Here's Part 2 of Affiliate Marketing: A Beginner's Guide
As I mentioned in the introductory article, I'm not an expert on this. I just want to share what I'm learning--things I wish I knew when I first started blogging.
What is affiliate marketing? Darren Rowse has described it this way at Problogger.net:
"Perhaps the simplest way to explain affiliate marketing is that it is a way of making money online whereby you as a publisher are rewarded for helping a business by promoting their product, service or site."
So how does this differ from adsense and other cost-per-click programs?
Generally speaking, affiliate marketing requires something more than a click-through or an impression for you to earn money.
Most affiliate marketing programs work on commission--you earn when someone buys something you referred them to (there are some variations, which I will describe in another post). This is why the earning potential tends to be higher than pay-per-click--you can earn a percentage of the money spent on the actual purchase.
I'll talk about the pros and cons of affiliate marketing in my next post.