For a newbie, the world of affiliate marketing online as a home based business offers exciting benefits and money making opportunities.
As you browse the internet, you are bombarded with many advertisements for get-rich-quick schemes. All claiming easy, rich overnight. On the other hand, there are plenty of total failure stories.
Be objective and reasonable. If it was that easy to make money online, everyone would be doing it. Most of these exaggerated offers are a case of overpromising and never deliver.
So what is online affiliate marketing?
Online affiliate marketing simply involves promoting and selling products that other people have produced. This includes a wide variety of products, from durable goods to e-books and videos.
Online businesses free you from much of the daily grind and headaches of a physical business:
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No long leases for premises
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No delivery of products –
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Without facing difficult customers
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No hiring and firing of staff.
You only have the fun of making money! A true home based business from home.
Someone else creates the product. In many cases it is a digital product. They then use other people (affiliates) to sell it and earn a commission. To attract the best sellers, this rate is usually set quite high. Earnings can be one-time or you can earn a lifetime income through repeat sales or a monthly service agreement. The one-time payment can be for the actual sale, referral, or one share.
Affiliate programs may also be called referral programs or partnership programs. They are all commission-based selling schemes. The money earned is the affiliate commission. It is a win-win situation, as the seller benefits from the commission and the owner of the proceeds of the sale.
Currently, eighty percent of affiliate programs use revenue sharing or cost per sale (CPS) as the basis for payment. Balance using cost per action (CPA) or cost per click (CPC).
At its core, the concept seems simple. But you are setting up a business and you need to follow all the steps and rules to build an offline business. Many people start out with a lot of enthusiasm, but as soon as the going gets tough and there are no instant benefits, they fall by the wayside.
If you are just getting started with internet marketing and affiliate marketing online, I suggest you use a simple step-by-step process with limited options. The problem with some programs is that they have been developed by Internet gurus. They are so advanced that we get lost in the first few minutes.
In some cases, they tell you what to do without telling you how to do it. They give you lots of ideas. Without explaining which ones are more important. Either in terms of getting sales or in terms of difficulty or cost. The this, or this, or this options are great when you understand what it means and when you have an idea of how to do it.
If the program is too complicated, has too many things to learn, and too many options, you will soon feel overwhelmed and most likely give up.
Online affiliate marketing is a great home based business to sell a service or distribute a product, and also earn some extra money. You can enjoy your passion and earn a living…the best retirement income option.
There are literally thousands and thousands of “products” that can be sold through affiliate programs. There are products to suit every type of home-based business idea. With your home business you can do it as a second job. The options and opportunities are endless.