What is affiliate marketing?

As you may have realized by now, we live in what many experts call the social media generation. Individual influencers and social media giants dictate the trend of what's in and what's out, particularly amongst the younger audience. The likes and followers determine the clout or influence an influencer has. And despite their young age, this young demographic has tremendous purchasing power. 

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for society as a whole is a question we'll leave to the sociologists. What's for sure is that internet clout is a powerful driving force in culture and business. And that is why we're here to tell you that most of these social media magnates already have a passive form of income that generates thousands of dollars per month by just using the leverage of their followers. And how you, as an online merchant, can benefit from this trend too in more ways than one. 

Introducing affiliate marketing. This is a business model where merchants (advertisers) partner up with influencers and companies that already have a considerable following and establish a marketing program in which they can both benefit.

How this works is simple. An influencer, or in this case an affiliate marketer, goes to companies that sell products that are adjacent or complementary to the content they put out on their social media pages like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok, etc. Let's say, for example, an influencer posts content on their YouTube page about exercise and wellness. They may partner up with companies that sell gym equipment or healthy diet food, etc. 

Companies with affiliate programs provide these marketers with a special custom link posted to their social media pages.  

The importance of networks

The marketer gets a slice of commission whenever somebody clicks on that link and buys the product. The commission is only a tiny percent of the cost, but the influencer's clout comes into play. 

The more followers and viewers a marketer has, the more people are likely to click on that custom link and purchase the product. So, they can earn from a few hundred dollars a month up to thousands, depending on how many followers they have and how likely they are to buy. 

And this is done hands-free. The marketer did not even lift a finger to sell this product or be responsible for after-sales care and customer reviews. They just posted the link and monetized their audience. It's passive income in its truest form. 

So every time you watch, say, your favorite Youtuber and there's a link in the description below of a product or an item that you perhaps saw on the video, you are seeing affiliate marketing in action. 

What are affiliate marketing networks?

You might be surprised to learn that most of the industries out there already have an affiliate program you can be a part of. You can always go to Google and manually search for the most recognizable brands' programs, one by one. Or you can go to affiliate networks and see them all in one place. 

They are your one-stop-shop for all high-quality and trusted brands with these programs. There are tens of thousands of products from an almost unlimited number of categories to choose from – all from respected companies. 

What can affiliate networks do for you?

They bring these companies together, so it's easier to find the best advertiser that suits you and your audience. Once you find advertisers that reflect the spirit of your brand or media channel, you will be given that special custom link from each product from every respective advertiser. You can then post this link on your social media page, leave it there, and let it do its magic.

The cool thing about this is many networks set a window period for their custom links. This means that if a visitor clicks on the link and has a look at the product and decides to leave, most networks give anywhere from 1 to 30 days grace period before the link expires. That means the commission will still be paid if the customer returns and buys from that link within these 30 days.

With all of these in mind, you can easily see how great the benefit is from having networks. You can take advantage of their vast database and bring your brand to many platforms and marketplaces to ensure maximum online visibility.  

Check out Riselane's best networks

Riselane gives you access to the most reliable and useful affiliate networks out there. The road to profit has never been smoother, thanks to Riselane's list of the best software solutions and a growing list of apps and tools that have proven to be successful by online sellers and social media influencers from around the world. Check out the information about perks and exclusive discounts offered by networks, software tools and services, retail directories, and more at Riselane.com.