You love the new 4K TV you just bought. The picture is beautiful, the sound is crisp, and the size is huge.
What do you do when you love something? Share it. Did you know, you could be making a lot of money right now by sharing links to products you know and love.
How is this possible? Well, affiliate marketing makes it possible.
What is affiliate marketing? Read this basic guide to find out!
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is the process of pushing a product, good, or service. We push these products through social media, blogs, YouTube, and the like.
The process is simple:
- Join an affiliate program
- Get an affiliate link for the product, good, or service
- Promote the link
- Earn commission for every sale you generate
The Missing Link
You, as the affiliate marketer, are the missing link between the customer and the company.
For example, let’s say we wanted to promote the sale of a sneaker in a YouTube video. We would provide the affiliate link in our description underneath our video.
Every sale you make from the affiliate link earns a commission.
It is important to note, that the sale doesn’t have to be the same product that you are promoting.
When You Give a Customer a Cookie
What’s so special about how this link works? The magic happens in the cookies.
No, we aren’t talking about chocolate chip or oatmeal. When someone clicks the affiliate link, a cookie leaves a breadcrumb. This cookie tells us where the link has been and where it has gone.
This is important because we now have data on who wants our products. The company can now track this and see what sales are being driven by you. The cookie lifespan varies from 24 hrs to a few months.
The Benefits
There are many benefits to affiliate marketing. For one, the barrier to entry is very low. Anyone can do this and there are several programs to choose from.
You can make a living being an affiliate marketer. If you have a decent following you can make some serious coin.
Through the power of the internet, we can leverage technology. By leveraging affiliate marketing, we open ourselves to new customers and clients.
This is a wonderful way to earn passive income. If you are new to passive income, then affiliate marketing is a great gateway source.
Endorsing 2.0
An interesting way to think about this is as endorsing 2.0. What sets it apart from marketing in the past, is that you don’t have to own the product or service.
This approach is a much lighter way of doing things. You don’t need a company, you don’t need a product, you just need a following.
If you have a large following, then having referral links is a great way to build your brand or business. This is a win-win scenario for everyone involved.
Putting the Pieces Together
Now you won’t be asking, “what is affiliate marketing?”—you know and are confident!
How can you make your affiliate marketing work for you? It all is about driving value through content.
Think of yourself as an advertiser. You are creating value and driving traffic. The better you become at creating content and value, the more sales you will accumulate.
To further your education on entrepreneurship, read our blog—you will be glad you did!
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