Why (and How To) Become An Affiliate Marketer

Wouldn’t it be great if we could reward those people who won’t stop bragging about our products or services? I mean, they’re sending us our most loyal customers! Well, as a matter of fact, you can compensate them! And that person is your affiliate marketer.

In short, an affiliate is someone who refers people to whatever it is you’re offering. In doing so, they receive a small or large commission.

Here’s an example: Let’s say I create a video on how to design a website and, in my how-to video, show that I use Bluehost to host this site I’m building. And, I happen to be an affiliate for them. You watch my video and you’re like, “that looks cool, I’ll use Bluehost to register my own website!”

Well, if you were to click on my link, I would then be paid a small affiliate fee!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all easy breezy lemon squeezy. There are lots of rules and regulations as it pertains to affiliate marketing. On top of that, I think that each one of us needs to have our own personal policies.

My own personal policy is that I will never – it doesn’t matter what the dollar signs are – promote a product or become an affiliate for something that I don’t personally use or have used and/or that I wouldn’t recommend to my family or friends.

Let’s just assume that you have a Yoga DVD that’s been selling quite well, but your own e-mail list is relatively small. Wouldn’t you be so grateful if other people (e.g., bloggers who write about health and fitness, YouTubers who review fitness programs, etc.) reviewed your product!?

By recommending your video… they could earn themselves an affiliate fee!

Okay, so now some awesome dude gets people to buy your DVD from his glowing review, but how the heck are you supposed to know (i.e., track) that it was said awesome dude who sent peeps to you?

There are lots of affiliate software programs out there. Tons of them! And those programs will help you to manage your affiliates. In other words, it would actually deliver the applications to people. For new affiliates, it would provide them with their links.

By using one of these software programs, you would have an individual code or link that goes to each one of your affiliates! That way, all of the traffic and sales that are earned from that affiliate link will be tracked to each individual affiliate.

On top of that, many of these software programs also allow you to see the results of each one of your affiliates, approve new ones, and make payments. Wow!

If you go to Google and search “top options for affiliate tracking software,” you’ll come up with a nice long list of companies that can do this for you. And not just manage the affiliate process, but also process payments. Basically, promote the fact that you have an affiliate program available.

I’m sure many of you haven’t figured out what kind of business you want to start yet. But, I bet, there are lots of products and services that you do use all the time. You’re constantly telling people about them, aren’t you?

Hey, why not earn a couple of bucks by creating a video sharing with people why you love this particular thing that you love?!

All you have to do is go to their website. In the super fine print at the very very bottom it’ll say “affiliates”! Seriously, almost every product or service that is (even relatively) well established offers some kind of an affiliate program.

That doesn’t guarantee you will be approved, but it’s very likely. I’d say, quite probable! So, why not give it a shot?

Have you ever become an affiliate marketer? Let me know in the comments below your experience with this!