




AFFILIATE MARKETING EXPLAINED IN DETAIL
You will get several descriptions and explanations about what exactly affiliate marketing is, if you search for it on the internet. But all of them have the same meaning. For many, who are already merchant account affiliates, affiliate marketing is nothing but an ordinary business which can be done from home every day over the internet. Affiliate marketing has given many people an opportunity to make some extra money in their free time, even replaced the 9 to 5 jobs of some, and it is a joint effort between the merchant account affiliates and the merchants to promote a product and sell it on the internet. This is one of the most cost effective ways of selling a product and gets amazing results for the merchant account affiliate and the merchant. But, in several cases, with new merchant account affiliates, who are not completely aware of how the world of affiliate marketing works, make silly mistakes which lead to loss in revenue for both the affiliate and the merchant. This is happening only because the new entrepreneurs have misunderstood the concept of affiliate marketing.
One the biggest misconception about affiliate promotions is “selling”. Even though everybody knows that selling is the crux of any business venture, it is very important to provide good service, all round the clock, if your business needs it. In addition, your advertising methods should be aimed at selling the product not just creating awareness about the product.
The merchant account affiliate gets a commission, in most cases, for each visitor that he or she refers to the merchant’s website. In some cases, the affiliate will get compensated only when the visitor makes a purchase on the merchant’s website. This depends on what plan the affiliate has opted for. There are generally two plans from which the affiliate has to choose – “Pay per lead” or “Pay per sale”. To get the benefits of affiliate marketing 2 functional bodies are required – the merchant and the affiliate. Both the parties have their unique functions and positions in affiliate marketing and they are dependent on each other to complete their work. The affiliate network is only a 3rd party to the affiliate and the merchant. The network will provide the technology to send the merchant’s advertising campaigns and other offers. It also provides an easy way for the merchant to make payments to his affiliates. The network will also assist in keeping the records of all finished transactions.
The “Pay per lead” scheme will fetch the affiliate a few cents for every lead he or she generates for the merchant. However, the “Pay per sale” scheme is more lucrative because the affiliate will get a percentage of the transaction. Good affiliate programs give out any where between 20% and 50%, as commission. However, you should opt for this scheme only, if you are able to get customers who are really interested to purchase the product that you are marketing. These are some basic points about affiliate marketing.