What is affiliate marketing?

When you write in Google “affiliate marketing” you get different results. The first one that pops up on my search is the Neil Patel article Affiliate Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide and when I scroll a bit down there is the Wikipedia article on that matter. As both of those resources are great, I wanted to create a simpler, explained in layman’s terms definition of what “affiliate marketing” is.

Let’s start with a story.

There are those days, during which we stay in bed. We just scroll our feeds in search of that quick dopamine rush - a meme, maybe a cute dog, something to get us in a comfortable state. Most likely during our morning internet “stroll”, we will encounter someone, who wants to sell us something. Beauty influencers promoting some sort of a cosmetic line, or maybe meme accounts wanting us to check out some sort of funny book.

In most of these cases, the person who is selling those is not the actual merchant or producer. They are most likely an affiliate marketer.

Another example can be found in the newest fintech apps. Revolut, Monese, Trading 212 all have a program, which encourages inviting your friends to join the fun. Even in apps like Uber Eats or Just Eat! we can find a program that rewards you for each customer you are able to get onto the platform. Those are all examples of what affiliate marketing is.

Can you already grasp the concept?

It all comes down to selling a product that you did not create. You don’t have to deal with customer service as you are just a person who controls traffic towards that product. As an affiliate marketer, you are responsible for client acquisition, and you usually get a cut from the sales you were able to make. You have your own personalized link, and if people buy through that link, you can make money. This is the most common way people make money through affiliate marketing.

Why do companies use this tactic to sell?

It is simply outsourcing of marketing efforts. As big companies could pump loads of money into an ad campaign on Facebook, or create various display ads for Google, it is much easier to give the tools to the people, who will do it for you, without pay, but by giving them a fraction of the products earnings. Why would they do something, when they can employ someone to that for them, for a fraction of the price?

Why do people associate affiliate marketers with a “scam”?

Some of the affiliate marketers might seem pushy, and some of the products people advertise are not as perfect as in the ad. This is something people do all the time and in all ways of life, so I wouldn’t connect it to affiliate marketing, but more to advertising in general. Affiliate marketing has proven to be a good source of income for a big group of people, not only engaging their ability to sell but also to create their e-mail lists, which can become useful in later creative and business endeavors.

The mentioned way of making income online has been recently blowing up in popularity. Since the pandemic broke out, people wanted to find a way to create a side hustle. This might just be the best way to start, as you don’t need a product, and you only need to create an audience. It might seem like a daunting task, but in every online business you need an audience, so this could be your tutorial for creating revenue online.

Am I an affiliate marketer?

Yes, I am. But first of all, I am a writer, who is trying to create a life for himself by putting words to use.

So, now you know what affiliate marketing is. How will you put that knowledge to use?