Making Money with Affiliate Programs ? Part I


If you have a website and you are not involved in any of the thousands of affiliate programs available on the Internet, you are loosing great opportunities to make some extra income. As in the case of some top affiliate marketers this extra income might even transform into thousands of dollars.

Affiliate program is one of the most effective methods of producing sales second only to direct mail. According to Forrester Research, a marketing research company, in this year 21% of all online sales will be generated from affiliate sites promoting affiliate products.

If you do your homework right, you too can earn handsomely from the correct use of affiliate programs.

What is an affiliate program?

The concept of affiliate program is based on the age-old business practice of referral service. This is quite common in many industries. An attorney, for example, gets a certain percent of commission if he refers a client to another lawyer.

Back in 1996 Amazon.com started the first widespread use of referral service on the Internet. If a client comes to Amazon.com and buy a product using a link provided by Amazon, from a website which signed affiliate partnership agreement, that site receives 10 to 15% commission from the sale. The Amazon Affiliate Program became so successful that it prompted others to follow the suit. Today, affiliate programs became ubiquitous on the Internet making them one of the primary methods of online marketing of products and services.

Affiliate Program can be defined as Internet marketing system where a company allows and helps third party websites, called affiliates to post link and refer clients in return for a predetermined flat-fee or percentage-based commission.

Benefits of affiliate programs
Affiliate Programs became so popular because as a partnership it's a win-win situation for both the program owner and the affiliates.

Benefits for program owners include:

Increase Sales
The primary reason for most of the companies to adopt an affiliate program is the possibility of boosting sales. In fact, proper implementation of a quality affiliate program is capable of increasing sales dramatically.

Free promotion
A successful affiliate program can easily become the largest traffic generator for the company website. Many websites receive major portion of their visitors from their affiliate links. To find suitable websites with required content in order to run a banner or link campaign is time consuming and require large resources; affiliate programs in comparison can resolve this issue often with a far smaller investment.

Increase search engine ranking
Search engines, Google in particular, calculate link popularity as one of the main factors in their ranking algorithm. Backward links from affiliate sites certainly help improving this.

Branding
Thanks to its affiliate program Amazon.com banner links can be seen on numerous websites. Popularity of Amazon.com among the newcomers to Internet proves that Amazon.com was successful in creating its online brand name. No doubt, omnipresent visibility of their logo on the affiliate sites definitely had a huge impact on the brand recognition of the Amazon. Offline companies had to spend billions of dollars of advertisement money to get similar results!

How about the affiliates? What are the benefits they get from an affiliate relationship?

No product or service to carry
Online business with your own product or service might be rewarding, but it requires substantial investment from your part. With carefully chosen affiliate programs you can have your online business without the requirement of having your own products.

The investment is low as all you need is a website.

No need to have a merchant account
Since you don't carry your own products or services you do not have to go through the hassle of having a merchant account to cater your clients. Your affiliate program owner will do everything. All you have to do is supply clients through your designated link.

Possibility of residual income
Many programs pay you a commission from the sales made to the customers generated from affiliates, who have signed up as an affiliate following your link. This kind of affiliate system is called 2-tier system.

Visitor tracking system allows affiliate programs to pay you a commission when same visitor from your website makes repeat purchase.

Some affiliate programs that promote monthly or yearly subscription services pay a commission each month as long as customer referred by you stays subscribed.

Complement you website with added products and services If your site is dedicated to certain products or services, there must be other stuffs that go well together with your own products. It's a good idea to seek out viable affiliate products of these items and promote through your site. Your visitors will love this and this will help building loyalty among your visitors.

Have new contents for your site
many affiliate programs supply you with valuable marketing materials. Some of these materials can be nice addition to your site content bringing further value to your website.

Various Affiliate programs

There are two ways of running an affiliate program: The company owns and handles the program itself, using certain software.

The company uses third party administered affiliate programs. The reasons why many companies prefer to hand over management of their affiliate programs include technical aspects, cost factor and human factors.

- Companies do not have to spend money on developing, running and updating the software.

- Proven technology allows companies to concentrate on their job of selling their products and services.

- Many prospective affiliates prefer third party managed programs, because they rightfully ponder, in this case the program owners have less chance to cheat their affiliates.

Find below a list of some leading third party affiliate program administrators:

http://www.linkshare.com
http://www.cj.com
http://www.clickbank.com

However, this does not mean that you should avoid company run affiliate programs. On the contrary, some of the most successful and best affiliate programs are run by the owners.

If you find an affiliate program that suits your requirement and you feel that the company is a reputable one, by any means you should give it a try!

Nowshade Kabir is the founder, primary developer and present CEO of Rusbiz.com. A Ph. D. in Information Technology, he has wide experience in Business Consulting, International Trade and Web Marketing. Rusbiz is a Global B2B Emarketplace with solutions to start and run online business..


More Resources

How to Become a Super-Affiliate
Did you begin your affiliate marketing business like this? You surf the internet looking for an internet marketing product you can affiliate with and sell (even though you know nothing about internet marketing), sign up for the program and get your link, and then visit traffic exchanges and safelists, advertising your affiliate site. At the end of the day, week, or month, you wonder why you didn't sell one product.
5 Ways to Promote Affiliate Programs
After having chosen several programs to join, you probably realize that customers won't knock on your door - you have to come to them. By promoting your affiliate programs successfully, you build your own success!So what should you do to promote your affiliate programs? Here are five methods which have succeeded for millions and can succeed for you, if you choose to follow the same steps as those millions before you!#1 Create your own marketing affiliate program materials.
Affiliate Marketing - How Ezine Ads Explode your Online Profits
So we're looking at E-zine advertising. Just a quick overview - ezines are basically email newsletters, but most don't redirect to a site, they just leave the full text content in the email.
Are You Being Ripped Off By Clickbank Merchants?
I see affiliates from two perspectives.Firstly as an affiliate, I see myself as a business partner to those merchants that I promote.
Affiliate Marketing Secrets that You Can Use
Affiliate marketing is a very hot topic on the web right now. Not surprising when you consider the fact that a vast majority of successful online entrepreneurs make their money from affiliate schemes and programs.
Economic Recession or Not, You Must be Creative to Survive
Are we Really in an Economic Recession?Some US statistics seem to indicate we are heading into one. If we are heading in that direction, what should we online marketers do about it?Should we panic and give up our web sites, or just accept that we will get less business, and let it go at that.
Make Money Online With Affiliate Programs
If you have wanted to find a way to make money from home without all the hassle of selling products out of your own home yourself, perhaps you should take a look at affiliate programs.Affiliate programs are an excellent way to make money from home.
Affiliates: 3 Things You Should Own Though You Dont Own A Product.
1. Your Own web site:Most affiliates put a redirect link directly to their affiliate product.
Keeping Your Sub-Affiliates From Quitting
One of the biggest if not the leading problem for internet marketers is keeping your affiliates from quitting. The time and effort that has been put forth to get your affiliates can seem like a waste of time if soon after joining your program they either opt-out or become inactive.
Affiliating Correctly - Only Work With the Winners
You need to do a bit of research on which affiliate programs you choose to work with. Why work hard to make $10 when the same amount of work could have netted you $100? Choose your affiliate relationships wisely.
Three Easy Ways to Become a Super Affiliate and Earn Cash Quickly
If you want extra cash every month, you have to read this. You can start a part-time or full-time business simply by developing an affiliate network on the Internet.
Why Super Affiliates Succeed
Ever wonder why the super affiliates are raking it in and you're still struggling with affiliate programs?Okay, it is an advantage to have a web site with good traffic and a program related to the theme of the web site. It is also important to have a large list to which you can recommend your program.
Five Common Mistakes Affiliate Marketers Make
Affiliate Marketing is one of the most effective and powerful ways to earn a living online. Affiliate programs give everybody a chance to make a profit through the internet.
A Few Words on Affiliate Team Building
It might have been Vince Lombardi or some other famous coach who said, "There is no I in team." ( I was too lazy to look up the source of the quote;) I think that this is as true in business as it is in sports.
Affiliate Marketing - A Quick Overview For Beginners
It's simply a kind of marketing in the internet where marketers sell products or services of certain merchants. Those Internet Marketers earn commissions on sales.
Content Really is King
It is every affiliate's wish to have unique site content absent of any re-write or editing restrictions, effectively content with an "open license." Many sources do exist for content that can't be changed, but there are very few sources which allow an affiliate to manipulate the article and make it unique and specific to their site(s).
Affiliate Marketing - Join in on the Success of the 2nd Wave
What do I mean by '2nd Wave'? Let me explain:Can you remember the good old days when affiliate programs first came into existence in the mid to late 1990's? Everybody jumped in with two feet and put up dozens of affiliate links on their site with no real thought to what they were doing. We then wondered why we didn't make any money - not any real money that is.
The Key to a Successful Affiliate Program
Two Christmases ago I tugged on one of those paper crackersand after a small bang, out popped a piece of yellow paperthe size of a credit card.On one side was a riddle that didn't make much sense, buton the other side was an 'Inspirational Quote' that made alot of sense.
Making Money with Affiliate Programs - Part II
In this holiday season online shopping is hotter than ever! According to US Commerce Department online sales continue to grow with a robust 25-27 percent this year over 1992. Online holiday shopping at a rate of 10 percent is also considerably outpacing the 5.
Affiliate Marketing
Simply put, Affiliate Marketing is one of the most common forms of making money on the internet.Affiliate marketing was set in place by larger corporations and websites who realize that marketing smarter is better than marketing smarter.

More Affiliate Revenue Information:

Related Articles

Economic Recession or Not, You Must be Creative to Survive
Are we Really in an Economic Recession?Some US statistics seem to indicate we are heading into one. If we are heading in that direction, what should we online marketers do about it?Should we panic and give up our web sites, or just accept that we will get less business, and let it go at that.
Want to Increase Your Affiliate Commissions?
Do you participate in chat rooms and message boards related to the product you're reselling? You should be! This is one way to Increase your affiliate income and make more money. When you participate in chat rooms and message boards, start a conversation with a person without trying to sell to them.
How to Evaluate an Affiliate Program
There are thousands of affiliate programs offering wide range of benefits to their affiliates. However, many of these programs and the claims they make are not to be trusted.
Super Affiliate Strategies To Boost Your Click Through Rates
If you are an affiliate I don't need to tell you that it's not easy, especially if your promoting a product or service that is a large program with a lot of affiliates. Every single affiliate in that program is in indirect competition with you, even though it's not your product or service.
High Earning Affiliate Is It Possible?
Affiliate Program have exploded on the internet. Thousand of people join them every day.
3 Ways to Squeeze Even More Revenue Out of Your Traffic Equaliser Pages
Ever wondered if, apart from Google Adsense, there were other ways of generating real revenues from Traffic Equaliser pages.There has been some great results using the above two programs, running Google Adsense results on page as a fast way to driverevenues on a huge number of boiler plate pages.
The Best Affiliate Programs Increase Your Website's Earnings Potential
Taking full advantage of your website's earning potential is as simple as making use of the best affiliate programs available on the Net. Business websites and personal websites can both use affiliate links to earn additional revenue and make the most of their webspace.
Mining For Gold With The Best Affiliate Programs And Hitting Pay Dirt
Colin McDougall tinkered around with affiliate programs earning a few dollars, nothing much to write home about, even had his own e-commerce site, known as the man's mall. In theory that site was supposed to offer all sorts of gadgets for guys.
8 Ways To Promote Your Affiliate Products
Many affiliates fail in affiliate marketing because they limit their marketing strategies to placing referral links in their web sites, distributing links to business sites through multiple emails or posting their links to other web pages. Doing any of these alone would not guarantee sales and thus, your commission.
Understanding Affiliate Programs
Years ago before the internet was born, starting your own business was like taking a leap into the unknown. It involved MONEY, TIME, and lots of worry.
Googles Secret Guidelines On Thin Affiliates
Journalist Henk van Ess has caused a flurry of excitement on blogs and forums. In his blog he revealed that Google uses teams of humans all over the world to evaluate the accuracy of Google's search results.
How To Increase Your Affiliate Commissions!
So you've joined an affiliate program, but really haven't figured out where you should start? Here are 12 great tips to get you started on your feet and enjoying the new year.Here are 12 Awesome Ways To increase Your Affiliate Commissions! Participate in web discussion boards and online forums.
Are Affiliates Getting Fired?
An alarming trend seems to be catching on with popular merchants lately. The trend is the tendency for some of these companies to begin discriminating against new or inexperienced affiliates and actually FIRE them!Removing an unproductive affiliate is understandable; however, having a ridiculous screening process that only allows websites with thousands of visitors to squeeze through almost seems ridiculous.
How To Win The Affiliate Game
Are you frustrated with your affiliate programs?I used to be. Very frustrated! One day, in sheerdesperation, I wrote to one of my affiliateprograms and suggested that the market was nowsaturated with their product - it was no longerpossible to sell it.
Affiliate Surprise
I can't believe it! I open up my mail today, and what do I receive? A statement from one of my affiliates saying that I've earned a pretty good amount of money for the last quarter. Wow! How'd that happen? Since my web site is only a couple of months old, I couldn't believe that I'd already earned that much from this affiliate.
Affiliate Marketing: Starting Out On The Internet
So you want to start your own business, and you want to start it without mortgaging your house and maxing out your credit cards. You've done the market research and you've concluded that by far the largest market place in the world is right there in front of you within the cyber world of the internet.
Internet Affiliate Business: 5 Ways to Grow It Organically
Growing your internet home business organically means there are similarities to organic farming. An organic farmer knows that if he develops healthy soil, he will have healthy plants.
Affiliate Programs
Basic IdeaAffiliate marketing is a type of marketing in which revenue sharing between online merchants and online salespeople (affiliates), whereby compensation is based on performance measures, typically in the form of sales (Pay Per Sale), clicks (Pay Per Click) and impressions (Pay Per Impressions).Merchants run affiliate programs to generate leads and sales from other Web sites.
Affiliate Programs and Picking the Best One!
Okay, so you have been looking at affiliate programs for a while now. Your inbox is filling up with all these advertisements and you just don't know how to pick the right program.
The Prosperous Affiliate Merry-Go-Round
In the affiliate world, just as in the rest of the world, what goes around comes around.Here's where I'm coming from .