Affiliate marketing is a popular tactic to drive sales and generate significant online revenue. Extremely beneficial to both brands and affiliate marketers.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

It’s based on revenue sharing. If you have a product and want to sell more, you can offer promoters a financial incentive through an affiliate program. If you have no product and want to make money, then you can promote a product that you feel has value and earn an income from it as an affiliate marketer.

Simply put; it is the process of earning a commission by promoting another company's product (or service). You find a product, promote it to others, and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make.

It is a popular tactic to drive sales and generate significant online revenue.

Affiliate marketing is a huge part of online marketing. In fact, around 15% of all digital marketing revenue comes from affiliate marketing.

The industry is expected to grow in the next four years, and the growth is not only in terms of revenue, but networks as well. More networks mean people have more options to pick from. This competition results in improved performance, and better results.

Forrester Consulting and Rakuten Marketing predict that by 2021, affiliate marketing will be a nearly $7 billion industry.

The spending is expected to grow by 10% in the next few years.  The global value of the affiliate marketing industry is estimated at US$12 billion. With a US$4.5 billion market share. The USA accounts for 39% of the global market.

Why companies love affiliate marketing

Consumers like to buy from brands they are familiar with, and will often spend more with a brand they trust than go for a cheaper deal with an unknown label. It allows small and large companies to increase their brand awareness

Companies only pay out when a sale is made. With traditional Pay-Per-Click advertising, companies are charged per click or lead sent your way. These leads then need to be converted into a paying customer, and there is no guarantee at this stage that will happen.

Companies that work with affiliates are broadening their connections. This allows them to reach out to industry leaders and build relationships with influencers. If you are prepared as a company to give them some time to build trust, they will repay it ten-fold by giving exposure to your products and brand.

By using affiliate marketing alongside other forms of marketing, companies are creating a different income stream and scaling their business in a cost-effective and efficient way.

Can you really make money?

It is ideal for starting a home business because it doesn't require much money to get started, and you don't have produce, stock or ship product inventory, or deliver a service.

You're essentially paid for referring new clients and customers to other businesses.

The problem, like many other home business options, are the so-called gurus and get-rich-quick programs that suggest affiliate marketing can be done fast and with little effort. Odds are you've read claims of affiliate marketing programs that say you can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a month doing almost nothing. Or, they suggest you can set up your affiliate site, and then forget it, except to check your bank deposits.

In the end...

The reality in affiliate marketing is much the same reality in other work-at-home ventures; there are a few who are filthy rich, a good number who are successful enough to meet their goals, and a ton who aren't making anything. So, the question isn't really whether affiliate marketing is a viable income option (it is), but whether you can make affiliate marketing work for you.

Only you can decide that.

All the best,

Luc

Affiliate Successes