Learning About Affiliate Programs

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 29th, 2010

An affiliate marketer is one who sells products through his website without actually owning the product. Therefore, there is no cost for buying products, maintaining inventory, or shipping. An affiliate marketer has only one responsibility that is to complete the desired transaction be it selling or lead generation. They are mostly paid by commission for every sale that could be as little as a few percent or a set dollar amount per transaction.

What is an affiliate program?

It would be difficult to imagine e-commerce without affiliate programs. Online businesses hope to increase revenue through their affiliate programs. An affiliate program is an opportunity for the advertiser, and the publisher. The advertiser is the company with a product to sell. The publisher is driving traffic to the advertiser?s website making money on commission.

Real world example: Let?s say you have a mortgage business and you want to generate leads through your brand new website. The website looks great, your online lead generation form works like a charm, except you have no visitors. You could create an affiliate program and pay your affiliates for each lead. In essence, you have created a win-win situation for your business and your affiliates. You only pay for leads not promises, and you have created a profitable opportunity for content publishers.

How do I find good affiliate programs?

You can profit from affiliate programs, even if you don?t have a product to sell. You could become an affiliate for other businesses. If you enjoy writing, you could start a blog and earn affiliate revenue. Make sure you only enter into partnership with reputable companies. If an affiliate program sounds too good to be true, you can bet your boots that it is. The products you market should have a proven track record for being successfully marketed and sold online.

The best part about affiliate programs is that they don?t require any financial investment on your part. If you are asked to send money to join an affiliate program,, you should walk. It is a sign of bad things to happen.

Finding affiliate programs is easy. There are several reputable affiliate directories.