How Does Affiliate Marketing Help Bloggers Earn Money? - By: Randall Drake

Methods of advertising have been around for centuries, but with the invention of the Internet, new tactics like affiliate marketing have begun to take off. Although affiliate marketing’s history is a little dicy at best (It first began as a method of advertising by the online adult entertainment industry) it has now become an official hit with bloggers and businesses alike. And as the market grows out there for online affiliate marketing so will the bloggers grow in direct proportion.

You’ve probably seen affiliate marketing – ads placed above or below the actual text of a site, sometimes having nothing to do with the information on the page. Some have pictures, and some are just text – but all will directly link you to their product if you’ll just “Click Here!” And then of course you have all of the newer type of ads that are animated and screaming to grab your attention. You might wonder why someone would clog up their blog with ads – but what you should know is, there’s something in it for the blogger if you click. Usually, it’s just a few dollars, but those dollars can add up if you click and shop enough off your favorite blogger’s site. With the right type of ad and placed in the right place it becomes irresistible to click on that link.

At its core, affiliate marketing is a simple approach to reaching customers. Because these ads are so simple in design and give away very little information, it entices the customer to find out more about it. A marketing host like a blogger places an advertising company’s website link on their blog’s website. Every time a viewer visits the link hosted on the blogger’s site and makes the agreed-upon transaction whether it be to buy something or simply to give up an email address that will lead to a later purchase the blogger receives payment. It can be a simple way for a blogger to turn a profit from their site without actually selling anything– but most advertisers pay only a few dollars per click. In an effort to try and increase their profits, most hosts place several links on their page. The more opportunities that they place in front of you then the more chances they have of getting paid. However sometimes it is overdone and can have the opposite effect.

The main appeal of affiliate marketing to advertisers is the guarantee of results. Instead of companies paying Thousands of dollars for advertising techniques that don’t necessarily grant results, they now only pay for actual customers. It is a lot like the direct marketers use when they are using Google or MSN in a pay per click campaign. With older, traditional advertising methods, advertisers paid for the opportunity to market to a particular demographic, which wasn’t always effective. One of the main reasons for this is the complexities that are involved in the demographics. For example, it’s doubtful that everyone watching commercials during a football game would want every product advertised, even if they all like football. But with affiliate marketing, advertisers will only pay for results. They are now able to tighten up budgets by only paying for advertising that is reaching their targeted customer. It is an ideal situation to be in without having to spend tons of money in marketing to those who aren’t interested. If someone doesn’t want their product, they simply won’t click on the link – and the company hasn’t lost a dime trying to sell them something they didn’t want. Additionally, affiliate marketing pays a much smaller amount for much bigger results – instead of spending millions for an ad to run on television once, advertisers can pay a few dollars to bloggers – meaning a much bigger bottom line. And a bonus paycheck for bloggers, too!

So with the growing interest of the internet every day, it is now possible to reach an immensely large audience for a very small amount of money. It is a win – win situation for everyone involved. The expenses are kept down so that they can be used elsewhere and the bloggers are receiving a paycheck with very little work. And the customers are receiving the goods that they want in a convenient manner. Along with some other business ideas this could prove to be a very lucrative business venture for the savvy blogger.

About the Author

Randall Drake is the webmaster of Drakes Internet Services. Randall recommends you visit his site atRandy's Home Biz Ideas and sign up for his newsletters today.

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