Affiliate marketing – Step 1

Step 1 in affiliate marketing is understanding what an affiliate actually is. When I refer to affiliate marketing, I will refer to an affiliate as someone who partners with a merchant of some sorts, sending that merchant potential customers and/or leads, in return for a commission. You could earn a percentage of a sale, or a flat fee for the lead.

For example, if you were an Amazon.com affiliate, you would try and send a customer to the Amazon website. Then, if this customer makes a purchase, you could earn a percentage of that purchase as commission.

This all sounds simple enough. But, sometimes, a customer doesn’t even need to make a purchase. For example, I am an affiliate for Outsurance, a South African Insurance company. In this post, “OUTsurance saved me R400 a month“, I talk about how the Insurance Company Outsurance saved me money. It’s a true story, so I thought I’d put it up. And, if you view that article, you will see an ad for Outsurance. For me to earn a commission, all a visitor to my site has to do is ask for a free quote. That’s all. And then I’ll get paid.

Amazingly easy way to make money, isn’t it?