Are you considering getting into affiliate marketing and looking for information and tips? Below, we outline the basics and answer questions like:
- What is affiliate marketing?
- Is affiliate marketing a viable way to make a living online?
- Who is involved in affiliate marketing?
Affiliate Marketing: An Overview
The first question on tap: “What is affiliate marketing?”
Generally speaking, affiliate marketing is a performance-oriented advertising model in which third-parties promote a brand’s product, service, or initiative in return for commission payments based on clicks, leads, or purchases.
Thanks to the rise of online shopping, the affiliate marketing industry has mushroomed over the past twenty years. Market research firm Statista predicts (https://www.statista.com/statistics/693438/affiliate-marketing-spending/) that brands will spend $8.2 billion a year on affiliate marketing by 2022 — and that figure may increase thanks to the post-COVID e-commerce boom.
Affiliate Marketing: From Websites to Apps
Today’s affiliate marketers have many tools at their disposal, including websites, newsletters, social media, online advertising, and even apps. Regardless of the medium, affiliate marketers’ end goal is always the same: sell, sell, sell!
Affiliate Marketing Roles
The affiliate marketing ecosystem is made up of four main players: merchants, affiliate networks, publishers, and customers.
Merchants: Merchants are the entities with something to sell (i.e., brands, businesses, entrepreneurs, services, governments, et cetera).
Network: Affiliate networks are hubs where people looking to sell can hook up with companies that have products and services to promote. Networks typically take a finder’s fee.
Publisher: Publishers are individual affiliate marketers. If you get into the business as a third-party seller, you’ll fall into the publisher category.
Customer: And of course, affiliate marketing wouldn’t exist without the people buying, clicking, and signing up — the all-mighty customers.
Different Types of Affiliate Marketing Models
There are loads of affiliate marketing payment models and programs. Some people prefer to work through affiliate brokers. Others work directly with brands.
When starting out, affiliate networks are the way to go since they work like employment boards. You can sign up for hundreds of different programs over the course of a week. And the nice thing about affiliate marketing is that brands work with more than one affiliate. Some even accept everyone who applies!
Working one-on-one with brands typically doesn’t happen until you gain experience and prove yourself to be a high-octane seller.
Benefits of Affiliate Marketing
The great thing about affiliate marketing is that it can generate passive income. Although, it takes a lot of work to get to that point. Moreover, it’s a great way to make a living at home.
Potential Drawbacks of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing takes work. If you can’t afford to devote at least a couple of hours every day for the first year or two, there’s no point. The most successful affiliates — the ones who can afford to live off their digital marketing profits — are hustling between 8 and 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
Do You Have Legal Questions About Affiliate Marketing?
Here at AffiliateMarketingLawyer.com, we’re all about answering your questions about affiliate marketing law. So if you’ve got one, feel free to get in touch!