What is affiliate marketing?
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| affiliate marketing |
Affiliate marketing is a form of pay-for-performance marketing where an affiliate sells items on behalf of a merchant for an agreed rate or percentage of the sale.
It is an excellent form of advertising for ecommerce shops as funds are only redeemed after a sale is completed, but it works for all business models.
As long as you have a product to sell, or can find a product to promote, you can participate in affiliate marketing.
What makes this form of marketing different is that it benefits everyone involved. On the customer side, they are able to find products they might not have found on their own and get an endorsement from someone they (presumably) trust.
On the marketing, merchant and network side (more on this later), everyone enjoys a share of the sale.
81% of brands have an affiliate program.
And it doesn't look like it's going down anytime soon. Affiliate marketing revenue has grown nearly 23% year-over-year since Q2 2017.
Sometimes called a partner program, affiliate marketing programs come in all sizes and shapes to suit the many businesses they are attached to. For example, you can take a look at Mailchimp's program.
Affiliate programs can work for you even if you are not a big name. Entrepreneurs across the web use affiliate marketing programs to sell their products.
And in some cases, their sales are enough to create a million dollar markets, like Poster Gully.