Perhaps you've been researching affiliate marketing strategies on the internet yet still can't quite get a handle on the concept behind it or the steps for getting involved. It's really incredibly easy actually, especially if you already have a website or a blog.
Where Do You Begin?
Your first step is to do some research in your chosen field and find out what products people are buying.
Then find a merchant who offers either a direct affiliate program or one that is available through an ad network.
Once you add the merchant's links to your site and promote these products, you'll make commissions based on sales should your site's visitors become your merchant's customers. This is the toughest and most important step so try and "pre-sell" the products to the best of your ability.
It takes a bit of luck but people who are persevering and work hard are the ones who succeed in this business. You don't have to be smart or especially business savvy either since many affiliate marketingers are making good money every single day by "staying the course" and following strategies that work.
No Inventory Needed, Just Website Pages
Your first strategy should be to focus on a subject you know well. Once the site is attracting a fair amount of traffic you'll want to make it a money maker and not just a hobby. Once you've decided to monetize your site, you will now step up to a level that many website owners don't even know exists: that of going beyond AdSense to affiliate marketing.
The great advantage of affiliate marketing is that you don't sell products or services of your own, which means no inventory or shipping or any of that work. You have the freedom to pick and choose products that merchants sell and earn monetary rewards by driving customers to their websites. (For an excellent primer, you might want to check out guru Ken Evoy's Affiliate Masters Course which gives affiliate marketers the nuts and bolts of building niche websites for profit.)
Choose the Network, Then the Merchants & Products
If you sign up at the larger networks such as Commission Junction, Clickbank, AvantLink, and ClixGalore, just to name a few, you'll be using the same networks used by experienced marketers. There are smaller networks out there but they don't have the reputation or experience of the larger companies.
But before you sign up you must have a website or blog already online and loaded with relevant content. The reason for this is that after you sign up with a network such as Commission Junction (it's free to join, by the way), you'll then need to browse through the lists of merchants and apply to whichever program you want to promote on your site.
Many merchants will accept all publishers (affiliates) and approval is automatic; but other companies take the time to visit each applicant's site for quality and relevancy. If your site isn't up to their standards, or for any other reason, they may reject your application.
Is the Merchant Right for You?
And don't be one of those affiliate marketers who forgets the fine print! Check the details of each merchant advertiser's partner program such as cookie length, terms of service (restrictions on email campaigns, etc.), commission rates, as well as the ad "creatives" or graphic banners and text messages you'll be posting on your website.
Once you're ready to add an affiliate link to your website the code snippets are simple to place: just cut and paste into the page.
When a customer clicks on the link and goes to the merchant's site, if a purchase is made within the time period before the "cookie" expires (usually 30 days), you will receive a commission for it. And then you get paid! The network processes a check or electronic payment for the balance in your account on a monthly basis.
These are just the basic affiliate marketing strategies to get you started and to answer some of your questions. Becoming affiliated with merchants through the use of networks is actually the easy part of the process. Building the website/blog and adding content is the most important and most time consuming step, but with a good site that pre-sells, you'll be on your way to building traffic and directing qualifying leads to your merchant advertisers.