In a nutshell, affiliate marketing is online promotion of a vendor's products for a commission. The affiliate sets up a website in which they promote a variety of products related to their niche for a commission. All of the sales tracking is done automatically behind the scenes and affiliates are paid a percentage of the sale price.
How do you get started as an affiliate?
To get started as an affiliate you need a niche. A niche market is a small segment of a larger market interested in a very specific topic. Online you are competing with many websites and business owners. To stand out from the competition you need a niche.
Once you have a niche market, the best option is to set up a website with quality content related to that niche market. The content will help the search engines find your website and keep your readers interested. You then promote a variety of products which are of interest to your niche market on your website pages.
A great way of promoting products is to simply write a product review and place it on your website. These reviews will help your visitors make an informed choice. And when they purchase the product through your affiliate link, you will earn a commission.
How do you find niche markets?
Niche markets are all around us. It just takes a little creativity and thinking about people's needs. A good place to get started online is at Amazon.com. Look through their best selling books and products. There are many different categories all of which are niche markets you can target.
Another good option is to look through the magazine stand at your local book store. There are many magazines on all sorts of topics. Chances are if there is a magazine on a subject, this may be a viable niche.
Also take a look at articlesbase.com or ezinearticles.com and look through the sub niches for each category. Take a few minutes to visit the different author websites. All of this will help get your creative juices flowing and help you come up with possible niches for your new venture.
How do I learn more about affiliate marketing?
There are many books and resources online to help you get started. A good guide which details all the in's and out's of affiliate marketing and that's great for a complete beginner click here.