Wouldn’t it be great if all those “make money online” programs and training couerses were legitimate? Unfortunately, chances are, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and it’s more important than ever to be careful when putting your information out there online. This is even true with people who promote affiliate marketing as a means to make money online. As someone who earns a great living online through affiliate marketing, I know that affiliate marketing can be entirely legitimate. However, there are so many “gurus” and get-rich-quick “experts” pushing affiliate marketing as some easy way to earn big bucks quickly online with very little work. Of course that’s total bullshit, and it gives the entire affiliate industry a terrible image.
With affiliate marketing, however, you really are given the opportunity to make money online legitimately. Affiliate marketing is just like starting any other business, though. It’s not going to come quickly or easily, you need a good business plan, and you will not earn any significant income for at least the first year and maybe more. That’s just how REAL business works.
When you understand how affiliate marketing REALLY works, and how the advantages of affiliate marketing makes it a great business opportunity, it then becomes easy to see how this online business is quite a bit different from the average “make money online” offer.
How Affiliate Marketing Works
Before learning about the advantages of affiliate marketing, you need to understand the basics of how affiliate marketing works. There is a lot of confusion about how affiliate marketers actually make money, so let’s clear that up first.
Affiliate marketing works by a company (say, Amazon.com) and an external party (you) working together to market a product. For example, I run a website at DogFoodInsider.com and on that site I review different brands of dog food. We examine all of the ingredients in each brand of food and rate each brand based on the ingredients used. Links within’ my reviews lead to Amazon.com and those links are special affiliate links they gave me. If someone clicks on my link to Amazon and makes a purchase, I get a commission!
So in essence, the advantages of affiliate marketing include being able to be your own salesperson, work with the companies you choose to work with, earn commissions by selling just about any product or service you want, and you also have the convenience and the benefit of doing so from your own home and as your own boss. I spent many years traveling the United States in an RV as a full-time affiliate marketer. I got rid of the RV and currently live in San Diego, but I still travel extensively. When affiliate marketing is done right, there are no sketchy tactics, no giving of private or sensitive information, and no worrying about scamming others.
Other Advantages Of Affiliate Marketing
The advantages of affiliate marketing extend far beyond the ability to work your own sales on your own time and in your own way, allowing you to freely make money in a legitimate way. Some of the other advantages of affiliate marketing include:
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- Online companies pay for results – The great thing about affiliate marketing is that companies only pay for results. It’s a risk-free form of advertising as you only get paid when you’ve already made them money. This is one of the advantages of affiliate marketing for companies, and why they’re often open to seek out driven, creative, and smart people to aid them in marketing their products for a commission. Companies are happy to pay this commission for concrete results they can see with their bottom line.
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- A great view of current trends – If companies are looking for a way to determine the latest interest trends revolving around their product, affiliate marketing is a great way to do so. Using the click throughs that come from affiliate links, companies can determine the latest trends and demands they should focus on in terms of marketing their products themselves or designing new products to fit their current demographic.
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- Make money while you do your favorite activities – One of the top advantages of affiliate marketing for marketers is the ability to spend a day playing mini golf with the kids, or watching your favorite movie, or going out on a dinner date while you’re still making money with your own online business. Of course, the work has to be put in, but that can be done on your own schedule after you’ve already had a great day with the family. All that is really required of affiliate marketers is space, whether it’s a website, social media space, a blog, or posts within an online community, and effective use of this space can allow you to make great money while enjoying all of your favorite activities.
How To Get The Most From The Advantages Of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the best legitimate ways to make money online, and when approached in a smart way, it allows you to generate income without needing to constantly monitor a website, track clicks, or keep track of client responses. The best way to get the most from the advantages of affiliate marketing are to do a little research first, and invest in your affiliate marketing education and support. Knowing how to tell the difference between a company that is promoting high quality products worth marketing, and who wants to build quality and mutually beneficial relationships, and one that doesn’t, will make all the difference in your affiliate marketing experience.
One of the best ways to learn more about affiliate marketing with different companies and techniques to use is through affiliate marketer communities where like-minded individuals share their experiences with one another and learn from each other while furthering their own online businesses. For beginners especially, these communities get you the advantages of affiliate marketing without the “trial and error” period, as you learn from the mistakes of experienced affiliate marketers who have been in your beginner position before. As you learn more from your own experiences in affiliate marketing, you’ll then be the seasoned pro sharing your experiences with the next generation of beginners!
When looking to make money online, it’s important to be careful, but affiliate marketing gives you a way to make honest money on your own time, in your own way, and without worrying about falling victim to one of the many money making scams out there on the internet today. All affiliate marketing calls for you to do is share affiliate links to products you believe in, and get others just as excited about these products as you are. The more you sell, and the more time you invest in building your affiliate marketing business, the more you make from it, allowing you to be in complete control of your destiny and how much money you’re bringing home from your very own at-home online business.
