What is Affiliate Marketing - Make Money with Affiliate Programs

Affiliate marketing is a method of monetizing a website or blog whereby the webmaster(the affiliate) provides links to a product or service(the merchant) and in return receives a commission if a referred visitor makes a purchase, fills out a form, or joins as a member. The affiliate is most often paid on a "per sale", "per lead, or "per sign-up" basis.

This website will help you learn what affiliate marketing is all about, how to get started as an affiliater marketer, and how to start an affiliate program if you are a merchant. This article gives a general overview of the affiliate marketing industry
and touches on affiliate programs, affiliate networks, and when it is appropriate to join an affiliate program and/or network.

What is Affiliate Marketing - Affiliate Programs and Affiliate Networks
There are tens of thousands of affiliate programs on the internet today. If you run a website or blog you will no doubt be able to find an affiliate marketing program that fits well with the content you are providing. Most merchant and product affiliate programs are housed within 3rd-party affiliate networks such as Commission Junction, LinkShare, Google Affiliate Network, ShareASale, and Clickbank. There are hundreds of smaller and niche affiliate networks also available, but the five listed above provide the largest number of merchant partners and products to choose from. Some merchants run their own affiliate program in-house, meaning all tracking and payments are made by the merchant itself rather than through a 3rd-party affiliate network. The directory here at Make Money Affiliate Marketing highlights some of the best and most popular affiliate programs available within the five affiliate networks mentioned above.

What is Affiliate Marketing - When to Make Money with Affiliate Programs
Don't put the cart before the horse. Many affiliate programs and even affiliate networks will not accept you as a partner unless you have a website online fully up and running. Your best bet is to scope out some potential affiliate partners as you design your website blueprint. Then build your website and get a considerable amount of content online before you begin applying to affiliate networks and affiliate programs. Show the networks and merchants that you mean business and that you will be a consistent provider of targeted traffic and sales. Get your website online and start getting traffic to your site before monetizing with affiliate programs.

Once you are accepted into one or more merchant affiliate programs, you will be provided with various affiliate marketing tools such as text links, banners, a product datafeed, and perhaps videos, reviews, or content that you can place on your site to further enhance your recommendation of a specific product or service. All affiliate links that you place on your website will have your affiliate ID embedded so that all click-throughs sent to the merchant are tracked along with any ensuing sales, leads, or sign-ups. Your affiliate statistics will be available via an interface provided by the 3rd-party affiliate network or the merchant itself(if running an in-house affiliate program).

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