Will start by introducing you to what is affiliate marketing and terms used in affiliate marketing.
What is Affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing is an arrangement or process by which an affiliate earns a commission for promoting and marketing another person’s or company’s products or services.
It is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts.
Thats why it is also known as performance marketing or CPA marketing. Although Affiliate marketing is a form of online advertising, and unlike banners ads where affiliate earns revenue based on CPC( Cost Per Click), affiliate marketing is based on CPA (cost per action).
To put that into plain English, when you host an ad banner, you get paid every time a visitor to your site clicks on or even views the ad. On the other hand, with affiliate marketing, you don’t get paid unless a visitor “converts.”
Affiliate Marketing Terms
- Advertiser — The business selling a product.
- Product — The item sold and promoted by the affiliate.
- Affiliate — The third-party promoting the product. Also known as the publisher, associate, or partner.
- Affiliate Link — Also called a tracking link. This is a unique URL that tracks the clicks and conversions from the affiliate.
- Conversion — An event defined by the advertiser that is deemed payable to the affiliate.
It can be anything defined by the advertiser but is usually a lead or a purchase of the advertiser’s product. - Affiliate Network — An optional middle man between the advertiser and the affiliate that helps facilitate commerce.
- Affiliate Manager — A person who works with affiliates as a go-between with the advertiser. Their goal is to maximize the performance of the affiliate program.Also known as Affiliate Accountant.
- Affiliate Program — An arrangement in which the advertiser pays commissions to affiliates.
- Offer — A specific promotion of a product.
- Click-through Rate (CTR) — The percentage of affiliate-link clicks per number of web page impressions.
- Conversion Rate (CR) — The percentage of clicks that converted.
- Cost per Action (CPA) — A commission model in which advertisers pay affiliates for conversions only.
- Cost per Click (CPC) — A commission model in which advertisers pay affiliates for clicks only. Typically used with ad banners, rather than affiliate marketing.
- Postback URL — A URL used for server-side conversion tracking; also called server-to-server tracking.
- SubID — A string of text embedded as part of the affiliate link that is defined by the affiliate and used to track conversions by the affiliate.
- Creative — An ad banner image or text that is used by the affiliate to promote the advertiser’s product.
- Copy — Written text that helps promote the advertiser’s product.
- Landing Page — The advertiser’s webpage to which affiliates refer traffic via an affiliate link.
- Ad Blocker — Web browser technology that can prevent the tracking of affiliate clicks and conversions. In addition, it can also prevent the display of ad banners.
- Attribution — The process of correctly identifying which affiliates are generating conversions.
- Commission — The income an affiliate earns for generating a conversion. It is also known as a referral fee, a finder’s fee, or a bounty.
- Cookies — Information stored on a prospect’s web browser to identify that particular visit. With affiliate marketing, cookies are used to track affiliate link clicks and potential conversions.
How Affiliate Marketing Works.
For affiliate marketing to work and for publisher to earn, a visitor will visit publisher’s blog and read an article on the blog.
The visitor will then click on an affiliate link, which redirects the visitor to the advertiser’s website.
On the advertiser’s site, the visitor then performs the desired conversion.
The affiliate is credited for the conversion.
Getting Affiliate Links
You need to sign up for affiliate program through affiliate networks.
Most affiliates works with advertisers through affiliate network program
You need to acquire them by signing up for a advertiser’s affiliate program.
That program can exist directly with the advertiser or, in most cases, through an affiliate network.
Affiliate Networks
A network affiliate program involves working with a third party to manage your relationship with the advertisers.
Generally, an affiliate network manages communication, affiliate links, tracking, reporting, and payment.
Affiliate networks typically have thousands of advertisers to choose from.
You join the affiliate network and then apply to each individual advertiser program.
Some automatically approve applicants, and others will manually review and approve new affiliates.
Once approved, you will have access to special affiliate links that are unique to you.
These unique links can be placed anywhere you want to promote that advertiser’s product. It could be on your blog, in an email, on your YouTube channel, etc.
Getting Paid
How Do Affiliate Marketers Get Paid? As an affiliate, you get credit when a conversion occurs.
How often you get paid and the method of payment depend on the affiliate program.
Affiliate networks are usually better with payments and on a well-kept schedule.
Almost all networks require payments on a schedule (almost always monthly), otherwise their program would get shutdown until their back payments were made current.
Most affiliate networks offer an electronic method of payment – usually direct deposit or PayPal. On the other hand, direct relationships on the other hand may support only direct deposit. I’ve worked with some companies (high-tech firms, no less) that still cut physical checks.