Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people's (or company's) products. You find a product you like, promote it to others, and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make.

          whenever i publish some product or share about my product through blog, i often use the term affiliate marketing. Bloggers and internet marketers who have been into online marketing for years are familiar with affiliate marketing and with the fact that it is the most lucrative way to earn money online.

                        

Affiliate marketing is one of the oldest forms of marketing wherein you refer someone to any online product and when that person buys the product based on your recommendation, you receive a commission. This commission varies depending upon the product.

The most common question I hear is related to how companies track the record of who is sending the traffic and making the sales. The simple answer involves a tracking URL, which is a unique link given to you by the affiliate company or product company.  This URL is used to keep track of all the traffic and sales you are making via your website or other promotional techniques. Many old-fashioned affiliate programs allow a buyer to add the email or referral details in an effort to account for affiliate sales, but this is certainly not the best way to track progress.

Many online companies who sell products such as shoes, webhosting space or any service, offer an affiliate program. You can simply sign up for the program and get your unique tracking link. Now, whenever you are writing about the product, you can simply use this special tracking affiliate link to recommend the company’s site, and if your readers buy anything, you will get a commission.

How to find new products to promote?

Affiliate marketplaces such as those mentioned above are the best places to start your affiliate marketing research. You can browse your niche and see the top performing affiliate programs. Alternatively, many niche-based forums are great places to find new products to promote. For example, I often use Warrior forum to find products related to IM and blogging niches.

What qualifications do I need to become an affiliate marketer?
There is literally no qualification required to become an affiliate marketer, though having good copy writing and marketing skills will be an added advantage.