Quote:
Originally Posted by Ric Willmot
I don't really understand what affiliate marketing is ... but maybe I should.
Is it where I pay a commission to others fro selling my products on their websites?
If so; does this type of approach work for websites based on business services such as mine?
Thank you.
Ric Willmot
|
Welcome to WPW. Affiliate marketing is actually what you described, it works both ways. People involved in affiliate marketing fall mainly into two groups -- advertisers, and publishers (similar to PPC campaigns). A "publisher" is simply someone who has a website and earns commissions by having an advertiser's link on their site, and that link is clicked and the visitor follows through and makes a purchase (usually when taken to the advertiser's site). No sale, no commission. The advertiser is the other party, whose products are being sold. The links are set up as either text links or banners.
When the publisher and advertiser go through an affiliate program such as Linkshare, Commission Junction, etc., the advertiser can also be charged other fees, on top of a getting a percentage cut of the commission. Some advertisers eliminate the 'middle man' by setting up their own affiliate marketing program, working directly with publishers. This usually yeilds lower payouts for the advertiser, and higher earnings for the publisher. The drawback to the go-it-alone approach is less visibility to an already built-in large community of publishers and advertisers to choose from, and that the program does most of the tracking, billing, and payout work for you.