Affiliate Programs are Wonderlands of Opportunities
by Mal Keenan
Published on this site: July 1st, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
We have previously discussed affiliate programs in passing. But
in this article, were going to get an overview of this subfield
of Internet marketing and how it could help bring about some stable
and generous earnings for you.
It has been said that affiliate programs are the easiest ways to
online riches. There is a lot of truth in that statement, though
it must be remembered that affiliate marketing is still a job, albeit
one which you could do in the comforts of your own home, hence,
you cannot make the most out of it without exerting some effort.
Even if you are not familiar with affiliate programs, Im
sure you have encountered some in your years on the Internet. For
certain, you have visited a site that was suggesting a book from
www.amazon.com to supplement
the information its pages revealed. That sites webmaster,
my friend, is an affiliate. And if you decided to purchase the book
he recommended, he would have earned a commission from the merchant
site.
Amazon, indeed, is the first business model for affiliate programs.
There are more, of course, usually asking the affiliate partner
to sell web hosting, domain names, and tangible products. But its
the affiliate programs which offer information products that often
give the highest commissions.
But first, lets discuss how affiliate programs work. There
are three parties in affiliate programs:
- The affiliate merchant
- The affiliate
- The buyer
The affiliate merchant is the one who has products to sell. He
would establish an affiliate program to invite affiliates to pre-sell
his products. Once the affiliate finds a buyer, he would recommend
the same to the affiliate merchant. The affiliate merchant would
then sell his products to the buyer. If the buyer buys, the affiliate
merchant would give the affiliate his corresponding commission.
Selling and pre-selling are two different things. Pre-selling usually
involves referrals and an earnest attempt to convince the buyer
to try the products being endorsed. When an affiliate enrolls in
an affiliate program, he is given a code which is called an affiliate link. This
affiliate link has his designation embedded on it, so whenever a
sale is consummated by virtue of the said link, the affiliate programs
system would be able to determine that the commission due shall
accrue for the affiliate.
Selling, on the other hand, is primarily the task of the affiliate
merchant. This includes payment processing, delivery and shipment
if applicable, and post-sales support.
Easy isnt it? All you have to do is to enroll in an affiliate
program, market the products with your affiliate link, and you could
earn wonderful commissions! Plus, you have the option of automating
everything through your site, or through some creative strategies
that have worked for many people.
But this shouldnt be taken to mean that affiliate marketing
can only be carried out through your website. The fact of the matter
is, you could be a very successful affiliate even without the benefit
of having a website!
These matters we will reserve for another day, so again, I plead,
bookmark this site and I promise that you will not regret it.
Affiliate programs can be fertile sources of plentiful earnings.
All you have to do is to choose the right one. Here are some points
to consider in deciding on an affiliate program:
- Quality of the products
- Salability of the products
- Commission rate dependent of salability of the products (a highly
sellable product with an equally high commission is ideal, but
a highly sellable product with modest commission is also good,
as finding buyers would be easy)
- Credibility of affiliate merchant
- Support from affiliate merchant
Additionally, you could enroll in as many affiliate programs you
want. But since you could only have 24 hours in a day to do the
marketing, there are risks in diversifying. So proceed with prudence
before engaging in many affiliate agreements.
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http://www.workathomebiz.info/pluginprofitsite.html
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