Whenever I tell people that I make a full-time income online via affiliate marketing, I usually get one of two responses:
Response #1 – That’s awesome, how can I do that?
Response #2 – Sounds kinda scammy to me…
Both of those questions are then usually followed by this one:
What IS affiliate marketing?
It makes me chuckle a bit inside when people who respond that it sounds “scammy” then proceed to ask me what affiliate marketing is.
If you don’t know what affiliate marketing even is, then how does it sound scammy…?
Here’s the problem:
I actually understand why people think affiliate marketing is kinda shady.
It’s because there are a ton of self-proclaimed affiliate marketers out there who ARE spammy and scammy.
You’ve only got to look at the comments section of your favorite YouTube videos and you’ll see these scammy marketers in action – “<<Click here to get 100 free bitcoin>>” repeated over and over again.
I literally just deleted a guy like that from my own Facebook group like 5 minutes ago.
So let’s make something clear:
While it’s definitely true that those people are using an affiliate link, I HATE that they call themselves “affiliate marketers.”
They’re not affiliate marketers.
They are affiliate SPAMMERS.
There’s a difference.
Spamming the comments section of a YouTube video over and over again is NOT affiliate marketing.
So now that you know what affiliate marketing isn’t, let’s get answer the question:
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing, at it’s core, is very simple:
- You find a product that you like, and want to promote
- You check to see if the company offers an affiliate program
- If they do, you sign up for free and you’re given an affiliate link
- You share that affiliate link with people
- When they purchase through your affiliate link, you receive a commission
It’s as simple as that.
FAQ about Affiliate Marketing
There are a number of questions that I hear all the time about affiliate marketing. I’ll answer them below:
1. Does the company increase the price for a customer if they buy using an affiliate link?
No. It costs the customer nothing extra to purchase through your affiliate link.
2. Why would companies pay you to send them a customer?
The exact same reason companies pay millions of dollars to the Superbowl broadcasters – to get more customers.
Affiliate marketing is essentially just another form of advertising for a company. But, in my opinion, it’s even better than traditional forms of advertising. With affiliate marketing, the company only pays you if they make a sale from someone who used your link.
That means that theoretically, you could advertise their company all over the internet and if they don’t make a single sale, they don’t pay you a dime.
3. How does the company know that I sent them a customer?
When you become an affiliate for a product, you’ll receive a special affiliate link that is unique to you.
This link has a tracking code attached to it. When someone clicks on that link, this special code or cookie tracks their purchase and that purchase is attributed to you.
4. Do people really make money from affiliate marketing?
Absolutely. I make a full-time income from affiliate marketing. My friend Spencer, the creator of an incredible affiliate marketing course called Affiliate Secrets 2.0 makes 7 figures. And there are countless people who make anywhere from a few hundred dollars all the way up to a few hundred thousands dollars every month solely from affiliate marketing.
5. How can I learn affiliate marketing?
The best way to learn any skill is to learn from someone who has already succeeded, and affiliate marketing is no different.
When I first made the decision to learn affiliate marketing, I went and found people who’d done what I want to do and followed them. I invested in their training, took courses, joined their Facebook groups, etc.
Spencer Mecham is a 7 figure affiliate marketing guru (although I doubt he’d ever use the word “guru” to describe himself) and he has created an incredible course called Affiliate Secrets 2.0. He has helped countless people achieve amazing success with affiliate marketing.
If you want to invest in a training course to learn affiliate marketing, Spencer’s course is my #1 recommendation.
>>Learn more about Affiliate Secrets 2.0 here<<
I’m also sharing my complete Affiliate Business in a Box system for completely free, all you have to do is enter your email address in the box below and I’ll send it straight to you!
Do you have any other questions about affiliate marketing? If so, leave them in the comments!