If you are serious about e-commerce affiliate marketing then you need to know who you are dealing with. It doesn’t matter what type of a business or job you are starting – it is necessary to know the people you will be dealing with in order to succeed. Affiliate marketing is work that is off the beaten path – you won’t be slaving away in someone else’s office making money for them; you will be making money for yourself. This means that you will be dealing with people in different roles than you are used to. Fret not – we have got your back. Here are the main people you will be dealing with.
Affiliates
These are the most important players in the affiliate marketing e-commerce scene because, well, it is called affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketers are the people who actually market or sell the product or service being sold. You’ll understand better with an example: A car parts company wants to increase their sales. They opt for affiliate marketing. The person who is doing affiliate marketing will set up a website or a blog or an email list (or any other innovative idea they have) about car parts where they will promote the product of the company.
Merchant
The merchant is the company whose products the affiliate is selling. In the above example the car parts company is the merchant. You will find it very easy to find merchants and get them to agree to working with you. It is easy because you aren’t asking them for a job – you are essentially going to them and saying “Hey, I will generate sales for you, will you pay a commission for me?” It is a win-win situation for them with no risk. If you make sales they have no problem paying a commission because they would have had to pay their own sales team any way. If the affiliate doesn’t make a sale then they don’t have to pay.
Affiliate Marketing programs
Smart merchants have programs which allow affiliates to work with them. Basically the merchants who are already using affiliate marketing will have a plan in place with all the details worked out about commissions and details of what you need to promote. These programs make it very easy for new affiliates to get the information they need and start working.
Affiliate Networks
Affiliate networks are the meeting place of affiliates and merchants. It is the place where you will be accessing the different affiliate programs available. They will make your life easy because they will present you the information you need and allow you to choose what affiliate management program you want to sing up for.
