What is an affiliate?

Last Updated on: September 5, 2023

First.. let us start at the beginning.

An affiliate recommends a product and takes a commission (or reward) if a sale is made.

An affiliate is an online version of a car salesman. And, just like real-life salesmen, affiliates are sometimes treated with suspicion and contempt.

Sometimes, rightly so.

Many affiliates will do everything they can to push a sale. That means being dishonest, being pushy and betraying the trust of their audience.

But some affiliates, just like some salesmen, put the customer first. They are experts at helping their audience, giving them the right information, engaging them properly and supporting them after purchase.

These affiliates become the most successful.

An affiliate and his customer, as imagined by Midjourney in an Art Deco style.

Don’t get me wrong… becoming a successful affiliate requires you to be persuasive, find ways to maximise sales from every customer and know how to turn someone who is vaguely interested into an enthusiastic buyer.

But that doesn’t mean you have to be dishonest. You can still keep two strong principles at heart:

  1. Recommend products that you believe in, would use yourself, and think will genuinely benefit your customers
    Your belief in the product shines through to your audience. You might be able to fool some people, but most will know when you don’t really think the product is good.
  2. Make sure your customers are happy before, during and after a sale
    Putting your customers first is not just about being altruistic. Making sure they are happy at all stages of the sales process will increase conversions and make it more likely your customer will take your next recommendation.

When being an affiliate, and just like in any business, creating a win/win is the ultimate goal.


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