Affiliate Programs Add Revenue for WebmastersPosted by Nick Niesen on October 26th, 2010 An affiliate program is, simply defined, a sales job in which you earn a commission. You will be an independent representative of a company, offering their services and products to prospective customers. When one of the customers makes a purchase, you get a portion of the profit. Internet marketers can increase traffic to their own web sites and make money form the sales of others through affiliate marketing programs. Internet marketers can be affiliates for several products from multiple companies, on as many web sites as you operate, in as many businesses as you desire. You don't have to travel to remote locations, yet the internet places you in front of a worldwide marketplace. This gives you incredible diversity in the products you choose, markets in which you do business and neighborhoods in which to sell, all from the comfort of your own home in front of your computer screen. You could possibly make several sales at once, but you will never have to deal with face-to-face rejection. When doing business on the internet, you don't necessarily need to make sales to earn lucrative commissions. Certain affiliate marketing programs will pay you if someone just clicks on a link you place on your web site, fills out an application, or even requests additional information. And here's the most attractive part - your web sites work for you twenty four hours a day, each and every day. Commission rates will depend on the types of products or services that are offered. Tangible goods that will have to be shipped to customers will pay lower commission rates than products like ebooks or software that can be downloaded immediately. However, 10% of a $600 television is more money than 60% of a $40 software program, so you have to remember to consider the big picture when deciding what affiliate programs to join. For the best affiliate sales experience, you will want to offer products and services that will appeal to the targeted audience of your web site. As an internet marketer, you will need to appeal to the interests of your customers when placing affiliate links on your web site. There are various ways to join affiliate programs. Some retailers operate their own program, and you will join through the merchant web site. But many internet marketers choose to operate through an affiliate network. These independent companies offer sign-up, payment, tracking and affiliate program management services to retailers and affiliate marketers. A couple of well-known names are Clickbank and Linkshare. Simply perform a search for affiliate programs and you are sure to find more. For almost all internet marketers, joining affiliate marketing programs give you a cheap and easy way to get started in an online business. These programs can help you produce income while you learn internet marketing techniques and work towards developing your own product or service. Like it? Share it!More by this author |