What the HELL is Affiliate Marketing? Top 10 Definitions

"Tell me what affiliate marketing is!" - I hear that a lot from friends and family. I've tried to explain it, but it doesn't always come out right. So here's a YouTube video of world famous Internet Marketing expert Joel Comm describing Affiliate Marketing:

In case you're still wondering how it all works, here are 14 other definitions of affiliate marketing. Hopefully, one of them will make perfect sense to you!

Enjoy...

Wikipedia - "Affiliate Marketing is an Internet-based marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's marketing efforts. It is an application of crowdsourcing."

Wisegeek.com - "Affiliate Marketing is a revenue sharing venture between a website owner and an online merchant. The website owner will place advertisements on his websites to either help sell the merchant's products or to send potential customers to the merchant's website, all in exchange for a share of the profits."

ProBlogger - "Perhaps the simplest way to explain affiliate marketing is that it is a way of making money online whereby you as a publisher are rewarded for helping a business by promoting their product, service or site."

ClickZ - "A small website owner registers with Amazon (or any other affiliate program), she then puts various links, banners, and products on her web site. When her visitors click through on these links and purchase a book or other product, the small web site owner is paid a commission for generating the sale."

MarketingFind.com - "With an affiliate program you offer affiliates an incentive to perform a particular outcome. This outcome may be to generate customer leads for your business, increase ‘clicks’ to your site or improve sales - from a banner ad, text link, graphic or other means such as a newsletter. The incentive is usually a fee, provided as a flat rate or percentage depending on your affiliate program objectives."

Affilorama - "Affiliate marketing is basically an online system where someone gets paid for referring sales or potential customers to another business. An affiliate is like a middle man (or woman), they find people who have a problem or need and put them in contact with someone who has a solution."

Street Directory - "Affiliate marketing refers to the promotion of products or services through affiliates. Affiliates are usually other webmasters and ezine editors who choose to act as sales people on behalf of their principals for a commission on every sale."

About.com - "Affiliate marketing is hosting links, banners, and product information on a website or blog and then getting paid a flat fee or percentage of a sale whenever visitors click through on these links and make a purchase. In essence, affiliate marketing is selling products or services offered by others and then getting paid for each sale."

AffiliateBot - "In a nutshell, affiliate marketing is a kind of marketing where merchants pay publishers for referrals of visitors to their site. Oftentimes, they do that through an affiliate marketing network such as AffiliateBOT. A merchant is a site that sells stuff, such as books, clothes, fragrances etc. In your case, you're the publisher. Your role is to promote and make your visitors go to a merchant site. You'll be paid based on a type of action your visitor performs. For instance, our 123inkjets program states that the commission is $12.60 per sale. That is for every visitor from your site who buys something from 123inkjets, you'll be paid $12.60!"

Digitalpoint - "The most popular term as Affiliate marketing is basically a website based process in which a business prospect rewards one or more affiliate for each visitors and customers brought about the affiliate's marketing efforts perfectly competed at their end to redirect the traffic or visitors towards your site."

Affiliate Scout - "A revenue sharing arrangement between online merchants and distributors (affiliates) in which the affiliate earns a commission for producing a sale, lead or click for the merchant's site."

Commission Junction - "Affiliate marketing is an online advertising channel in which advertisers (online merchants that sell products or services) pay publishers (independent parties that promote the products or services of an advertiser on their Web site) only for results, such as a visitor making a purchase or filling out a form, rather than paying simply to reach a particular audience."

Affiliates World - "In simple terms, the affiliate earns a commission reselling other companies products or services. Affiliate programs may be the easiest online business to start running."

5 Star Affiliate Programs - "Affiliate marketing boils down to one basic action – paying an online publisher (someone who owns and operates a website) a commission for referring traffic or customers or sales (which actions are paid for are determined by the merchant) to a participating merchant’s website. To put it even simpler terms, affiliate marketers are basically salespeople who don’t actually work for the company they make sales for and only get paid in commissions."

Thanks for reading,

Untitled Document

More Ways To Learn Affiliate Marketing - Reviews, Help & Information:

Learn Affiliate Marketing from Successful Instructors at SBI!
Need help from successful internet business owners? Consider eLearning from the good people at SBI! eLearning. It's a 12-week online course where you'll learn how to build a successful Internet based business - from people actually making real money online.
Learn Affiliate Marketing for Dummies!
Your easy guide to learn affiliate marketing for dummies. Even little kids can do this. I'll show you a 14 year old girl making $2000 per month.
60 Second Startup : Amazon Affiliate Marketing
Signup for Amazon.com affiliate program and get your first link online in 60 seconds! Use the new Twitter button to post links instantly!
Learn To Build Income Through Content
Ever wished for your own domain name, website hosting, point & click website creator, that has automatic search engine submissions with full traffic analysis tools, with unlimited support, and to be guided by the most effective, proven strategies... All in ONE easy to use, simple to understand online product?
Even Dummies Can Learn Affiliate Marketing
You don't need a book called “Affiliate Marketing for Dummies” to easily understand the concept, benefits and procedures for using affiliate marketing to make money.
Learn Why Affiliate Marketing Goals Guarantee Success
Stressed out trying to learn affiliate marketing? Setting goals can help you believe you'll actually start making money, and one day, a million bucks.
Learn 10 Ways to Sell Expensive Affiliate Marketing Products
Learn one of the quickest ways to boost your affiliate income - Sell high ticket products or make $50 and up for qualified leads.
Learn 5 Basic Tips Affiliate Marketing Professionals Needs To Know
Learn affiliate marketing from the masters. Here are 5 basic tips you can use to make sure your website is a smashing success.
Learn The 6 Affiliate Marketing Mistakes You're Probably Making
Learn to avoid affiliate marketing mistakes you were told to do by the so-called experts. The way you run your business may be killing your income.
Learn 3 Reasons Why You Need An Affiliate Marketing Website
Don't have a website? You're in trouble. Learn 3 reasons why a simple website will blast your affiliate marketing business into outer space.
Define Affiliate Marketing - "Selling Other People's Stuff Online"
Here's my simplest way to describe what affiliate marketing is: A Virtual Salesperson. It's not perfect, but it's close and easy to relate to. You're just helping somebody else sell a product or service - that's it.
What the HELL is Affiliate Marketing? Top 10 Definitions
Don't have a clue what affiliate marketing is? Read the top 15 definitions from the top internet marketing resources online!
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate Marketing is a way to earn commission on sales that you help generate, like a virtual salesperson. Learn the very easy and profitable process.
Learn The 10 Secrets of the Super Affiliate Marketing Mindset
Learn the affiliate marketing secret truth of super affiliates. They think differently and their minds race past the commission check to find the real gold.
Learn 5 More Affiliate Marketing Mistakes To Avoid
You must learn the affiliate marketing mistakes that can kill your online business because you don't want to let any more money slip through your fingers.
Learn Ways to Make Money From Home Through Affiliate Marketing
Article about online affiliate marketing and how to make money online
Solve Problems For Incredible Affiliate Marketing Success
Forget about your money for a second and listen! Learn to help people and you'll achieve a level of success you never thought possible.
5 Best Affiliate Marketing Secrets
My top 5 affiliate marketing secrets. Over the past 4 years I've made many mistakes, but you can learn how to avoid them today and gain valuable experience immediately.
Make Money With Google AdSense & Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is about using a website to make money. And the easiest way to do that is to add Google AdSense to your website or blog. Even a child can do it.
Finding Keywords Are Key To Affiliate Marketing Success
Keywords drive traffic to your site. The better keywords you use, the more traffic you'll get and the more money you will make. Affiliate marketing starts here.