What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is the process by which an affiliate earns a commission for marketing another person’s or company’s products. The affiliate simply searches for a product, then promotes that product, and earns a piece of the profit from each sale they make. 

In the digital world, affiliates will promote another person’s or company’s products through affiliate links and earns commissions for marketing a sale through those links. 

Seems ideal, doesn’t it? You set up a website, add a few affiliate links, and start earning the passive income you’ve always dreamed of.

So, affiliate marketing could be defined as the process of earning money (commissions) every time you promote a company’s products or services and drive a sale. You only get paid every time you drive a sale, just like a commission-only sales representative.

This process is driven by 4 key elements on the value generation process:

The Merchant: Usually known as the creator, the seller, the brand, the retailer, the manufacturer, or the vendor. This is the party that creates the product. It can be a big or medium range company, .

The Affiliate Marketers: This term is used to identify the publisher or promoter. Affiliates can range from a single individuals to entire companies. 

The Consumer: The consumer or customer  is the source of money generation. This party  buy the product and trigger the commission generation.

The Affiliate Network: A network works as an intermediary between the affiliate and the merchant.

Like in any physical business, this elements need to be in place for the proper value generation.