So you’re curious -What is Affiliate Marketing? Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing where a person (the affiliate) earns a commission for promoting and driving sales of a company’s products or services.
Think of it like you’re the middle person—connecting a buyer with something you know they’ll love, and then getting a little thank-you from the seller as a commission.
{The links in this post go to my trusted affiliate. You pay nothing extra, and nicheprofitpro.com makes a small commission. Thank you so much for supporting this website and helping to inspire others to pursue their dreams and make money online}.
This is a great business model because it’s low cost- no need to create or stock products. It’s flexible- you can work from anywhere and choose what to promote. It’s also very scalable; as your audience grows, your income potential increases.
Are you excited yet?? Alright, let’s take a further look at how it works.
The Process
You start with a niche/website, then- you’ll sign up for an Affiliate Program. There are many companies that have affiliate programs you can join. Any niche you can possibly imagine. For example- Amazon’s Affiliate Program or programs offered by brands in niches like fitness, tech, or fashion.
Once you get approved- and you officially join, you’ll get a unique tracking link for the product or service you want to promote. In order to promote the product, you write articles and/or blog posts (like this one) and then share the link on various platforms- your blog, social media, YouTube or through Email marketing. Your goal is to encourage people to click the link and buy the product.
Then- once someone clicks on the link and makes a purchase, you earn a percentage of the sale or get a flat fee (depending on the program).
Examples
Women’s Running Shoes:
Okay- so you join an affiliate program for a Women’s Running Shoes. You can write a blog post or make a creative video about “The Best Running Shoes for Marathoners”- and then include your unique affiliate link to those shoes. When a reader clicks the link and buys the shoes, you earn a commission (for instance- 10% of the price of the shoes).
Wealthy Affiliate:
Wealthy Affiliate is the Affiliate program I am promoting on this site- NicheProfitPro.com. This is a two fold situation here: I am a member of Wealthy Affiliate and I am also a part of their Affiliate program. I promote this company on this site as an Affiliate.
Wealthy Affiliate is an incredible company/program to get started with Affiliate Marketing- and any online business for that matter. So you can see here- that I am adding a link to their website. If/when you click on the link and sign up- I will get a percent of the sale! 🙂
Best Practices
It’s important to be honest in all of your promotions. You should believe and know that any product or service you recommend should be useful and of high quality. For instance- I would not be promoting Wealthy Affiliate if they were a scam. Wealthy Affiliate is a very legit company where you can be extremely successful.
It’s always a good idea to disclose affiliate links ( (e.g., “This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you make a purchase.”). Did you notice my disclosure at the top of this post??
Before you start with your Affiliate Marketing Journey, be sure to give your niche a lot of thought up front. It is my belief that you should select a niche that you’re super passionate about or have expertise in already. This passion and excitement will help to carry you through those times if/when you want to throw in the towel.
Affiliate marketing is not a get rich overnight type of business. It takes time and dedication to build traffic and grow your site.
Summary- What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is when a middle person (the affiliate) earns a commission for promoting and driving sales of a company’s products or services. Select a niche you are passionate about, and then review and apply from the hundreds of different Affiliate programs. You can include these links in your blog posts, YouTube, Email Marketing or social media. Be sure to promote products that you trust and are high quality.