Every day, millions of people sit down in front of a computer, pick up a tablet or browse the internet on their phones for so many different reasons. A great percentage of them are looking for an answer to a specific question.
For example, “How can I lose 5 pounds quickly so I can look great at my friend’s wedding next month?”
A lot of the ‘surfers’ will be looking up the latest exploits of their favourite actor or entertainer on Instagram or Pinterest and will find that their star is now using a certain brand of cosmetics or the latest gizmo and the author has put a link into the story to enable you to buy the same product, just like your idol.
Others will go to the trendy fashion vlogs to find the latest styles, so they can look hot. They will head to a hot tech review to read about find out what is new on the electronics front and, in both cases, discover that they have access to a ‘Special Offer Coupon Code’ to buy that very item.
Or they may just be checking out the social media pages and find that their friends have become ambassadors for jewellery, or clothing or a heap of other products, and have provided you with a link.
In each case, there is a very strong chance that you will follow the link “Just to have a look” and you will find yourself on a product sales page for that item, whatever it may be. If the weight-loss course looks good, or the new cosmetics look super-hot, or the new mobile phone looks really cool there is a fair chance that you will buy one of the products.
Now, how did that happen, I wonder?
In each case we have mentioned above, the product promoted is not made by the person that referred you to it. They have become an “Affiliate” for the product manufacturer and have received permission to sell it on the manufacturer’s behalf.
And that, my friends, is Affiliate Marketing.
The dictionary describes this system as:
“A marketing arrangement by which an online retailer pays a commission to an external website or social media page for traffic or sales generated from its referrals”.
Prior to the arrival of the internet, if a business wished to expand its market, they would need to open a new branch. These days it is much easier to develop a new market using the internet. Anyone with an entrepreneurial approach is now able to make a steady income without the expense of a bricks-and-mortar location by linking up with a current business and selling on their behalf.
Now do not be misled. This is a very competitive marketing system with thousands of sellers fighting for their share of a huge range of competitive markets. That said, there are still ways to make an excellent income, with the right approach and training.
You will need to spend a little money to set up your affiliate marketing business. Anyone that tells you the cost for starting is zero is misleading you if you want to be successful.
Affiliate Marketing is a business, and like all businesses, it needs to be set up correctly from the start.
You will need to dedicate yourself to the project, even if it is only a part-time dedication to start with but the rewards can be amazing.
The most successful players in Affiliate Marketing are probably (in no praticular order):
- Pat Flynn
- Missy Ward
- Finch Sells
- Shawn Collins
- Zac Johnson
- Ian Fernando
- John Chow
- Kristy McCubbin
- Neil Patel
- Jeremy Schoemaker
I say probably because very few of these affiliate marketers would actually tell you everything they earn, it is private after all, and I am sure others making the same list would add or drop a name or two.
However, it is safe to say that most of these people would be classed as millionaires.
On my blog we are focussing on three main areas:
These focus mainly on digital products, but there are others like Amazon and Ebay that focus more on selling actual items, ShareASale (and others) that concentrate on marketing products on behalf of other companies as an agent and one you may have heard of, Shopify, who have become quite big in the social media world setting up sites to sell normal products.
I have decided to stick to the digital world for the purposes of this article because you never have to involve yourself with actual stock in any way, it is all done electronically.
You could start operating as an affiliate marketer today!
But if you have no experience and you want to learn more about this before dipping your toe in the water, then I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you check out this link from a friend of mine, John Thornhill.
To Your Future… and all it can bring,
Gordon J
