subject: Making Money in Today's Economy with Affiliate Marketing [print this page] In today's economy people are looking for ways to put more money in their pockets or even eliminate their dependence on an employer for their income entirely. As a result, more and more people are getting online in hopes of making money. Why log on to solve the economic problem?
The answer is really simple. You can do it faster, with lower start up costs, and fewer problems and headaches than most offline traditional businesses. Let's take a closer look at each one of those key points.
Although it does take longer to get started than just simply turning on your computer, it can really feel like it is that fast. The advances in internet technology today have made the time line from start up to profit a much shorter line than ever before.
Costs are substantially lower when going online. You don't have to pay for a physical brick and mortar store front. You don't have to pay for utilities. You don't have to pay for all the physical necessities that would be required when you open the doors and need people to walk in the door before you can make any money. Even more significant is if you choose affiliate marketing as your business model, you don't even need a product.
By the way, affiliate marketing is one of the fastest growing type of businesses online today. The basic premise is easy to understand and the process to make it work is simple to implement. Simply put, all you need to do is set up an arrangement with somebody else who has created a product. You agree to advertise and they agree to provide the product, the fulfillment and all the customer support. When you send someone to their website and a purchase is made, the merchant pays you a commission on the sale.
You might think setting up such an arrangement would be difficult and take a lot of work. The truth is, it's not. There are websites out there, like Clickbank, who have done all the work of finding people who have created products and are willing to pay you a percentage of the sale if your advertising creates a buyer. You can get hooked up with these affiliate networks in a few easy clicks of your computer mouse.
You fill out a form providing your contact information, a few details about how you want to get paid, and agree to the terms offered by the affiliate network. That usually means a small amount of the money you get paid from the merchant for sending a buyer to their website will be paid to the administrators of the affiliate network. That's it.
Now what I've been describing so far is what's known as a pay-per-sale affiliate program. You don't get paid until a sale is made. But, there are other affiliate programs that will pay you for the generation of a lead and some will pay you for nothing more than someone else merely clicking a link. The amount of money you will get paid depends on the program, the type of affiliate arrangement offered, and how successful you are at fulfillment your end of the bargain.
There are even some affiliate marketing opportunities that will pay you if you get other people to sign up as an affiliate. These type of affiliate marketing arrangements are called two-tier programs. Essentially, you get paid for becoming a finder of affiliates, as well as for being an affiliate yourself.
It makes sense for people to log on to make money. There are a lot of other ways it can be done, but affiliate marketing is probably more popular, simpler, and easier than anything else. How much you will make is not guaranteed, but will be directly tied to your own efforts and abilities.
Making Money in Today's Economy with Affiliate Marketing
