What is affiliate marketing?

[Chris Norman]

Hi gang,

Forgive the dumb question but I am new to the whole IM thing. I have gone throught the 30 Day Challenge this year and my only experience with product to sell is via Market Samurai. The options there are: Amazon, Clickbank, Commission Junction and Pay.com. That is the sum and substance of my affiliate understanding.

Are there other reputable affiliate programs? I see many sites with marketers marketing to other marketers but that is beyond the realm of my understanding. I would like to either sell products within my chosen niche or create products within same.(Of course creating products is another area I am clueless in.)

If anyone can clue me in or direct me to where I can learn more it would be greatly appreciated. I have an understanding of how to attract visitors to my site, it is the earning of income part I am not totally understanding.

I apologize if there are more than one question or topics discussed here. I am not asking anyone to do my homework for me, just point me in the right direction! Any and all comments or suggestions are welcome!

Take good care and thanks, Chris Norman

[StephenT]

Hey Chris. I am finding lots of affiliate programs by doing a search for, you guessed it, affiliate programs. Now I am very new to this also so I have no idea which ones are good and which are not. Lynn and the group can give you more info, but I found that if I searched for whatever I was thinking of, say music, and just searched for music affiliate programs I got some.

Hope this helps a little. Like I said, listen to Lynn and the group!

[pamb10]

Yes, as Stephen said, do a Google search. Most companies offer affiliate programs that may be managed through programs such as CJ, PepperJam, Shareasale and others. However, other companies manage their own affiliate programs. Google your keyword +affiliate and you should find a bunch of programs.

[Lynn Terry]

That is what I do as well - search Google and/or affiliate networks.

Affiliate Marketing is basically commission based sales. You get paid a commission or percentage of every sale that you make. There are some programs that pay for leads, or pay for actions (like sign-ups to a free offer). These are called CPA or pay-per-lead, but the majority of affiliate programs pay a percentage per sale.

If you have any more questions, let us know!