Affiliate Marketing For Beginners in 2024

How affiliate marketing works

Affiliate marketing is a sales model where a company pays a third party to sell a product or service.

If you’ve ever listened to a podcast ad or seen a social media influencer promote a product, you've likely been a recipient of affiliate marketing.

In exchange for recommending products and services to their audiences, affiliate partners receive a commission for any sales made as a result of their referrals.

When you become an affiliate, you’ll receive a unique link that allows your program manager to track every customer you send their way. When a customer purchases the product through your link, you earn a commission.

You can find an affiliate program directly through a company or via an affiliate network that lists multiple programs. Regardless, here’s how the standard affiliate program works:

1. You promote Store A on your website, blog, or social network.

2. Someone clicks your unique link.

3. They make a purchase in Store A.

4. The company or affiliate network records the transaction.

5. The purchase is confirmed by Store A.

6. You receive a commission.

For example, Instagrammer @Xyzjkl promotes the watch brand ABYALIFE , directing users toward the affiliate link in his bio. ABYALIFE has an affiliate program to attract beauty influencers like him/her.

If you click on the link in his bio, you’ll see further links to all the brands that Xyzjkl promotes, including ABYALIFE.

Clicking one of those links stores a cookie on your device. This tracks your visits to the affiliate, so the program manager can compensate Xyzjkl for a successful referral, even if you visit ABYALIFE at a later date.

If you then decide that you want to buy a ABYALIFE's face wash , when you check out, some percentage of that purchase will go into @Xyzjkl pocket. Xyzjkl also offers his audience a discount via the affiliate link on his link-in-bio page.