS about a dog who can talk because she ate too much vegetable soup) with my daughter today.
Are You Ready To Live Life Loud? - Living Your Passion And Fulfilling Your Dreams by Heather Taskovics on April 12th, 2010
Live Life Loud.
So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur! (Part 1: Figuring Out What You Want To Do) by Heather Taskovics on September 14th, 2009
Hooray! You've decided that you've had enough of working long hours to make someone else's piggy bank expand while watching yours shrink from starvation.
One Tribe - We Are ALL Connected by Heather Taskovics on March 14th, 2010
Music can be such an amazing inspiration.
Let's Be Authentic Together! (Or: Learning How to Stand Out in a Crowd) by Heather Taskovics on June 28th, 2010
It really is interesting how trends are started and how long they last--especially when it comes to social media marketing.
Probably can add Share-A-Sale to your list as I believe it has not only grown, but offers some of the highest average sale merchants on the web.
My wine club is featured there as a shameless plug and an example.
It’s a complicated process, but if you can drive traffic to your site then any of the money making methods will work fine.
Great posts Heather…you always have great content to share. I don’t take advantage myself of the many opportunities out there in affiliate marketing and this is just a gentle reminder to GET OFF MY BUTT AND GET ON IT!
Thanks Heather!
.-= Bruce Backman´s last blog ..Why I Don’t Use Ice for Healing Injuries… =-.
Thank you Heather for this post.
I learn something from you every time I stop by your blog.
Thank you for always delivering great valueable content!
Daryl Whicker
.-= Daryl Whicker´s last blog ..Is Planned Parenthood Concealing Crimes? =-.
Heather,
I always am learning from you. Great post. Thanks.
.-= Donna Brogan´s last blog ..Two Kinds Of People – Those Who Get Things Done And Those Who Wait For The Right Decisions =-.
Hi Heather-
As usual, great job. Thanks for your guidance and solid information.
Have a blessed and healthy day,
Kat
.-= Kat Krug´s last blog ..The Secret Code of Success by Noah St. John: A Review =-.
Heather, thank you for sharing your valuable entrepreneur series with us!
The wanna-be online entrepreneur will know exactly where to start after reading your informative series and seasoned marketers have been able to pick up many helpful tips!
Thank you for the content you continuously provide!
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..SuperQuick Tip Of The Week – Are You Twitterific? =-.
This is a great overview of affiliate marketing, Heather. Maybe you could go into more details of these topics in a future post?
Keep up the great work!
.-= Jason Kerchner´s last blog ..Why Your Prospect Doesn’t REALLY Want Money =-.
Hey Heather,
Great Series, full of wonderful Information,
I picked up some great tips.
Thanks you for sharing,
Sharlene
As Always Heather… You ROCKED
the VALUE in this post/series!
You are a true GIVER… someone
who shares because she LOVES
to share.
Thanks for the knowledge:)
.-= Eric Goldstein´s last blog ..Are You A Good Receiver? It’s Not ALL About Giving! =-.