What is Affiliate Marketing?
Imagine you run a website, a blog, or a social media channel where you present various products or services to your followers. You do this because you use them yourself, believe in them, and want to recommend them to other users. With these contents, you can make money. Convince your followers to buy the products you present, direct them to a shop, and receive a commission from the retailer. This is what affiliate marketing enables.
Terminology
Publisher
Website operator, influencer
Advertiser
Retailer, companies, shop
Affiliate Link
Link to the retailer, allowing for the unique assignment of a publisher; tracking the user from the publisher's site to the retailer's site is necessary for billing and compensation.
Partner program
Advertisers and publishers connect through a partner program; these programs are often offered through networks that also handle billing.
Network
Networks connect advertisers and publishers. They are used by advertisers as a platform to provide publishers with affiliate links and other promotional material.
How Affiliate Marketing Works
Companies selling products or services ("Advertisers") offer content creators (= Publishers) the opportunity to promote their products. They provide special links (= Affiliate Link) and other promotional materials through partner programs. When a user clicks on one of these links and then makes a purchase on the retailer's site, the publisher receives a commission.
But it's not just purchases ("Sales") that are compensated. Other desired actions by the user can also be paid, such as registering with the advertiser or signing up for the newsletter ("Leads"). The conditions for the payout of a commission are set by the advertiser. It's important to know, however, that payment to the publisher only occurs in the case of success - simply integrating an affiliate link is not enough.
Tracking: The User's Path from Content to Purchase
To ensure you receive the agreed compensation for your recommendations, affiliate links use a special tracking system. It tracks the user's path from your content via the link to the desired action on the advertiser's website. This ensures that you get paid for every user successfully referred.
Benefits for Both Sides
Affiliate marketing is a "win-win" situation for both involved parties. Companies gain more customers and sales without having to spend a lot of money on marketing, and you as an affiliate earn money by promoting products or services that match your content.
How Can I Start with Affiliate Marketing?
If you want to start with affiliate marketing, you can sign up with various affiliate networks and partner programs. These networks connect you with the companies you want to promote. There, you'll find information about commission rates and partnership conditions, and they handle billing and payment of commissions. However, if you want to promote many different advertisers, managing affiliate partnerships across multiple networks can be time-consuming and challenging.
Access to Thousands of Partner Programs
ad4mat offers you a way to simplify this process. Instead of having to sign up with many different networks, you register with ad4mat. From there, you have access to thousands of partner programs, even if they run through different networks. You find all affiliate links in one place and thus increase your online earnings without having to deal with many different conditions. This makes affiliate marketing much simpler and more efficient for you. Try it out and register now.