Affiliate marketing is a platform where marketers, or “affiliates”, are able to utilize the web’s vast potential for advertising digital products and services on their websites. Affiliate marketing as an industry involves the creation of web-based advertising designs that are then delivered to publishers and advertisers in return for a commission on the sale. The growth of this market has been fueled by highly desirable top paying affiliate programs that provide consistently high commissions. Some examples of top affiliate programs are Amazon Associates, Commission Junction, ShareASale, Clickbank and Clicksor. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Richard Branson are among the most well-known high-profile investors in this sector.
Affiliate marketing is considered a multi-billion dollar industry with projected growth occurring at a rate of 42%. Affiliate marketing has grown rapidly thus far and continues to grow exponentially in the future over the coming years due to the high demand for affiliates to join major networks such as Commission Junction, ShareASale and Clickbank as well as websites such as Amazon Associates, Google Adsense.
In addition to affiliate programs, most businesses sometimes find it beneficial or necessary to use other forms of advertising. Web ads include banners, text links and interactive elements like polls. Mobile ads include text messages or notifications.
Some people would describe affiliate marketing as the marketing of a product in exchange for a commission. You find an author and promote her book to your own friends and family to earn a share of the profits for each one that buys it. The main difference between this and traditional advertising is that you don’t pay for the product, and the vendor doesn’t pay for the promotion. The only thing that you get from the selling side of things is a commission, which you then turn around and spend on other products you want to promote.
