What is Affiliate Marketing?

In simple terms, affiliate marketing is where you refer visitors from your website to a merchant’s website. A merchant
is any individual or company that sells products or services online. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, eBay, and Yahoo are all examples of merchants with affiliate programs. These companies pay their affiliates to promote their products and
services online. Merchants with affiliate programs range in size from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies.
You earn commissions when the visitors you refer complete some type of action on a merchant’s website. For example,
you may earn a commission if the visitor you refer makes a purchase, completes a lead form, or downloads some
software.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

When a visitor comes to your website and clicks on one of your merchant’s links, a tracking cookie is set on the visitor’s
computer. A cookie, in Internet terms, is nothing more than a small text file that is placed on a user’s computer when
they visit a website. This cookie tells a merchant that a visitor was referred by your website. When that visitor makes a
purchase, or completes some other action on a merchant’s website, the merchant gives you a commission. That’s it!
You don’t have to fulfill any products, handle customer service issues, or do anything else. All you’re doing is referring
visitors from your website to a merchant’s website.

The Benefits of Affiliate Marketing

Almost as nice as the flexibility, is the money. I don’t consider it easy money; I’ve worked hard for every dollar I’ve
earned. However, I’m in control of what I make! When you own an affiliate business you’re in the driver’s seat. If you
need to make more money, you just spend more time working on your affiliate business.
The nice thing about earning money from an affiliate business is that it can be residual. Wait! What do I mean by
residual? It means that my websites make money even when I’m not working on them. This frees me up to build more
money-making websites, which also earn residual income. As you can see this has a multiplying effect. In the last 2
years I have developed over 100 websites that have helped me to earn a substantial monthly income. For the most part,
these websites are self-sustaining. If I take a week off and go on vacation my affiliate websites are still making money.
My affiliate websites are not 100% maintenance free. However, I only have to spend a minimal amount of time each
month maintaining them. This maintenance is mostly just reviewing reports and trying to determine ways to earn more
money.
Low Start-Up Costs - You don’t have to mortgage your house to launch an affiliate business
The costs associated with starting up a typical brick and mortar business range from tens of thousands of dollars, to
millions of dollars. This presents a huge obstacle for most aspiring entrepreneurs. Even starting your own e-commerce
website can be expensive and difficult.
You can launch a quality affiliate website that can start generating instant cash for just a few hundred dollars, even if you
have little or no experience developing websites.
No Employees - Unless you count yourself
One of the biggest challenges facing business owners today is finding and managing good employees. Employees can
cost a business a lot of money. When you add up the cost of an employee’s salary, benefits, and other entitlements, it
can add up quickly! There are also hidden costs associated with having employees. Consider the costs of unemployment
if you have to lay off an employee. Consider the liability if an employee gets hurt on the job. What if an employee sues
you for wrongful termination? What if an employee goes to work for one of your competitors?