What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is when you allow a company to advertise their products or services through your website. These adverts are given to you free of charge.
How do you make money out of affiliate marketing?
You get paid on a commission. This can vary quite a lot between different companies, but usually works on how many times a link from your website is clicked on by someone visiting your site. Many schemes will only pay you for clicks that have resulted in a purchase, and the vast majority will take back a commission should the previously purchased item be returned. So, it’s important to know and understand exactly what you can expect right from the very beginning.
How can I ensure that lots of people click on my links?
The only way is by bringing plenty of traffic towards your website. Remember that just because a hundred people have visited your site, does not mean to a hundred people are going to click on your links. In fact, expect only one of these to be interested in any of your adverts. Putting your adverts in obvious places that can easily be found is a good place to start, and make sure that you write sparkling reviews about the products that you are trying to encourage them to buy.
So, how can I bring traffic to my website?
Advertise. Getting your website high on the top search engines is a good place to start. Also, if you have the know-how consider making up a little banner promoting your website, and approach similar websites and ask if you can advertise on their site, in exchange for an advert of their site on yours. This is an especially good move if you can join forces with an already successful website that has a high daily record of hits. Encourage people to sign up for updates and special offers, because once you have their email address you can tactically remind them of your existence. But, be careful not to send too much, especially if it irrelevant to your site, because they are just likely to block you.
How can I spot a Scam?
A lot of scams are easy to spot: they have no website, which means no content; no contact details, suggesting there is something that they don’t want you know, for example, that there are no products and you nor your customers will ever receive what they expect, and then they will probably leave you with the problem of an irate customer.
Also be aware that scammers are becoming more intelligent and devious, so always be aware of the dangers. Only sign up to schemes that you trust, either because you know the company well, or have been recommended it by someone who has no reason to deceive you.