What is an affiliate network?

An affiliate network is composed of two groups. A group of merchants who have products to sell, and a group of affiliates who sell their products for them. The merchants pay a commission to the affiliate for every sale he or she makes.

Affiliate networks offer some great advantages for both the merchant and the affiliate. The merchant gets his product advertised across a wide network, whilst the affiliate does not necessarily need to make a certain sale amount for one particular merchant before getting paid.

Advantages of affiliate networks

• No need to deal with stock, warehouse space, deliveries, or customer support issues.

• Price of products decided by the merchant. No need to monitor competition's pricing.

• Affiliate networks keep all of your affiliated products and merchants in one place, saving you time and money.

• You will be paid when you earn a certain amount of money accumulated from all of your merchants together, rather than from each one separately. Not only will this mean you get paid quicker, but will also save you money in handling fees.

How to succeed with your affiliate network

Affiliate networks are incredibly popular. However, only a very small percentage of affiliates account for most of the sales conducted through them.

Why is this? Their secrets to success lie in a few simple, yet vital strategies you must utilize and develop upon to transform your site from a drip feed, into a torrent of revenue.

• Education - If you are new to affiliate marketing, you must learn. If you are a veteran, you already know that you never stop learning. As the old saying goes, knowledge is power, and in affiliate marketing, power is money. You are learning right now, as you pick up the principles on this page, setting a firm foundation on which to educate yourself. Visit our Shop for numerous resources from which to draw on to become a successful affiliate.

• Know your product - Selling a product from first hand experience will gain your customer's trust. Unless you have bought the product yourself, read reviews and testimonials and discuss the product with other customers. Are they satisfied? If so, your customers will be as well. Customer satisfaction is highly underestimated, something you should strive to gain. It will bring your customers back for more, as well as their recommendation to others, building you credibility and traffic.

• Presentation - To sell your products, you must first sell yourself. Unless you have the software, the ability, or the time to construct a well presented, clean and functional website, you will not sell your products. Various studies on how people surf the internet have shown that websites, in much the same manner as magazines and cd covers have only a few seconds to convince the visitor they've found what they're looking for.

• Web hosting - Your website will not succeed if it is hosted by a free web host, splashing your pages with adverts and promotions. This is the number one way to loose credibility. In order to succeed you must project success, and having a paid, reliable web hosting service is vital. Visit our web hosting guide on www.fortunes-today.com/money-online-guide/webhosting-guide for more information.

• Traffic - The most obvious, and most illusive aspect to your website. Not only must you attract a sufficient volume of traffic, but also traffic interested in your website's topic, and ready to buy the products you affiliate.

Good luck with your affiliate programs!