Affiliate programs are the means and tools by which by which online merchants generate profit. These programs are hosted by online merchants but promoted by web publishers. Affiliate network is the conglomeration of web publishers and online merchants. The merchants pay a part of their profit to the website publisher when an end user performs a particular action or completes a transaction that leads to profit for the online merchant. The concept of affiliate programs was launched in November 1994 by CDNOW when they launched their BuyWeb program. It was based on the idea that music oriented websites could list albums and review those that the users might be interested to purchase. These websites would also offer links to CDNOW webpage where users could place their orders for the music CDs.
One of the better and more commonly known examples of affiliate program usage is the Amazon.com. Amazon launched their affiliate program in July 1996. The associates could place a link or banner on their websites and if the purchase was made the associate got paid. Remuneration for affiliate programs is done using CPS or Cost per Sale as a compensation method. Almost 80% of all transactions are done using this. About 19% use CPA or Cost Per Action. In these methods the associate or the advertiser must ensure that the visitor to the main host site has converted and makes a purchase.
A new concept in the world of affiliate program network is the multi-tier program. It involves distributing commission using hierarchical referral network of sign ups and sub partners. At most two tier programs exist but most of the affiliate programs are still
single tier. Some web merchants use in house affiliate programs using popular software while some merchants prefer to go through third party services. The third party services are generally preferred as they are impartial in judging traffic and sales. Depending upon the choice of service used payment is done by merchants themselves or by a third party or affiliate networks on behalf of the merchant.
Now coming to the most intriguing part of affiliate programs. How to choose an affiliate program for a target website? There are essentially three ways by which you can find a relevant affiliate program. First and the foremost is the affiliate program directories. These are a kind of guide to pre-screened affiliate programs and include affiliate discussion forums, blogs and beginner tools. The second way is to use large affiliate networks that provide the platform for thousands of advertisers. This is generally a good way to begin to get the hang of things. Third and the most cost effective way is to use the target website itself. Generally target websites have a link titled affiliate program that offers direct affiliate programs, but you need to be experienced enough to know which one would work out the best for you.
Today a large number of online marketers are actually flocking towards the affiliate programs in order to make money on the internet and that too without any initial investment or owning some product. Affiliate marketing involves the parent company and the affiliates associated with it, promoting the products and selling them thereby earning a commission. But there is another kind of affiliate marketing that is popularly known as affiliate networking or affiliate network marketing. Under this program, there is a common network that is usually operated by some third party company in which the various merchants use some common administrative infrastructure as well as software to recruit the affiliates and then monitor the traffic or leads generated from these affiliates.
Why choose affiliate networking?
Under the affiliate network system, both the affiliates and merchants register in a particular network and then the affiliates can easily find links to online shops of thousands of companies to use at their site. The major benefits of using the free affiliate networks includes no extra cost and earning hundred percent net profit.
All the potential affiliates need to do is to just go to some affiliate marketing website or network and sing up for a free account. The most popular of these affiliate networks include Commission Junction, Click Bank and B n B Revenue. After signing up for free, the affiliates can choose the best products to promote or affiliate. It is wise to select the products that are featured with large conversion rate.
Joining forums and writing articles
One can also earn good amounts of money by joining a forum. The affiliates can sign up as members and then slowly and steadily get to know the other members of the forum. It is wise not to start selling your product instantly, the affiliates should make up their rapport first. Then, ultimately, the affiliates can ask the members questions about products they have used or even heard about the products that the affiliates are promoting. Arousing interest in the members and then guiding them to the affiliate link can help a lot in selling your products and making money.
It is also imperative to search for as much details as the affiliates can for the affiliate products they are promoting. The affiliates can even write articles about their products and then just leave a link of the affiliate site in the resource box of the article. This will help to bring the curious readers to the affiliate site so that the products can then be sold easily and effectively thereby turning the traffic or readers into real time leads and customers. Also, it is not only important to find such affiliate network program that offers the best or highest payout, it is crucial as well to sign up with the affiliate program that matches the content of your site.