Ever had an experience where a product is being marketed ruthlessly, not by its creator company but by some other company? 

*Like Nike promoting Adidas products (no it’s not happening, just an example to jog your memory)*

Did you ever wonder why a company is promoting a good/service not connected to itself? Maybe it was because the product/service was truly exceptional or maybe it had to do with what we call affiliate marketing.

A brilliant new manner of streaming revenue for a website or blog, affiliate marketing pays the promoter for any sales conversions made because of a customer clicking on the promotion. Similar to how a social media influencer would make money if their promoted products were actually being bought by their followers who are also the target audience of the product. 

For affiliate marketing to work, one needs to consider the advertiser, the affiliate/publisher, the affiliate network and the consumer. Called an affiliate program, the key component of it is the link used to track the activity of the user. For affiliate marketing to work, you need to make sure your link is identifiable and trackable so that the original company can pay you for the transaction occurring courtesy your promotion. 

Notable companies well known for their affiliate marketing programs are: Amazon Associates, Fiverr, Shopify and Wix.

If you’re keen on becoming a part of an affiliate program, by taking on the position of an affiliate marketer, make sure to focus on commissions and how they’ve been structured. Also important to look into is how and when the commissions are paid out.

Why?

Because nothing comes for free and if you’re taking on the (partial) responsibility of promoting someone else’s goods and services beyond their own marketing strategies, you deserve what you are owed. 

The only things for you to ensure, should you consider this, is that your website (where the affiliate marketing will take place) is up-to-date and active. Make sure to also push out original content so that viewers can recognize consistency and unique schools of thought. Definitely optimize your content for SEO because that means more traction. Don’t forget to engage with your audience and make sure your channels (all of them) drive traffic be that through social media or backlinks.

Do all of this and more and you’ll be more than ready to make extra bank on the site courtesy someone else’s genius and market desires!