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You are here: Home > On-line Guides > On-line selling > Affiliate programmes > Introduction
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Benefit from Affiliate Programs
Introduction
Internet affiliate programs are becoming increasingly popular with Web site owners as a means of generating additional revenue from their site and there are many to choose from. Unfortunately, many are simply get-rich-quick schemes. There is also a danger that SMEs focusing only on the possibility of making revenue from such programs could jeopardise the effectiveness of their own interaction with customers through their Web site. However, reputable affiliate programs can potentially provide a useful and cost-effective way for small businesses to compliment and extend their existing Web site offering to their customers. For example, an SME selling plants could also offer customers visiting their Web site the facility to buy gardening books by using an affiliate scheme.
Affiliate programs actually work in two ways. They offer businesses providing products and services an additional way of marketing their wares and bringing prospective customers to their site. They also provide Web site owners with a means of earning revenue from the traffic to their site. Probably one of the best known and one of the earliest Internet affiliate programs is the Amazon.co.uk Associate Program which enables Web site owners to sell books and other Amazon products from their own site. Amazon started its Associate Program back in 1996, supposedly after the CEO had a conversation at a party with a woman who wanted to sell books from her Web site. Amazon pays associates up to 10% on referrals that lead to a successful sale although the rate is typically much lower. Amazon currently claims to have over 1 million Web site owners in the program. What does Amazon get out of it? It gets a low cost, commission-based workforce actively promoting its products. This article will provide a general introduction to affiliate programs, how they work and what to look for before joining one.
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