What is Affiliate Marketing?


Affiliate Marketing is a marketing technique that uses a network of online publishers (websites, blogs, email newsletters, pay per click search experts) who drive sales or leads to an online merchant. These leads or sales are sent in exchange for a commission on sales or a flat rate payout per lead.

An example might work something like this:

A Christian bookseller (the merchant) offers a 10% commission on sales referred by affiliates. A Christian blogger (affiliate) comes across this offer and posts about a book that she purchased from the bookseller, recommends the book and praises the service the bookseller gave, and includes a tracking link. A reader of the blog reads the review, clicks the link and buys the book and a CD that they were looking for to boot. The bookseller then pays a commission of 10% of the total of the order (less shipping) to the blogger.

Affiliate Marketing is one of the marketing methods responsible for the growth of major online players like Amazon.com, and is used by major Christian Retail sites as well like Parable, Family Christian Books, Abbey Press, Crossings Book Club, Alpha Omega Publishing as well as the prominent Christian dating sites.

Essentially, Affiliate Marketing is advertising that you pay for, after you get the action that you want.

Is Affiliate Marketing right for every merchant?

No - some conditions need to exist for affiliate marketing to work effectively for a merchant. Some of these conditions include:

  • The merchant’s website needs to sell effectively - 2% or better of the sites visitors need to convert into buyers to give the best chance of success
  • The merchant needs to have sufficient margin to offer a commission that is motivational to affiliates. NOTE: If your site is effective at selling existing customers in the future, you do not necessarily need to make huge profit on the initial sale for an affiliate program to make sense.
  • Affiliate programs need to be managed to be effective. At the very least a part time employee will be needed to seek out affiliate relationships and build relationships with these partners for a program to be profitable marketing channels.
  • Products must be in demand by a sufficient number of shoppers to justify the effort of affiliates. (if only 25 people in the US want or need your product, and it only costs $25, affiliate marketing will not work)

If you have questions about Affiliate Marketing and whether it is a good fit for your site, please get in touch with us via the Contact Form.

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God Bless,

The CAMA Staff