The term affiliate marketing has been doing the rounds on the Internet for many years now, but what is it exactly? …Certainly if you’re brand new to making any kind of money on the internet, then it really is now you need to sit-up and pay attention, as affiliate marketing (even for beginners!) is one of the greatest and simplest ways to earn money online today.

How you do it exactly is by referring people to purchase products and services from certain websites. As of late, more and more companies are using this kind of marketing to reward affiliates—the people whose websites have encouraged more customers to purchase their product—for sending more visitors and customers to their product or service page.

Affiliates are paid when the sales transaction is completed, with their own website as the jump-off point. This kind of marketing is very cost-effective, since the affiliate or marketer who is doing the promotional activity doesn't get paid until their efforts show concrete results in terms of sales.

ClickBank.com is one of the top networks that promote affiliate marketing products. Clickbank has been in the business for over a decade and has generated over $1.8 Billion in affiliate sales for both vendors and affiliates. Clickbank is essentially a middleman—it connects the online vendors to the affiliates and sellers, and provides the affiliates with thousands of products to sell and advertise on their own websites. Clickbank has also perfected the affiliate marketing system that has in turn made it into one of the leaders in the industry today—it uses its own system to process the actual sale for the customer, allowing the vendor and the affiliate to receive their respective profits instantly.

Commission Junction is another popular affiliate marketing network, which enables affiliates to earn money without much demand on their time. Like Clickbank, signing up as an affiliate is free, and you can recommend the product either via your email list, your website, other peoples websites, or on your social media page (just to name but a few ways to do it). When your readers click on the special link given to you by your chosen network, and in turn go to the product website and make a purchase, there, you will earn a commission instantly. Commission Junction also handles big-name vendors such as eBay for example—making it one of the biggest affiliate program providers in the industry.

How to become an affiliate?

Becoming an affiliate is free and easy and it has to be said there are many Networks to choose from (See my Top Business Tools for more). The application process is simple, and typically there are no prerequisites for signing-up. Applications are generally approved within just a few days and you can start earning commissions immediately afterwards.

Affiliate Marketing Tips

To make some real money in affiliate marketing, you need to choose the right niche for you and your website. To learn more about this I’d strongly recommend you download my Complete Cash Blueprint, as making your first website and choosing the right niche aren't only easy to do, (I will show you how), but will also play a big role in the amount of commission that you will earn.

Now that we've covered off a few of the basics in regard to affiliate marketing for beginners, why not get yourself a Clickbank account today, remember it’s free and Clickbank makes it super easy to start earning money straight away.

Paul Graham

Paul Graham Blog.com