Choosing the Right Affiliate Marketing Network

In this topic, aside from defining the meaning of affiliate marketing network, we will also look at some famous affiliate networks available on the internet. Maybe we should define some terms first before going further on affiliate networks.

Affilate – Is the one who promotes the products over the internet. The affiliate points the potential customers to the merchant. Affiliates are also called publishers, for they are the ones who spread the products over the web. Although affiliates do advertise, the Merchants are the ones who usually do more of the selling and follow ups, after the affiliate has brought the leads to them.

Merchant – Is the one who creates the products or formulates the services. The affiliate merchant gives certain percentage of the sales to the affiliate for helping them promote their products. Merchants are also called advertisers, for they continue to sell products to the potential customers.

Squeeze page – Is a special web page or website that allow potential customers or leads to submit their names and email addresses. Squeeze pages are also called landing or sales pages. Customers can check the benefits of the products or services from this page. The advertiser then sends customers a sequence of emails to show more details about their products. Advertisers create very compelling sales pages to increase sales. However, The quality of the actual product is the main reason for repeat sales.

Now let us define affiliate marketing network.

Affiliation is one of the best passive income opportunities that you will find online. We can define an affiliate marketing network as a third party business that creates a vast community of affiliates (or publishers) and merchants (or advertisers). They bond publishers and advertisers together so they can do business. They usually conduct the accounting processes, the tracking of affiliate links and the distribution of earnings for the advertiser and the commissions for the publisher.

If you want to become an affiliate marketer, Affiliate networks are the place to visit and find different affiliate merchants. On the other hand, if you have your own product and want to sell it online, you may need the help of an affiliate marketing network and choose to apply as an advertiser.

The affiliate networks listed below are only some of the thousands that you can discover online. They are considered the famous ones, although, you should not limit yourself to this list. Some affiliate marketers become very successful through other small and new affiliate networks. Some also find success in promoting affiliate programs that you will not find in an affiliate marketing network.

Let us take a look at five famous networks. Please note that they are arranged randomly and not according to popularity or superiority.

1. Clickbank – Considered one of the biggest marketplace of digitally created products, including info-products such as e-books. They were founded in 1998 and now have a retail of 12,000 digital product advertisers and over 100,000 active affiliates. The Clickbank affiliate network generously offer commissions that can go over 50%. They process more than 26,000 transactions every single day, in more than 200 countries.

2. Commission Junction – Is a ValueClick company also founded in 1998 and considered one of the greatest affiliate networks. One of the beautiful features of commission junction is that they also educate people on how to build a lucrative performance marketing program. They hold regular seminars and provide training on strategies for both advertisers and publishers. The commissions payed can also reach as high as 50% or more.

3. Linkshare – They were founded in 1996. From Linkshare, you have a choice of over 600 merchants or advertisers and promote some of the top brands on the globe. Linkshare boasts technologies which they are setting as standards in a variety of areas including mobile Links for tracking mobile commerce, the industry’s first video tracking with LinkShare Flex Links and Link distribution options including Web Services. Their clients include Fortune 500 and other famous companies doing business on the internet, including J.C. Penney, 1-800-Flowers.com, American Express and Avon Products.

4. Shareasale – Was established in year 2000. Many customers claim that it is one of the most ethical, professional, and trustworthy affiliate marketing networks in the industry. Many of their merchants maybe small, but they have some real gems as well. They have general types of affiliate programs as well as pay-per-lead, pay-per-sale and pay per click. Currently, they have 2,500 Merchants plugged in to their network.

5. Paydotcom – They are one of the fastest growing affiliate networks with 400,000 affiliates and getting 1000 new affiliates every day. They specialize in products and services that are related to home-based businesses and work-at-home individuals. They claim to give 5 to 80 percent commissions. They offer a lot of affiliate options including digital or physical products, ebooks, software, monthly membership sites, and services online.

This list may grow as time goes by when more affiliate networks become popular.