All About Affiliate Networks
An affiliate network is a middle-man between you and businesses that offer affiliate programs.
Affiliate networks make it really easy for you to find affiliate programs with products that your web site audience would be interested in. The networks are free to join.
They're pretty slick - they give you reporting tools, and make it easy to track your revenue across several affiliate programs, all in one place!
How does each party make money?
- The Affiliate Network makes money from the merchants who want their affiliate programs listed.
- The merchant makes money when you, the content publisher, sell their products! The commission they pay you is less than what it would cost for them to advertise traditionally.
- And you, the content publisher, make money whenever an agreed-upon action (pay-per-action) is completed. Those actions, depending on the particular program, would be one of the following:
- Pay Per Click (PPC): You get paid when someone clicks on the link to the product page. This is the easiest of the 3 to accomplish, but has become an uncommon way for merchants to pay content publishers.
- Pay Per Lead (PPL): You get paid when someone clicks on the link to the product page, and fills out a form with their contact information.
- Pay Per Sale (PPS): You get paid when someone clicks on the link to the product page, and ends up purchasing an item. This is by far the most common way for merchants to pay content publishers. It means that the content on your web site needs to do a good job of convincing your visitors that the product is actually worthwhile. (Which is why you want to actually be familiar with the products you recommend.)
What are the top Affiliate Networks?
- ClickBank.com
Founded in 1998, most of ClickBank's products are electronic, so commission rates are often as high as 50%. ClickBank offers over 10,000 digital affiliate products, such as ebooks, guides, and software programs. It has over 100,000 affiliates (content publishers)... people like you and me. - Commission Junction
Most products are physical, so commission rates will be lower than those on ClickBank. - LinkShare
Home to many top merchants like Wal-mart, Target, Amex, and Orbitz, Linkshare was founded in 1996. LinkShare offers over 500 affiliate programs in all categories, including many from brand name companies. It offers only single-tier commissions. Some other affiliate netwoks are shown below - but I recommend you start with one of the above first.
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