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Methods of advertising have been around for centuries, but with the invention of the Internet, new tactics like affiliate marketing have begun to take off. Although affiliate marketing’s history is a little suspicious (It first began as a method of advertising by the online adult entertainment industry) it has now become an official hit with bloggers and businesses alike.

You’ve probably seen affiliate marketing – ads placed above or below the actual text of a site, sometimes having nothing to do with the information on the page. Some have pictures, and some are just text – but all will directly link you to their product if you’ll just “Click Here!” You might wonder why someone would clog up their blog with ads – but what you should know is, there’s something in it for the blogger if you click. Usually, it’s just a penny or two, but those pennies can add up if you click and shop enough off your favorite blogger’s site.

At its core, affiliate marketing is a simple approach to reaching customers. A marketing host like a blogger places an advertising company’s website link on their blog’s website. Every time a viewer visits the link hosted on the blogger’s site and makes the agreed-upon transaction (such as buying a product) the blogger receives payment. It can be a simple way for a blogger to turn a profit from their site without actually selling anything– but most advertisers pay only pennies per click. In an effort to try and increase their profits, most hosts place several links on their page.

The main appeal of affiliate marketing to advertisers is the guarantee of results. Instead of companies paying for advertising techniques that don’t necessarily grant results, they now only pay for actual customers. With older, traditional advertising methods, advertisers paid for the opportunity to market to a particular demographic, which wasn’t always effective. For example, it’s doubtful that everyone watching commercials during a football game would want every product advertised, even if they all like football. But with affiliate marketing, advertisers pay ONLY for results. They are now able to tighten up budgets by only paying for advertising that is reaching their targeted customer – without spending tons of cash marketing to those who aren’t interested. If someone doesn’t want their product, they simply won’t click on the link – and the company hasn’t lost a dime trying to sell them something they didn’t want. Additionally, affiliate marketing pays a much smaller amount for much bigger results – instead of spending millions for an ad to run on television once, advertisers can pay pennies to bloggers – meaning a much bigger bottom line. And a bonus paycheck for bloggers, too!