Birds of a Feather
By Mana Tominaga
Affiliate marketing programs are revenue-sharing arrangements set up between merchants and related "affiliate" Web sites. Such programs have also been called associate, reseller, or partnership programs. Regardless of the name, the process is generally similar: An affiliate site links to a merchant site, helping to send visitors—and hopefully buyers—to that merchant. The merchant then compensates the affiliate, either at a flat rate for each click-through, or with a percentage of each purchase. For tracking and payment reasons, the links on the affiliate site are often specialized so that information about each click-through can be recorded. (See "
Online" for sites where you can learn more about affiliate programs.)
Most mid- to large-size Web sites belong to some sort of affiliate program, which makes sense because it's a win-win situation. The company offering the program can increase traffic and enhance brand awareness, while the site joining the program can increase its own revenues by getting a share of the profits for each click-through.
Jupiter Communications notes that by 2002, 25 percent of the expected $37.5 billion in Internet retail sales (excluding car sales) will have originated from affiliate sites. Whether you're on the merchant side or the affiliate side, these returns are too significant to ignore.
The Affiliate Market
According to Daniel Gray, author of The Complete Guide to Associate and Affiliate Programs on the Net, Amazon.c
