Don’t wait for someone else to do it. Hire yourself and start calling the shots.

Get Started Free

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate Marketing is where an affiliate promotes another person’s product or company through their own marketing channels. This is normally done through an Affiliate Marketing program. Affiliate Marketing is shaped around a commission structure where companies pay affiliate marketers a commission per sale made through Affiliate Marketing.

What Is an Affiliate?

An affiliate is a person who markets another companies product for a paid commission on each sale made. An affiliate can be a person who promotes products through their social media profiles, or someone who runs their own company and also helps to promote related products on their website.

Types Of Affiliate Marketing

There are three main types of Affiliate Marketing but there are also hybrids of these three models in the market. These three types are:

  • Related Affiliate Marketing: This is where you already have an online store and you use Affiliate Marketing to gain passive income through selling related products from other stores. An example would be if you sell cushions for couches and beds, you could sell cushion covers on your website that will fit your products but are sold by someone else.
  • Unrelated Affiliate Marketing: Again when you have your own store you might want to branch out and can use Affiliate Marketing to test new products. Using unrelated Affiliate Marketing you can gain passive income and if the test proves fruitless you would not have lost any money.
  • Pure Affiliate Marketing: Pure Affiliate Marketing is when you have no online store of your own but you market someone else’s products through other marketing channels like a blog, social media, email marketing, etc. Pure Affiliate Marketing is most present in influencer marketing where influential people, known for their knowledge in a certain niche, will act as an ambassador for a product or brand and market the offering to their audience. 

What Is An Affiliate Program?

An affiliate program is a campaign set up by a company who sells products, whereby they agree to pay commission for any traffic or sales on their website that third-party affiliate marketers provide. The traffic or sales will come from individual websites that talk about the products and promotes them to their audience. Amazon’s affiliate program is a well-known and very popular affiliate program across the world.

Affiliate Marketing Examples

There are many Affiliate Marketing websites online that are great examples of how to successfully manage Affiliate Marketing for more than one brand. Below are three top examples of Affiliate Marketing in different areas to give you an idea of the depth of this practice.

  1. The Wirecutter

    Owned by the New York Times, the Wirecutter is an affiliate site for electronics, tech, and gadgets. They rely on     contributors to rigidly test products and share honest feedback on the website. The high standard of reviews has earned it a top place among Affiliate Marketing sites, and much trust from its readers. The Wirecutter works closely with companies like Amazon, The Home Depot and Best Buys as part of their Affiliate Marketing strategy.
  2. The Points Guy

    This affiliate marketing website is within the niche of travel and lifestyle. The primary aim is to leverage the benefits credit card and travel companies can offer so that you can get things for free, but the blog also talks about travel experiences in general. Examples of promotions on the website include Citi, American Express, and Chase.
  3. This is Why I am Broke
    Based on reviews of odd items that people have purchased, This is Why I am Broke is hugely popular for many demographics for obvious reasons. Their far-reaching reviews and product descriptions make it easy to motivate readers to take action and buy a product. Affiliates include Amazon, Watch Gang, and Bose.

Want to Learn More?