Here are a few suggestions that will help you learn affiliate marketing. You might already know the basics, but just in case, let’s start with what the business is all about.
In the old days, every company that had products for sale needed salespeople. Often, the salespeople earned a salary, plus commissions; although there were (and still are) some companies that paid commission only, particularly those that sell high dollar items like cars and home furnishings.
Once the internet became popular, companies started using it for advertising and sales. One of the questions was how to drive business to the company’s website. The larger companies used outside advertising; “Visit us on the web at www.buyithere.com.” The smaller companies relied on organic search engine optimization and other techniques to get their websites recognized.
As blogging became popular and thousands of small websites popped up, companies realized that they could take advantage of the bloggers and the webmasters, not just by paying to place a single ad on the site, but by offering a commission. If the bloggers and webmasters were able to get people to visit the company’s website, they would earn some money.
As the years have gone by, numerous tools have become available to help ensure that the companies are able to track the source of their sales and pay the right people. Tools for affiliates have become available, too. Today, you can learn affiliate marketing by taking a course and finding out what you need to get started, as well as what other affiliates believe that it takes to be successful.
You will need either a blog or a website to get started. You could check out www.blogspot.com, where blogging is free for everyone. Or, you can choose a web hosting service.
While you can use social networking sites like www.facebook.com to promote products for other companies, most vendors require that you have at least one website or blog up and running before you can become one of their affiliates. The programs that have few requirements might not be worth joining, which is something that might be covered in an affiliate marketing course.
According to some affiliates, there are a few vendors that make it harder for you to earn, because they do not have the latest tracking software. You can afford to be selective about the programs that you sign up for because there are so many of them.
Obviously, this is not all of the information that you need to learn affiliate marketing, but it should point you in the right direction.
