What is Pay Per Sale

There are four basic actions in which affiliates are paid when they send their visitors to a merchant's website.
1. The visitor buys something from the advertiser (pay per sale).
2. The visitor completes a lead form (pay per lead).
3. The visitor downloads, installs, or uses some product or service (pay per action).
4. The visitor clicks on a link and visits the merchant's website (pay per click).

Below are detailed explanations of each action:

Pay Per Sale:
Pay per sale is the most common type of affiliate program on the web. With pay per sale you refer visitors to a merchant that sells products or services. You earn a commission when that visitor buys something from the merchant. In most cases you earn a percentage of the sale, but in some instances you may be given a flat dollar amount.
Most merchants that sell products online pay their affiliates a percentage of sales. Merchants that fall into this category include, Home Depot, REI, Dell Computers, and most big e-tailers on the Internet.
Most of the merchants that pay their affiliates a flat dollar amount sell services.
Merchants who sell web hosting, online dating, and other online services tend to compensate their affiliates with a flat dollar amount, rather than a percentage of the sale.

Advantages of Earning a Percentage of Sales
• You can earn a ton of cash on big ticket items.
(Example: You refer a customer who buys a $2,500 computer).
• You can earn a ton of cash when your visitors buy multiple items at once.
(Example: You refer a customer who buys a pair of shoes, matching purse and jacket).
• Some merchants will pay their affiliates commissions on repeat purchases.

Disadvantages of Earning a Percentage of Sales
• Your visitor may buy a small ticket item.
(Example: The customer you referred buys a pair of socks, and never returns to purchase anything else).
• Your visitor may return the merchandise, which could result in your commission being reversed.
(Example: The shirt your visitor bought last week just doesn't fit right. They return it, and your commission is reversed).

The Benefits of Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing? What's in it for me? I'm glad you asked. Here is a summary of just a few of the benefits you can experience as an affiliate:

Flexibility - Business on your terms
Perhaps the #1 benefit for affiliates is flexibility. I haven't had to punch a clock, report to a boss, or sit in rush-hour traffic since I quit my day job and became a full-time affiliate. I take vacations whenever I want. I never miss my kid's school or sporting events. And I've never been happier!

Money - The only limit on your earning potential is you Almost as nice as the flexibility, is the money. I don't consider it easy money; I've worked hard for every dollar I've earned. However, I'm in control of what I make! When you own an affiliate business you're in the driver's seat. If you need to make more money,
you just spend more time working on your affiliate business.

The nice thing about earning money from an affiliate business is that it can be residual. Wait! What do I mean by residual? It means that my websites make money even when I'm not working on them. This frees me up to build more money-making websites, which also earn residual income. As you can see this has a multiplying effect. In the last 2 years I have developed over 100 websites that have helped me to earn a substantial monthly
income. For the most part, these websites are self-sustaining. If I take a week off and go on vacation my affiliate websites are still making money.

My affiliate websites are not 100% maintenance free. However, I only have to spend a minimal amount of time each month maintaining them. This maintenance is mostly just reviewing reports and trying to determine ways to earn more money.

Low Start-Up Costs - You don't have to mortgage your house to launch an affiliate business
The costs associated with starting up a typical brick and mortar business range from tens of thousands of dollars, to millions of dollars. This presents a huge obstacle for most aspiring entrepreneurs. Even starting your own e-commerce website can be expensive and difficult.

You can launch a quality affiliate website that can start generating instant cash for just a few hundred dollars, even if you have little or no experience developing websites.

No Employees - Unless you count yourself One of the biggest challenges facing business owners today is finding and managing good employees. Employees can cost a business a lot of money. When you add up the cost of an employee's salary, benefits, and other entitlements, it can add up quickly!
There are also hidden costs associated with having employees. Consider the costs of unemployment if you have to lay off an employee. Consider the liability if an employee gets hurt on the job. What if an employee sues you for wrongful termination? What if an employee goes to work for one of your competitors?
As you can see it can be quite a burden to have employees working for your business. With an affiliate business you can run the business without hired help. Not only does this save you a lot of money, but it also eliminates risks associated with having employees on your payroll.

The Benefits of Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing? What's in it for me? I'm glad you asked. Here is a summary of just a few of the benefits you can experience as an affiliate:

Flexibility - Business on your terms
Perhaps the #1 benefit for affiliates is flexibility. I haven't had to punch a clock, report to a boss, or sit in rush-hour traffic since I quit my day job and became a full-time affiliate. I take vacations whenever I want. I never miss my kid's school or sporting events. And I've never been happier!

Money - The only limit on your earning potential is you Almost as nice as the flexibility, is the money. I don't consider it easy money; I've worked hard for every dollar I've earned. However, I'm in control of what I make! When you own an affiliate business you're in the driver's seat. If you need to make more money,
you just spend more time working on your affiliate business.

The nice thing about earning money from an affiliate business is that it can be residual. Wait! What do I mean by residual? It means that my websites make money even when I'm not working on them. This frees me up to build more money-making websites, which also earn residual income. As you can see this has a multiplying effect. In the last 2 years I have developed over 100 websites that have helped me to earn a substantial monthly
income. For the most part, these websites are self-sustaining. If I take a week off and go on vacation my affiliate websites are still making money.

My affiliate websites are not 100% maintenance free. However, I only have to spend a minimal amount of time each month maintaining them. This maintenance is mostly just reviewing reports and trying to determine ways to earn more money.

Low Start-Up Costs - You don't have to mortgage your house to launch an affiliate business
The costs associated with starting up a typical brick and mortar business range from tens of thousands of dollars, to millions of dollars. This presents a huge obstacle for most aspiring entrepreneurs. Even starting your own e-commerce website can be expensive and difficult.

You can launch a quality affiliate website that can start generating instant cash for just a few hundred dollars, even if you have little or no experience developing websites.

No Employees - Unless you count yourself One of the biggest challenges facing business owners today is finding and managing good employees. Employees can cost a business a lot of money. When you add up the cost of an employee's salary, benefits, and other entitlements, it can add up quickly!
There are also hidden costs associated with having employees. Consider the costs of unemployment if you have to lay off an employee. Consider the liability if an employee gets hurt on the job. What if an employee sues you for wrongful termination? What if an employee goes to work for one of your competitors?
As you can see it can be quite a burden to have employees working for your business. With an affiliate business you can run the business without hired help. Not only does this save you a lot of money, but it also eliminates risks associated with having employees on your payroll.