Online Affiliate Selling Technique

What is a merchant and what is an affiliate?

"Merchant" is a person that markets and sells goods or services.

"Affiliate" is a person or company linked to an organization as a result of an Agreement.
An "online affiliate" is a Web site owner that earns a commission for referring clients through his affiliate links. The visitors of the affiliate website clicks on affiliate links - text ads, banners etc. - and are brought to the merchant website.


Affiliate Marketing Programs
Merchants, or retailers, can offer affiliate programs as a method to expand their market and to find new markets.
Affiliate Marketing is an online marketing practice in which advertisers pay commissions to publishers who refer customers to their products. Affiliate Marketing is a referral-based marketing system.
Establishing an online affiliate program, the customers are brought to the merchant's website through an affiliate link.
Publishers place advertising links on their websites. When a customer on the publisher's website clicks on the link, he is redirected to the advertiser's website.
The publisher - as affiliate member - will receive a commission for an action of that customer. The customer have to buy a product or complete an application at the merchant's website.
They not pay for advertising with their Affiliates, but they only pay when a sale, lead, download, subscription or other desired action occurs
The "merchant" pays their Affiliates commissions for referring clients for his business, on a pay-for-performance basis, only when visitors convert into customers.


What is Affiliate Marketing Network?
Affiliate Marketing Network is a result of development of the Affiliate Marketing Programs. This means a number of affiliates that are engaged to promote the business of a merchant for a commission. The commission is received after an action is accomplished by a customer.


Advertising Marketing ProgramsMerchants are interested to advertise their business. They hire specialized advertising companies to do that.
The advertising agencies develop advertising campaigns through various techniques, as follow: text ads, banners, widgets, videos etc.


What is Advertising Marketing Network?
Advertising Marketing Network is a result of development of the Advertising Marketing Programs, that means a network of websites on which that advertisement appears.


How to create an Affiliate Network?
Affiliate Networks are developed by merchants in two ways:
- by using a web based software, specially designed for affiliate programs. You have to install and host this software on your server;
- by becoming an advertiser and placing your ads through a specialized company which manages for you all the network of affiliates. You can see statistics and have reports regarding the number of affiliates, the commissions you have to pay them etc.
An Affiliate Marketing Network (as a specialized company) works with two categories of members: advertisers (providers) and publishers (affiliates).


How to become an affiliate?
If you want to earn money by referring clients to merchants, you have two options:
- to become affiliate to a provider, or more separate providers;
- to become affiliate to an Affiliate Marketing Network (a company), where you have a status of publisher. You'll promote products and services from many providers by placing your affiliate links on websites and emails.