Affiliate Marketing

Most of us have heard of Affiliate Marketing at sometime or another. Even if we have of heard, it does not mean that we necessarily know what it is. However, recognizing and understanding what it means are two completely different things.
You have most likely been exposed to some form of this type of marketing in one way or another, especially if you browse the Internet. If you have ever participated in one of those product survey, or if you have ever seen one of those pop-up banners advertising one thing or another, then you have witnessed Affiliate Marketing. All of these are types of Affiliate Marketing.
Basically that is what it is, a group in which several businesses network to gain potential customers. These are customers that they otherwise probably would not have reached. This is a system in which businesses partner with numerous businesses to promote and sell their products and services. When a sale or customer is gained through an affiliate's reference or referral then that business is rewarded for its efforts.
Another way to explain it would be when profits are split between advertisers and merchants when a sale is made off of the advertiser's referral. The profit is split based on the advertiser's performance. One way to determine the way the profit is divided is by the number of sales or customers generated by the affiliate's referral, reference, or by the number of clicks made or whatever approach is agreed upon by the businesses in the network. This helps explain or at least understand why affiliate marketing is also called "performance based marketing". This makes sense because the advertiser does not get paid unless it generates a sale or a potential customer for the business.
There are many different types of Affiliate Marketing. For example, there are pay per sale or pay per lead just to name a few. Sometimes the advertiser is required to actually make a sale, other times the advertiser might just have to generate leads for new customers in order to be paid. It really just depends on whatever those in the network have agreed upon.
In today's ever-growing Internet savvy world, the use of the form of marketing is becoming more and more common. This gives a big misconception that it is very simple to do. Making it successful takes a lot of hard work, time and effort. You have to promote the affiliate's products, their website, and/or their services. You not only have to promote their business but you have to do it successfully before you are rewarded. However, that being said, there is still plenty of room to become successful in this business for those who are willing to work hard at it. And once you begin to get those referrals and leads coming in, it can become a very profitable business for everyone involved in the network.
So, in all probability, we have all seen some form of Affiliate Marketing and we may have even participated in it not even realizing what it actually was. So, the next time you click on a banner or fill out a product survey you will know that you are in all likelihood just a small piece in an Affiliate Marketing puzzle out there.