The latest craze for those clever minded 'internauts' is free electronic goodies in the form of Christmas candy items such as iPhones, iPods, HDTV's, Playstation 3, Xbox 360s, digital cameras, Tomtoms etc. The type of goods listed reflects in no small part the target audience; young people who want the latest gizmos and gadgets and are web mobile. When affiliate marketing starts to catch on in the middle aged community and the silver surfers, expect the type of gifts offered to change substantially.
Affiliate Marketing - how it works
Affiliate marketing is a means of incentivising referrals to websites, a way to get people to get other people to sign up to trials. It might be an ad (like google adwords), or a promotional link banner through your website. It's a bit like a sales commission for doing work on their behalf. If you put a link to another website on your website and someone clicks through it and then signs up to that product or service, you will get paid a commission for bringing in customers. Normally, this is a fairly small amount, but in some cases the stakes are much higher
How do these sites make money and still give away iPhones and PS3s?
Because of the way that sites like kudosnetwork and freebiejeebies (see below) are structured. The reason they can give you so much more is that most everyone who signs up wants to get an iPhone for themselves, and so it's not just 18 referrals that you get, it's the 18 referrals that each of the 18 people that you referred go out and get. That's 324, and if all of those people want an iPhone, and get one, that's 5832 customers all for the cost of 19 iPhones paid out, and so on it goes. As you can see, in a very short space of time, the numbers of people, and hence the income grows exponentially, and they can afford to honour their promise.
Advertising is not cheap, and when the consumer is paid instead of the advertising company, it adds up to quite a lot of nice free 'stuff'. Of course they say 'free', but there is time involved although little or not money leaves the hands of the savvy. Hence the appeals to youngsters (who tend to have lots of the former and rather less of the latter).
How do the site owners make money?
Considerable amounts of money, of course. He needs you, however, to make the wheels turn - the reason he comes up with salivating prizes to get you off your bum selling on his behalf. You are charged with the job of working out which of your friends would be interested in such a scheme, and more importantly which of your friends wouldn't, and you keep pushing to reach your goal like a salesman after his bonus (iPhone). Meanwhile Mr. Site Owner sits there taking a commission for every sale her gets, and passes on a residual to you in the form of your gift. His marketing is clever, and as you can see, he is doing very well out of it.
But if everyone completed their referrals, would the site lose money?
In theory, if everyone achieved their referrals targets, got 18, or however many, people to sign up and claimed their free iPhones, the site might make a loss. But in practice, this never happens. Some sign up themselves then forget about it, some sign up a few people and then lose interest, These people have signed up and received nothing in return. There are many people who fall into this category. It all comes out in the wash. If it didn't, the number of referrals required per 'gift' would rise until the site was making money. The sites always make money. That's good news because it means you get paid too.
And don't the advertisers lose out when people cancel their free trial offers?
Possibly, if we were living in an ideal world, but people are people, and there's a finely balanced pool out there who all behave differently. Do differently it's almost predicable. Many will take out free trials and cancel them, many more will forget, and some will actually enjoy and use the service they signed up for. The companies who advertise get an opportunity to get you interested in their product, and if they win, they get a customer.
So does this affiliate marketing work?
Yes, absolutely, categorically, and for all parties involved. Is it free? Not completely, but if you are wily, it won't cost you a penny, just some time and some clever thinking. Find a list of people want a new iPhone themselves, and get them signed up ASAP.
The two main sites for UK, USA and Canada are Kudos Network and freebiejeebies Enjoy!
Affiliate Marketing - how it works
Affiliate marketing is a means of incentivising referrals to websites, a way to get people to get other people to sign up to trials. It might be an ad (like google adwords), or a promotional link banner through your website. It's a bit like a sales commission for doing work on their behalf. If you put a link to another website on your website and someone clicks through it and then signs up to that product or service, you will get paid a commission for bringing in customers. Normally, this is a fairly small amount, but in some cases the stakes are much higher
How do these sites make money and still give away iPhones and PS3s?
Because of the way that sites like kudosnetwork and freebiejeebies (see below) are structured. The reason they can give you so much more is that most everyone who signs up wants to get an iPhone for themselves, and so it's not just 18 referrals that you get, it's the 18 referrals that each of the 18 people that you referred go out and get. That's 324, and if all of those people want an iPhone, and get one, that's 5832 customers all for the cost of 19 iPhones paid out, and so on it goes. As you can see, in a very short space of time, the numbers of people, and hence the income grows exponentially, and they can afford to honour their promise.
Advertising is not cheap, and when the consumer is paid instead of the advertising company, it adds up to quite a lot of nice free 'stuff'. Of course they say 'free', but there is time involved although little or not money leaves the hands of the savvy. Hence the appeals to youngsters (who tend to have lots of the former and rather less of the latter).
How do the site owners make money?
Considerable amounts of money, of course. He needs you, however, to make the wheels turn - the reason he comes up with salivating prizes to get you off your bum selling on his behalf. You are charged with the job of working out which of your friends would be interested in such a scheme, and more importantly which of your friends wouldn't, and you keep pushing to reach your goal like a salesman after his bonus (iPhone). Meanwhile Mr. Site Owner sits there taking a commission for every sale her gets, and passes on a residual to you in the form of your gift. His marketing is clever, and as you can see, he is doing very well out of it.
But if everyone completed their referrals, would the site lose money?
In theory, if everyone achieved their referrals targets, got 18, or however many, people to sign up and claimed their free iPhones, the site might make a loss. But in practice, this never happens. Some sign up themselves then forget about it, some sign up a few people and then lose interest, These people have signed up and received nothing in return. There are many people who fall into this category. It all comes out in the wash. If it didn't, the number of referrals required per 'gift' would rise until the site was making money. The sites always make money. That's good news because it means you get paid too.
And don't the advertisers lose out when people cancel their free trial offers?
Possibly, if we were living in an ideal world, but people are people, and there's a finely balanced pool out there who all behave differently. Do differently it's almost predicable. Many will take out free trials and cancel them, many more will forget, and some will actually enjoy and use the service they signed up for. The companies who advertise get an opportunity to get you interested in their product, and if they win, they get a customer.
So does this affiliate marketing work?
Yes, absolutely, categorically, and for all parties involved. Is it free? Not completely, but if you are wily, it won't cost you a penny, just some time and some clever thinking. Find a list of people want a new iPhone themselves, and get them signed up ASAP.
The two main sites for UK, USA and Canada are Kudos Network and freebiejeebies Enjoy!
About the Author:
go to kudosnetwork AND freebiejeebies for additional information about how to start collecting your free gift. Also go to thebestthings.co.uk for additional tips and to make your affiliate selling additional successful.
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