Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts.
I will explain you how it works in this blog post. I will take as an example Amazon.com.
Amazon.com (Amazon) launched its associate program in July 1996: Amazon associates could place banner or text links on their sites for individual books, or link directly to the Amazon home page.
When visitors clicked on the associate’s website to go to Amazon and purchase a book, the associate received a commission. Amazon was not the first merchant to offer an affiliate program, but its program was the first to become widely known and serve as a model for subsequent programs.
Websites and services based on Web 2.0 concepts—blogging and interactive online communities, for example—have impacted the affiliate marketing world as well. These platforms allow improved communication between merchants and affiliates. Web 2.0 platforms have also opened affiliate marketing channels to personal bloggers, writers, and independent website owners. Contextual ads allow publishers with lower levels of web traffic to place affiliate ads on websites.
For example, I write down my personal travel experiences and reviews in my blog posts. If you open ”Beautiful destinations” category on my blog you can see some links in my articles, that will lead you on Booking.com website from where you can book your accommodation or links to Viator.com website from where you can book Tours & Activities all around the world.
As registered affiliate partner of these websites I have access to these links and I share them in my blog posts in order to advertise these tours, locations and accommodations. Of course I only write about places I really went, so I express an opinion regarding my real experience which I share through my blog posts.
Even though I had thousands and thousands views of my blog posts during last year and thousands and thousands clicks on my links, until now very few people have actually booked through my links.
I figured out that this is happening because people are not very well informed about how this “affiliate programs” work, therefore I decided to write this post and explain a few things about it to my readers who are not familiar with it.
It is actually a relationship in which a merchant pays me (the “affiliate”) for links from my blog to his site. Usually, the affiliate is paid only when an actual sale is made by the merchant as a result of my link.
Each of the links I share has my affiliate Associate’s ID.
When the visitor clicks on this link, if the visitor books through that link with my affiliate partner number, at the same time my Associate ID will be recorded with the visitor’s session ID (an arbitrary number assigned to each visitor every time he enters the site), so if the visitor makes any purchases on that session, I will be credited with their purchase.
If my visitor purchases the tour that I shared in a link or books the hotel I have linked or make any other purchase through my links, I will receive 15% of the sales price of that booking or purchase. So, as a blog owner and affiliate partner I can make some money. As long as I have enough visitors click and purchases through my affiliate links.
If you book a tour or accommodation this way it will not affect or change the price of your purchase in any case, but it will help me to earn some small percentage from the company that I advertised, so I can continue to maintain my website and to write many more nice travel articles for you in the future.
So, since I informed you the best I can regarding your dream destinations, with all the useful info accompanied with the great photos so you can get an idea what to expect of your dream trip and you decide to book it in the end, please do it through my links in order to support me and to give me a good reason to continue with my good work.
I will close this year of blogging with this blog post with hope that I will be able to earn some small income through my affiliate partnerships next year thanks to your love and support.
2018, a year loaded with sweet recollections and cheerful times has almost gone. You, my dear readers and followers have made my year exceptionally unique, and I wish this relationship will continue forever. With you around, each minute is a unique event for me. I wish you to have a year as incredible as you are. Thank you for all your love, support, likes, shares and amazing comments.
I will close up this year of blogging by wishing a Happy New Year to all of you, with the hope that you will have many blessings in the year to come.
Best regards from shiny Amsterdam, Tania.
Embrace yourself, embrace the world 