Affiliate marketing programs has never been as popular before as it is today. Why? There can be a number of reasons. The most probable reason, however, could be the fact that the benefits of online affiliate marketing have become clearer to a lot of people now than they were before.

Today, both the merchants and the affiliates can see clearly that affiliate online marketing can work for both of them. The merchant sees affiliate marketing today as the chance to advertise their products at a lower cost.

The affiliates, on the other hand, sees affiliate online marketing as an easy way of earning profits online by doing what they like most, and that is by creating websites.

Just as the popularity of affiliate online marketing has shifted into greater heights, so has the people’s outlook about it changed. No longer is affiliate marketing considered today as an alternative method for the merchant to advertise his products, or as a source of additional income for the affiliates. For merchants and affiliates alike, affiliate marketing is now considered as a main source of profits and revenues.

So the question now is what type of affiliate online marketing will work best for you? Are all affiliate marketing programs the same? Are the benefits the same? Or are there affiliate marketing programs that work better than the others?

There are actually different types or classes of affiliate marketing, and the number of types will depend on how one will classify them. The most basic affiliate marketing programs, however, falls under two categories: pay-per-click known as PPC, and pay-per-performance known as PPP.

- Pay Per Click - PPC

PPC is the most popular type of affiliate online marketing for affiliates with small websites, and probably the easiest way for them to earn money. In this affiliate marketing type, the merchant pays his affiliate whenever a visitor is referred to his site, that is whenever someone clicks through the merchant’s banner or text ads.

The affiliate gets paid a certain amount even if the visitor he referred does not purchase anything from the merchant’s site. However, typical fees for PPC affiliate programs are small, usually not exceeding a dollar for every click.

- Pay Per Performance - PPP

PPP affiliate online marketing is the most popular among merchant and is also the most lucrative type for the affiliates. In this type of affiliate program, the merchant only pays the affiliate whenever his referral translates into an action that is whenever the visitor he has referred actually buys something from the merchant’s site or when the visitor becomes a lead.

This means a lot of savings for the merchant. On the other hand, it becomes the most lucrative type for the dedicated affiliate, for commissions in PPP affiliate marketing usually comes in the range of 15% to 20% of the actual product sales.

Pay-per-performance affiliate online marketing can be further classified into two popular types: pay-per-sales known as PPS and pay-per-lead known as PPL.

- Pay Per Sale - PPS

In a pay-per-sale type of affiliate marketing, the merchants pay the affiliate a certain fee whenever the visitor he has referred to the merchant’s site actually buys something from the merchant’s site.

Affiliates are often paid on commission basis, although other merchants would opt to pay a fixed fee. But no matter what the basis of the fee is, it is generally higher than the fee paid to affiliates in a pay-per-click affiliate program.

- Pay Per Lead - PPL

The pay-per-lead type of affiliate marketing is a slight variation of the PPS type and is often used by insurance and finance companies and other companies who rely on leads for their company to grow.

In this type of affiliate marketing, the affiliate is paid whenever the visitor he referred to the merchant’s site fills up an application form or any similar form related to the business of the company. Compensation for this type of affiliate marketing is based on a fixed fee whose rates approximate that of the fixed fee in the PPS type.

Aside from these three specific types of affiliate marketing, a lot of other affiliate marketing types exist. If the classification is based on the depth of the affiliate network, it can be classified as single-tier, two-tier, and multi-tier affiliate marketing. There is also another type of affiliate marketing that pays the affiliate each time the customer he has referred purchases something from the merchant’s site.

- Single-Tier, Two-Tier, and Multi-Tier Affiliate Marketing.

These types of affiliate online marketing are based on the different levels or tiers in the affiliate network by which payments are made. In a single-tier affiliate marketing program, the affiliates are only paid based on the direct sales or traffic he has referred to the merchant. All the previously mentioned affiliate marketing types (i.e. PPS, PPL, and PPC) fall under the single-tier classification.

- In two-tier affiliate internet marketing programs, the affiliate is not only paid for the direct traffic or sales that he refers to the merchant’s site, but also on every traffic or sales referred by various other affiliates who joined the affiliate program through his recommendation.

Multi-tier affiliate internet marketing works the same way, although the affiliate gets additional commission for a wider number of affiliates in different tiers in the affiliate network.

- Residual Income Affiliate Internet Marketing

In residual income affiliate marketing, the affiliate gets paid not only once for every customer he has referred to the merchant’s site. Rather, the affiliate is also paid whenever the customer he has referred returns to the site and purchase another product. Compensation for such type of affiliate marketing is based on either sales percentage commission or fixed fee basis.

The different affiliate internet marketing types would virtually work differently for merchants and affiliates alike, and each would generally have their own list of benefits.

Which type of affiliate internet marketing will work best for you? It is not really for me to tell. Rather, it is for you to choose which type of affiliate marketing program will suit your needs and characteristics best.



By: Pino Tedesco

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What is affiliate marketing? It is a relationship between a merchant and an online marketer. The marketer, also known as the affiliate, uses his website or blog to promote the merchant’s products by creating a link form his website to the merchant’s website. The affiliate is not working for free, the merchant pays a commission to the affiliate on each sale he is generating. Each time a prospect clicks on the link on the affiliate website and make a purchase, the affiliate gets a commission. The merchant decide how much to pay to the affiliate, when, and on what terms.

Affiliate programs are beneficial to both affiliate and merchant. Both the affiliate and the merchant enjoy the benefits in affiliate marketing. There are many advantages on the merchant’s side. The merchant will have a wider range of advertisement than he will get with regular advertising. Using affiliate marketing will give the product the maximum publicity that it may not get with other traditional advertising techniques. By using affiliate programs the merchant is advertising his product all over the world, with minimum cost.

The affiliate marketer also benefits from this relationship. Here are the advantages of being an affiliate marketer:

1- This is the easiest way to make money online. The affiliate will earn money from placing a link to the product he is selling on his website, promote it and get his visitors to click on the link and buy the product. When the visitor clicks on the link and buy the product the affiliate immediately earn commission fro this sale. The more referrals there are the more profit for the affiliate.

2- Being an affiliate marketer is the best way to make money working from home. There is no need to create a product, it is already been done by the merchant, all you have to do is come up with way to bring the prospects to the link and buy the product. The merchant even created several products the affiliate can choose from, and he will have a verity of products to offer to his visitors.

3- Affiliate programs are usually free. Free to join, and free to promote, meaning there is no start up cost. There are many affiliate programs to choose from with different products and services to sale. All the affiliate has to do is choose a niche and find affiliate programs in that niche.

4- No experience necessary. You do not have to be the best sales person. Most affiliate programs are offering online training and also marketing tools. All you, as their affiliate, have to do, is use learn and use the tools they give you. Becoming an affiliate marketer is simple, even kids do it.

5- As an affiliate, there is no inventory to worry about, no order processing, and no worries about product shipping. There is also no need to customer support, because the merchant has already taken care of everything and all the affiliate has to do is bring in the customers.

6- Affiliate marketing is global. You can reach everyone, everywhere on the world. The internet made it possible to reach an unlimited amount of people with only a few clicks. Working online will help you maximize your potential to earn.

7- Another advantage of affiliate marketing is the minimal risk involved. If the product or service you chose to advertise is not making enough money, you can change it and choose another.

8- There is no time binding contract between you and the merchant. All you have to do is follow the merchant terms, in other words, if the products does not generate enough money, or if you are not pleased with merchant you can replace it with other affiliate program as soon as you like.

9- The opportunity to increase your monthly income, this the best advantage of affiliate marketing. As an affiliate marketer, can make easily extra money and even become financially free.

Affiliate marketing is one of the simplest, easiest and most efficient internet business opportunities you can find today.



By: Tanny Lahav

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