Introduction to the Affiliate World

For those who are new to the affiliate world, this article is an attempt to answer some of the common questions that may come up. While it may not answer everything, it should deliver an understanding as to what being an affiliate is all about.

What is an affiliate?

As an affiliate, you become part of an extended sales force for a company looking to further their advertising and increase their revenue. The benefit in this, assuming you take advantage of the opportunity, is these companies will offer you compensation for your efforts. In simple terms, if you make them money, they pay you for it. You offer the company space on your website to promote their site and/or products and if a visitor to your site clicks through to the company site and performs one of several actions designated in the affiliate program terms, you can earn money.

Ok, so what is an affiliate program?

An affiliate program is your partnership with a company. You sign up to their affiliate program and they offer you tools for advertising, they'll track your commissions and at the end of it all, they'll cut you a check. Sounds good right? It is, but it's not that simple. It requires effort on your part in many ways. If you don't offer up anything worthwhile to your visitors then you'll find your results might not be what you expected. If you run a site about rock and roll music, and have a banner for Office Depot on the same page, you probably won't generate much interest. Although you may find the rare producer visiting your site that just realized he's out of staples.

If you do offer up something your visitors would enjoy, but don't promote it and draw their attention, your results may still be less than expected. Now this doesn't mean plastering flashing banners everywhere on your site, but rather find unique ways to include it into your content and give them a reason to want to find out more about what you're offering. You want to entice them, not annoy them. And nothing will drive someone away quicker than a flashing "You're A Winner" banner.

So tell me, how much will I make?

To be honest, there's no single answer to that question. I know, you want one, but I just can't offer one. Every affiliate program has different terms and different payouts. Some programs offer a pay per click (PPC) program, meaning the user doesn't have to do anything except click your link or your banner, and you make money. Generally, but not always, the earnings per click will be low (a couple of cents a click in some cases) so while it may sound like easy money that's not always the way it is. Most companies tend to shy away from PPC offerings because affiliates want to cheat the system and click their own links and banners to earn themselves money. The major PPC player, Google, shuts down quite a few Adsense accounts on a regular basis, which also denies the account owner their earnings.

The majority of affiliate programs require the visitor to perform an action, typically making a purchase. If they do, you can earn anywhere from 1-2% of the purchase price to 25% or higher depending on what the program offers. If you take AllPosters (featured on the front page) for example, they pay you on a tiered commission meaning the more you sell the higher your commission percentage will be.

Wait a minute, tiered?

As mentioned, AllPosters pays their affiliates on a tiered commission. You start off on a tier of 25% commission, for every sale made you make 25% of that. If you reach a certain level of sales then they will in turn increase the percentage that you earn. To reach their second tier you would need to sell $500 worth of merchandise. That sounds like a lot, but consider a framed or mounted poster could go well over $100. If a few visitors per month purchased a poster and got it framed then you'd be in pretty good shape. If 5 users bought a $100 framed poster, you'd already be at the next tier, which is 26%. In my experience;, however, quantity will be your best friend. More people tend to just buy the posters themselves which could be anywhere from $4 or $5 to $20 or $30.

So can I refer people and make money?

Yes and no. I know, you're just begging for an easy answer. Some companies do actually reward you for "recruiting" other people to join their affiliate program, but not all. And the terms in which they reward you can vary. Some companies pay you a flat fee, for example $2.00, for every person you get to join, but that's it. Some companies will not only pay you for recruiting a new affiliate, but also pay you a percentage on their commissions. Yes, if they make money, you make money as well! It's not usually as simple as that, the affiliate you sign up will probably have to make a sale before you're paid for them joining, but that's more incentive to bring on quality affiliates.

This relationship is also tier based. When you sign up as an affiliate, you're on the first tier. When you get someone to sign up under you, they are on the second tier of the program. The majority of affiliate programs only have a first and second tier. Even if you sign up under someone else's affiliate ID, you're entitled to the same offerings they are. You'll be on their second tier, but you'll be on your own first tier. If someone signs up under you, they're on your second tier.

Bottom line, is it worth doing?

That depends solely on you. If you're willing to put the time and effort into it, then I believe it's most certainly worth doing. The results aren't instant but if you apply yourself it won't take long before you're making money. Choose wisely, don't choose them all. You don't need to sign up to every affiliate program around to make money, and if you're just starting I don't recommend tackling more than 1 or 2 for starters. Get your feet wet, see what it takes and what works for you specifically and go from there. Most important of all, don't get easily discouraged. Good luck!

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