how to make easy money online with HubPages.com - Introduction to affiliate programe

Join HubPages.com Now

We're sure you've heard the term "Affiliate" and many of you probably know what it means, but we're going to explain it so that we're all clear as to what an affiliate really is.

In the IM world, you are the Affiliate, unless you own a product where in this case you would be called the Merchant. Affiliates and Merchants have a direct relationship, and it is very important that the relationship is a good one. The term "Affiliate" stems from the fact that you are affiliated with a company, and are working for them, though you don't have a contract. You can work for many companies as an affiliate at the same time promoting many different products.

Affiliates work for Merchants because they bring customers to the Merchant's front door. If you are an affiliate of a company, and you sent a visitor to the merchant website, you are now eligible to be credited for anything that the visitor buys while at the merchant website. When a visitor buys something the merchant will pay you a commission. Sometimes up to 75% of what the item costs. So, it's simple, as an affiliate, it is your job to get web surfers (traffic) to visit the merchant site.

Why are affiliates important to Merchants? If you are a merchant and have a product that you want to sell online you may not have the expertise to advertise the product online, so you have partnerships with affiliates who will do this for you. You pay your affiliates a percentage of what you earn from every sale that they generate. As a merchant, you'll get less overall return on investment (ROI), but you're reaching potential customers who you wouldn't have been able to attract. Many companies rely on their affiliates to bring them business, and they are happy to pay them for that business.

The relationship between the Affiliate and the Merchant is very important. As a merchant you would want to provide your affiliates with as much support as you can, helping them be successful in selling your product for you. You also want to be sure that you send out your payments on time. The easiest way to lose affiliates quickly is to not pay on time.

how to make easy money online with HubPages.com -2. Finding Good Keywords (search keyword)