What is Affiliate Marketing & How do I earn from it ?
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where a company rewards its affiliates for each customer brought about by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts. This is accomplished by having affiliates promote the company’s products or services, and earning a commission for each sale made as a result.
To be more specific, an affiliate program is an agreement between a business-owner with an influencer (an independent Business Owner) in which the influencer helps the Business by sending traffic/sales lead to the business in return of certain commission to be paid to the influencer for each sale. This is mainly achieved through web content, social media, or a product integration.
Although many brands work directly with their affiliate marketers, some choose to subcontract that work out to specialist affiliate marketing networks.
How do Affiliates make Money ?
Affiliates make money by promoting products or services and earning a commission on sales made through their unique affiliate link. When a customer clicks on the affiliate’s link and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a percentage of the sale.
The commission amount varies depending on the company and their affiliate program, but it can range from a few percent to over 50% of the sale price. Some companies also offer bonuses and incentives for top-performing affiliates, such as higher commission rates or special promotions.
Affiliates can promote products or services through various channels, including their own websites, social media accounts, email lists, and online ads. The key to success as an affiliate is to build a large and engaged audience and carefully choose products or services that align with their audience’s interests.
By promoting high-quality products and providing value to their audience, affiliates can earn a steady stream of income through their affiliate marketing efforts.
Types of Affiliate Marketing
- Pay-per-sale: Commission is earned only when a sale is made.
- Pay-per-click: Commission is earned when a customer clicks on the affiliate’s link.
- Pay-per-lead: Commission is earned when a customer provides their contact information.
- Pay-per-call: Commission is earned when a customer calls the company using the affiliate’s unique tracking number.
- Cost-per-action (CPA): Commission is earned when a customer completes a specific action, such as filling out a form.
1. Pay-per-sale
Pay per sale (PPS) is a type of affiliate marketing compensation model where an affiliate earns a commission for each sale made through their affiliate link. The commission amount is a percentage of the sale price and is agreed upon by the affiliate and the company offering the affiliate program.
2. Pay-per-click
Pay per click (PPC) is a type of affiliate marketing compensation model where an affiliate earns a commission for each click made on a specific link. The commission amount is agreed upon by the affiliate and the company offering the affiliate program.
In a PPC model, the affiliate earns a commission each time a customer clicks on their link, regardless of whether a sale is made. This is in contrast to other affiliate marketing models, such as pay per sale (PPS) or pay per lead (PPL), where the affiliate only earns a commission if a sale is made or if a lead is generated.
It is important to note that PPC affiliate marketing can be less lucrative than other models, as the commission amount is typically lower and depends on the number of clicks generated, which can be influenced by a variety of factors, such as competition, market saturation, and consumer behavior.
3. Pay-per-lead
Pay per lead is a payment model for online marketing where an affiliate earns a commission for each lead generated through their affiliate link.
A lead is defined as a potential customer who provides their contact information, such as their name, email, or phone number, in exchange for a product or service.
In a PPL model, the affiliate earns a commission each time a customer provides their contact information through their link, regardless of whether a sale is made. This is in contrast to other affiliate marketing models, such as pay per sale (PPS) or pay per click (PPC), where the affiliate only earns a commission if a sale is made or if a customer clicks on their link.
4. Pay-per-call
Pay per call is a type of affiliate marketing compensation model where an affiliate earns a commission for each phone call made through a specific tracking number. The commission amount is agreed upon by the affiliate and the company offering the affiliate program.
In a pay per call model, the affiliate earns a commission each time a customer makes a phone call through a tracking number provided by the affiliate, regardless of whether a sale is made, although this can include per-customer conversion and lead.
This is in contrast to other affiliate marketing models, such as pay per sale (PPS) or pay per lead (PPL), where the affiliate only earns a commission if a sale is made or if a lead is generated.
Cost-per-action (CPA)
Cost per action (CPA) is a kind of affiliate marketing compensation model where an affiliate earns a commission for each specific action taken by a customer through their affiliate link. The action can vary depending on the company and their affiliate program, but it can include a sale, a lead, a phone call, or any other specific action that has been agreed upon.
In a CPA model, the affiliate earns a commission each time a customer takes the specified action through their link. The commission amount is agreed upon by the affiliate and the company offering the affiliate program and is typically a fixed amount, rather than a percentage of the sale price or lead value.
CPA is often used by companies that offer a wide range of products or services, as it allows them to specify the specific actions that they want their affiliates to drive, rather than simply generating sales or leads. The commission amount can vary greatly depending on the company and their affiliate program, but it is typically between $1.00 and $50.00 per action.
It is important to note that CPA affiliate marketing can be lucrative for affiliates who are able to drive a high volume of specific actions, but it can also be challenging due to competition and market saturation. Additionally, the success of CPA campaigns can be influenced by a variety of factors, such as the quality of the affiliate links, the timing and frequency of the actions, and consumer behavior.
Top 5 Niches to Start your Affiliate Marketing:
Before you start your affiliate marketing journey chose your niche that best suits your interest and passion. Find out which key words are currently most searched for. List out broad niches with sub niches.
Secondly, you should make a market analysis to find out which particular niches are popular and have high search volume online. Choose a niche with high search volume and minimal competition. Consider profitability of the affiliate product. You will face difficulty in those products which offer you high commission rates.
Top Affiliate Marketing Networks
E-Commerce
- Amazon Associates
- Commission Junction
- ShareASale
- eBay Partner Network
- Walmart Affiliate Program
- Best Buy Affiliate Program
- Sephora Affiliate Program
- Etsy Affiliate Program
- Chewy Affiliate Program
- Petco Affiliate Program
- Wayfair Affiliate Program
- Home Depot Affiliate Program
Travel
- Booking.com Partner Program
- Expedia Affiliate Network
- Airbnb Affiliate Program
Fashion and Apparel
- Share a sale
- Rakuten Marketing
- Commission Junction
- Shopstyle collective
- RewardStyle
Website Builders and services
- Leadpages
- Wix
- Crowdbotics
- WP Engine
- Kinsta
- Bluehost
- Hostgator
- GreenGeeks
- Shopify
- BigCommerce
- Magento
- Volusion
- SquareSpace
- AWeber
- Mailchimp
- GetResponse
- ConvertKit