Affiliate marketing is one of the best online business for beginners to try. It is easy to learn, straightforward to run and cheap to maintain. The big question now is How to Start An Affiliate Marketing? Fortunately, there are only 8 Steps to Start Your Very Own Affiliate Marketing and I will explain those steps in detail in this definitive guide.
Fun Fact About Affiliate Marketing
- John Stone a.k.a. Millionaire Mentor generated a whopping $7 million in affiliate marketing revenue (Source: MediaKix)
- More than 15% of the digital media industry’s revenue comes from affiliate marketing (Source: Business Insider)
- 8 out of 10 brands you use has an affiliate program (Source: MediaKix)
Affiliate Disclosure – I am an Affiliate of many products promoted on this website and may earn a commission if you purchase something.
Overview: 7 Steps to Starting an Affiliate Marketing Business
Terms, Roles, and Lingo Of Affiliate Marketing
Before anything else, let me define the terms, roles, and lingo associated with affiliate marketing.
Pat Flynn, one of the best affiliate marketers, defines affiliate marketing as,
“the process of earning a commission by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products. You can find a product you like, promote it to others and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make”
4 Core Players of Affiliate Marketing.
Wikipedia claims that there are actually 4 core players in affiliate marketing.
The Merchant
The creator is the owner of the affiliate product. The merchant can be a big company or a solo entrepreneur. They can be very involved in their affiliate program or they just use the service of an affiliate network to do all the affiliate marketing work.
The Affiliate Network
The middleman between the merchant and the affiliate publishers. They are the ones who handle the tracking of affiliate sales, payment, and product delivery. Affiliate networks also serve as a database of affiliate products.
Note that if you are planning to become a merchant, you don’t necessarily need an affiliate network since you can do run your program. Of course, it will involve a lot of work and you might not get a lot of exposure if you are just a small company
The Affiliate Publisher
The marketer of the affiliate product. Affiliate publishers are the ones who market the affiliate products. Some affiliate publishers are just a single player, but it is not uncommon to see big companies market affiliate products.
The Customer
The customers are the one who buys the affiliate product. They are who the affiliate publishers promote affiliate products via different digital marketing techniques.
Other Affiliate Marketing Term
Affiliate Program
The program an affiliate publisher applies to before it can promote an affiliate product. Some affiliate programs are stand-alone or managed by the company, while others require you to join in an affiliate network before you can join.
Affiliate Product
The product affiliate publishers promote to their audience and customers.
Affiliate Links
The link has a tracking ID and is shared by affiliate marketers to their customers when promoting affiliate products. When customers click on the link, a cookie will be stored on their computer. The cookie will let the merchant or network know if the customer buys the product and who is the affiliate.
Basically, the affiliate links tracks who sells who so they can be paid accordingly.
2 Ways to Make Money on Affiliate Marketing
When people talk about affiliate marketing, they automatically assume that they are the ones who promote other people’s products for a commission. I guess it is this way since being an affiliate is easy and straightforward.
However, I want to let you know that becoming a merchant is also a viable choice especially if you are an established business and have products to sell. Becoming a merchant will definitely going to boost your sales.
Unfortunately, the topic of becoming a merchant is also a big topic and I will not be able to cover it in this guide. I want you to know that the focus of this “How to Start an Affiliate Marketing Business Definitive Guide” is to help you get started as an affiliate.