Affiliate marketing is an easy and excellent way to make some money while expanding your business, especially if you are working with a small to nonexistent budget. Affiliate Marketing is referral system where you reward referrers (affiliates) with commission for any business they send your way. For example if I put a link on my website to your online shop and someone clicks through and makes a purchase you would pay me for the referral. The amount you pay is determined by you as the merchant (seller). You as the merchant can opt to pay per click, per lead or as a % of the sale value and supply a range of banners or text advertisements for me, the affiliate, to display on my website.
You simply join a network as an affiliate and then apply to merchant programmes whose products would be of interest to your readers. Once approved you will be offered a selection of banners and text that will help you promote the merchants products. Simply chose the ones you like and youll be given the code for the banner which includes the tracking link. Once you install the code into your webpage any clicks will be tracked and youll be paid the nominated commission.
The easiest way to get started is to join a network as an affiliate, clixgalore and commission monster are a couple of the larger networks in Australia. Its one central online location where merchants can load all their banners and links and hundreds of affiliates can access the information and start promoting. Once approved, you will be offered a selection of banners and text that will help you promote the merchants products. Simply chose the ones you like and youll be given the code for the banner which includes the tracking link. Once you install the code into your webpage any clicks will be tracked and youll be paid the nominated commission. As a merchant, its a simple, quick and easy way to drive traffic to your website and its true pay for performance marketing. So, no sales = no cost.
If your website has a lot of content and receives good traffic then affiliate marketing is an excellent way for you to generate additional income. If your website is small and still developing it is important to focus on your content; provide information on products and services and constantly update your pages. This will increase your sites search engine rankings and help direct traffic towards your site. More traffic increases your affiliate marketing potential. The best affiliate websites usually focus on a specific topic ie travel, technology, kids, health, parenting, cooking etc. Developing a website around a niche you know, love and are passionate about is the most successful way to affiliate market.
The actual income you make varies depending on the merchant and the products you sell.
Typically most merchants pay around 10% commission. When you sign up for merchant programs you can see the commission rate offered. When choosing products to promote look for merchant websites that offer a good shopping cart and are easy to navigate from product to sale.
The wonderful thing about affiliate marketing is that once you have your websites up and running you will be rewarded with an income for the life of the website. After that, continue to increase your site traffic and content to watch your income steadily grow.
Leah Squire is the author of Marketing with No Money how to get your business the attention it deserves and founder of internet based travel company www.byokids.com.au your family travel gurus. Leah started BYOkids just over 3 years ago with $1000 and a marketing budget of zero. The now multi-million dollar company was awarded best new business in Australia 2007 and best micro business in Australia. Leah writes and speaks regularly on a variety of topics including marketing strategies for small business, women in business, affiliate marketing and social media www.marketingwithnomoney.com
