What Is Affiliate Marketing?

[Shahriar Tasjid]

When you sell anything for anyone else and you receive a commission for it, you're marketing as an affiliate. You're not just a salesperson working for that company. You're independent and on your own. There are no thresholds that need to be met. But the more you sell, the more you earn.

The beauty of affiliate marketing is that there are no limitations and you can effectively earn money by marketing for many companies at one time. This offers a low-friction-to-market opportunity because you don't need to create your own products or services to earn money selling anything in this format.

However, don't get me wrong. Affiliate marketing isn't easy. Unless you have a significant audience or a platform, selling anything will require a significant investment of both your time and your money. The truth is that without traffic, you'll struggle. This is likely the problem that many would-be affiliates face today.

I relay the story of Dan Henry because it exemplifies the power of this thing called the internet that binds us all. And while Henry has succeeded on a massive scale, so many others have hit roadblocks, stumbled, fallen and failed. The large rate of failure helps to mystify and obfuscate this world of affiliate marketing because so many are trying to penetrate this market but so few are able to succeed on a large scale.

That might be why many people like marketing anything as an affiliate to more like waging a war than living on easy street. The truth is that it isn't easy by any measure. It takes time. And you can't buy into all the hype. However, by keeping a few principles and steps in mind, you too can dominate in the world of affiliate marketing and earn money while you sleep. The trick? Stay persistent and don't give up.

Source: www.medium.com