If you’ve used the internet even a little, you will be aware of affiliate marketing – you know when you get an email persuading you go to a website and sign up for a free trial. Are these sites genuine. How can they give free iPhones away? It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, when you delve a little deeper you’ll see a business plan which does make sense, and which seems to be working. Let me explain.
What is affiliate marketing and how does it work?
Affiliate marketing is a clever way to get people to sign up to what you are offering. The most common form is google ads which appear as hyperlinks next to the google search that you just performed. When these links are clicked, a commission is paid to the person hosting the link either when someone clicks on the link, or when they buy something from the site. Typically this is small, but in the case of many sites, they can be substantially higher.
How can they afford to give away iPhones, PS3s and digital cameras?
It’s easy to understand when you study it a bit. To claim your ‘free’ gift, you need to join up to a site such as kudosnetwork or freebiejeebies (for UK, USA and Canada) and sign up to a promotion such as an online film rental trial. Once you’ve done this, you select a gift that you want which will have been attributed a certain number of referrals. The higher the number of referrals the higher the value of the gift. Say you needed 18 referrals for your gift, you would need to get 18 people to sign up via your link. By the time your 18 friends have managed to get 18 more friends to sign up, the site has 324 customers, by the next 18, that number has risen to 5832. In a very short period of time, the numbers stack up very quickly, making a lot of money in commission for the site owner.
Advertising is not cheap, and when the consumer is paid instead of the advertising company, it adds up to quite a lot of nice free ‘stuff’. Of course they say ‘free’, but there is time involved although little or not money leaves the hands of the savvy. Hence the appeals to youngsters (who tend to have lots of the former and rather less of the latter).
What’s in it for the middleman, the website owner?
Considerable amounts of money, of course. He needs you, however, to make the wheels turn – the reason he comes up with salivating prizes to get you off your bum selling on his behalf. You are charged with the job of working out which of your friends would be interested in such a scheme, and more importantly which of your friends wouldn’t, and you keep pushing to reach your goal like a salesman after his bonus (iPhone). Meanwhile Mr. Site Owner sits there taking a commission for every sale her gets, and passes on a residual to you in the form of your gift. His marketing is clever, and as you can see, he is doing very well out of it.
But if everyone completed their referrals, wouldn’t the site lose money?
It is possible that if everyone suddenly did complete all their referrals, that the site might temporarily be out of pocket, but they would raise the amount of referrals required to ensure that they are always making a profit. As you come at the bottom of the chain, you are the last to get paid, so to speak, so know that the sites always have cash, and that’s how they honour their contract with you, and give you your iPhone. Also remember, it pays for them to keep their reputation sweet amongst their agents (you guys), as without you and your clever efforts, they are nothing. Can they really afford to go around making promises they can’t keep? Not for long, and these sites are alive and well and have been for some time, so it appears they’ve got the balance right.
What about the advertisers?
Again, they probably would lose customers (and money) if all people cancelled, but this is never the case. There are always people who forget, or who don’t know how to cancel. More importantly, the company gets one very important thing; your attention. They get a chance to make a good impression. Think of it as a ‘loss-leader’, a sales call. If they can convince you that what they are selling you is good, then you will buy it and they will have a happy customer and a revenue stream. The reality is that some will stay, some will go, and some will forget to cancel their direct debit (and so remain ‘gym’ members by default)
So, is affiliate marketing worth getting involved in?
Yes. Absolutely. And for everyone involved. Just have patience and determination and you will get there. If you don’t believe me, have a look on the web and see for yourself. The internet is plastered with examples of success stories of affiliate marketing. The question is, what have you got to lose by giving it a go?
The two main sites for UK, USA and Canada are Kudos Network and freebiejeebies Enjoy!
Visit kudosnetwork AND freebiejeebies for additional information about how to start claiming your free gift. Also visit thebestthings.co.uk for further information and to make your affiliate selling additional profitable. This and other unique content ‘iphones’ articles are available with free reprint rights.
Tags: affiliate marketing, business, consumer electronics, electonics, Gaming, gifts, iPhone, iphones, marketing, referrals
Leave a comment