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Affiliate Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ever since the 4-Hour Workweek was released, everyone seems to have the same goal.

To wake up in the morning, open their laptop, and look at something like this:

Passive income.

That’s the dream, right?

Make money while you sleep.

For 99% of people, affiliate marketing is how they get started.

The idea behind it is that you promote other people’s products, often through an affiliate network, earning a commission if people actually end up buying thanks to your marketing.

It’s based on revenue sharing. If you have a product and want to sell more, you can offer promoters a financial incentive through an affiliate program. If you have no product and want to make money, then you can promote a product that you feel has value and earn an income from it as an affiliate marketer.

I’ve talked a little about it before, but today I want to dive deeper into what affiliate marketing actually is, what sides there are to it, and how to get started.  So, let’s dive into my affiliate marketing guide.  Ready?

Definitions

The best definition of what affiliate marketing is can be found on Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income:

Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products. You find a product you like, promote it to others and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make.

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What is Ecommerce?

Ecommerce, also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions. Ecommerce is often used to refer to the sale of physical products online, but it can also describe any kind of commercial transaction that is facilitated through the internet.

Whereas e-business refers to all aspects of operating an online business, ecommerce refers specifically to the transaction of goods and services.

The history of ecommerce begins with the first ever online sale: on the August 11, 1994 a man sold a CD by the band Sting to his friend through his website NetMarket, an American retail platform. This is the first example of a consumer purchasing a product from a business through the World Wide Web—or “ecommerce” as we commonly know it today.

Since then, ecommerce has evolved to make products easier to discover and purchase through online retailers and marketplaces.  Independent freelancers, small businesses, and large corporations have all benefited from ecommerce, which enables them to sell their goods and services at a scale that was not possible with traditional offline retail.

Global retail ecommerce sales are projected to reach $27 trillion by 2020.

Types of Ecommerce Models

There are four main types of ecommerce models that can describe almost every transaction that takes place between consumers and businesses.

1. Business to Consumer (B2C):

When a business sells a good or service to an individual consumer (e.g. You buy a pair of shoes from an online retailer).

2. Business to Business (B2B):

When a business sells a good or service to another business (e.g. A business sells software-as-a-service for other businesses to use)  

3. Consumer to Consumer (C2C):

When a consumer sells a good or service to another consumer (e.g. You sell your old furniture on eBay to another consumer).

4. Consumer to Business (C2B):

When a consumer sells their own products or services to a business or organization (e.g. An influencer offers exposure to their online audience in exchange for a fee, or a photographer licenses their photo for a business to use).

Examples of Ecommerce

Ecommerce can take on a variety of forms involving different transactional relationships between businesses and consumers, as well as different objects being exchanged as part of these transactions.

1. Retail:

The sale of a product by a business directly to a customer without any intermediary.

2. Wholesale:

The sale of products in bulk, often to a retailer that then sells them directly to consumers.

3. Dropshipping:

The sale of a product, which is manufactured and shipped to the consumer by a third party.

4. Crowdfunding:

The collection of money from consumers in advance of a product being available in order to raise the startup capital necessary to bring it to market.

5. Subscription:

The automatic recurring purchase of a product or service on a regular basis until the subscriber chooses to cancel.

6. Physical products:

Any tangible good that requires inventory to be replenished and orders to be physically shipped to customers as sales are made.

7. Digital products:

Downloadable digital goods, templates, and courses, or media that must be purchased for consumption or licensed for use.

8. Services:

A skill or set of skills provided in exchange for compensation. The service provider’s time can be purchased for a fee.

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Esurance Insurance Services, Inc. is an American insurance company. It sells auto, home, motorcycle, and renters insurance direct to consumers online and by phone. Its primary competitors are other direct personal insurance writers, mainly GEICO and Progressive. Founded in 1999, the company was acquired by Allstate in 2011.

Esurance Insurance Services, Inc.TypeSubsidiaryIndustryInsuranceFounded1999HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, United States

Key people

Jonathan Adkisson, PresidentProductsInsuranceRevenue$1.028 Billion USD (2012)ParentFolksamerica Holding Co.

(2000–2011)

Allstate (2011–present)Websitewww.esurance.com

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Esurance Insurance Services, Inc. is an American insurance company. It sells auto, home, motorcycle, and renters insurance direct to consumers online and by phone. Its primary competitors are other direct personal insurance writers, mainly GEICO and Progressive. Founded in 1999, the company was acquired by Allstate in 2011.

Esurance Insurance Services, Inc.TypeSubsidiaryIndustryInsuranceFounded1999HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, United States

Key people

Jonathan Adkisson, PresidentProductsInsuranceRevenue$1.028 Billion USD (2012)ParentFolksamerica Holding Co.

(2000–2011)

Allstate (2011–present)Websitewww.esurance.com

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Articles

Ecommerce

Ecommerce has evolved in many ways since its start, and it’s changing the way we live, shop and do business. Let’s dive into the history and the future of ecommerce.

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What is Ecommerce?

Ecommerce (or electronic commerce) is the buying and selling of goods (or services) on the internet. It encompasses a wide variety of data, systems, and tools for online buyers and sellers, including mobile shopping and online payment encryption.

Most businesses with an ecommerce presence use an ecommerce store and/or an ecommerce platform to conduct online marketing and sales activities and to oversee logistics and fulfillment.

I'm ready to start building or already have my own ecommerce store.

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I have questions and would like guidance from an ecommerce expert.

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To fully understand ecommerce, let’s take a look at its history, growth and impact on the business world. We will also discuss some advantages and disadvantages to ecommerce, plus predictions for the future.

Types of Ecommerce

Generally, there are six main models of ecommerce that businesses can be categorized into:

B2C.

B2B.

C2C.

C2B.

B2A.

C2A.

Let’s review each type of electronic commerce in a bit more detail.

1. Business-to-Consumer (B2C).

B2C ecommerce encompasses transactions made between a business and a consumer. B2C is one of the most popular sales models in the ecommerce context. For example, when you buy shoes from an online shoe retailer, it’s a business-to-consumer transaction.

2. Business-to-Business (B2B).

Unlike B2C, B2B ecommerce encompasses sales made between businesses, such as a manufacturer and a wholesaler or retailer. B2B is not consumer-facing and happens only between businesses.

Business-to-business sales often focus on raw materials or products that are repackaged before being sold to customers.

3. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C).

C2C is one of the earliest forms of ecommerce. Customer-to-customer relates to the sale of products or services between customers. This includes C2C selling relationships, such as those seen on eBay or Amazon.

4. Consumer-to-Business (C2B).

C2B reverses the traditional ecommerce model, meaning individual consumers make their products or services available for business buyers.

For example, the iStockPhoto business model in which stock photos are available online for purchase directly from different photographers.

5. Business-to-Administration (B2A).

B2A covers the transactions made between online businesses and administrations. An example would be the products and services related to legal documents, social security, etc.

6. Consumer-to-Administration (C2A).

C2A is similar to B2A, but consumers sell online products or services to an administration. C2A might include online consulting for education, online tax preparation, etc.

B2A and C2A are focused on increased efficiency within the government via the support of information technology.

History of Ecommerce

Ecommerce was introduced about 40 years ago in its earliest form.

Since then, electronic commerce has helped countless businesses grow with the help of new technologies, improvements in internet connectivity, added security with payment gateways, and widespread consumer and business adoption.

Ecommerce Timeline

1969: CompuServe is founded.

Founded by electrical engineering students Dr. John R. Goltz and Jeffrey Wilkins, early CompuServe technology was built utilizing a dial-up connection.

In the 1980s, CompuServe introduced some of the earliest forms of email and internet connectivity to the public and dominated the ecommerce landscape through the mid-1990s.

1979: Michael Aldrich invents electronic shopping.

English inventor Michael Aldrich introduced electronic shopping by connecting a modified TV to a transaction-processing computer via telephone line.

This made it possible for closed information systems to be opened and shared by outside parties for secure data transmission — and the technology became the foundation for modern ecommerce.

1982: Boston Computer Exchange launches.

When Boston Computer Exchange launched, it was the world’s first ecommerce company.

Its primary function was to serve as an online market for people interested in selling their used computers.

1992: Book Stacks Unlimited launches as first online book marketplace.

Charles M. Stack introduced Book Stacks Unlimited as an online bookstore. Originally, the company used the dial-up bulletin board format. However, in 1994 the site switched to the internet and operated from the Books.com domain.

1994: Netscape Navigator launches as a web browser.

Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark co-created Netscape Navigator as a web browsing tool. During the 1990s, Netscape Navigator became the primary web browser on the Windows platform, before the rise of modern giants like Google.

1995: Amazon launch.

Jeff Bezos introduced Amazon primarily as an ecommerce platform for books.

1998: PayPal launches as an ecommerce payment system.

Originally introduced as Confinity by founders Max Levhin, Peter Thiel, Like Nosek and Ken Howery, PayPal made its appearance on the ecommerce stage as a money transfer tool.

By 2000, it would merge with Elon Musk’s online banking company and begin its rise to fame and popularity.

1999: Alibaba launches.

Alibaba Online launched as an online marketplace with more than $25 million in funding. By 2001, the company was profitable. It went on to turn into a major B2B, C2C, and B2C platform that’s widely used today.

2000: Google introduces Google AdWords as an online advertising tool.

Google Adwords was introduced as a way for ecommerce businesses to advertise to people using Google search.

With the help of short-text ad copy and display URLs, online retailers began using the tool in a pay-per-click (PPC) context. PPC advertising efforts are separate from search engine optimization (SEO).

2004: Shopify launches.

After trying to open an online snowboarding equipment shop, Tobias Lütke and Scott Lake launched Shopify. It’s an ecommerce platform for online stores and point-of-sale systems.

2005: Amazon introduces Amazon Prime membership.

Amazon launched Amazon Prime as a way for customers to get free two-day shipping for a flat annual fee.

The membership also came to include other perks like discounted one-day shipping and access to streaming services like Amazon Video and members-only events like “Prime Day.”

This strategic move helped boost customer loyalty and incentivize repeat purchases. Today, free shipping and speed of delivery are the most common requests from online consumers.

2005: Etsy launches.

Etsy launched, allowing crafters and smaller sellers to sell products (including digital products) through an online marketplace. This brought the makers community online — expanding their reach to a 24/7 buying audience.

2009: BigCommerce launches.

Eddie Machaalani and Mitchell Harper co-founded BigCommerce as a 100% bootstrapped ecommerce storefront platform. 

Since 2009, more than $25 billion merchant sales have been processed through the platform, and the company now has headquarters in Austin, San Francisco and Sydney.

2011: Google Wallet introduced as a digital payment method.

Google Walletwas introduced as a peer-to-peer payment service that enabled individuals to send and receive money from a mobile device or desktop computer.

By linking the digital wallet to a debit card or bank account, users can pay for products or services via these devices.

Today, Google Wallet has joined with Android Pay for what is now known as Google Pay.

2011: Facebook rolls out sponsored stories as a form of early advertising.

Facebook’s early advertising opportunities were offered to Business Page owners via sponsored stories. With these paid campaigns, ecommerce businesses could reach specific audiences and get in the news feeds of different target audiences.

2011: Stripe launches.

Stripe is a payment processing company built originally for developers. It was founded by John and Patrick Collison.

2014: Apple Pay introduced as a mobile payment method.

As online shoppers began using their mobile devices more frequently, Apple introduced Apple Pay, which allowed users to pay for products or services with an Apple device.

2014: Jet.com launches.

Jet.com was founded by entrepreneur Marc Lore (who sold his previous company, Diapers.com, to Amazon.com) along with Mike Hanrahan and Nate Faust.

The company competes with Costco and Sam’s Club, catering to folks looking for the lowest possible pricing for longer shipping times and bulk ordering.