The Basics of Affiliate Marketing

The building blocks of affiliate marketing are quite simple and can help create a solid and profitable structure for your site or blog. These 3 blocks are the main components:

Merchant (a.k.a. Advertiser) - A website that markets and sells goods or services. They give compensation to affiliates who provide sales or leads.
Affiliate - Someone that earns a commission for referring clicks, leads, or sales to a merchant.
Affiliate Network - A hub that connects merchants and affiliates. For merchants, networks offer tracking, reporting, payment processing, and access to affiliates. They also offer a one-click application to merchants, reporting, and payment collection for affiliates.

Merchants and affiliates work together to market sales and earn a profit. When someone visits an affiliate’s website, clicks on an affiliate link, and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a commission. Easy as that! Since affiliates are only paid when sales are completed, it's very cost-effective for merchants.

If you've already got a website created, all you have to do is join a network, apply to affiliate programs, and use affiliate links to drive traffic to merchant sites. Then, you'll be on your way to earning commission for any products or services you're linking to.