Affiliate marketing is spelled with the emphasis on the second syllable, "af-fil-i-ate mar-ket-ing." The first syllable is pronounced with the short "a" sound, like "cat." The second and third syllables are pronounced with a brief "i" sound, like "sit." The fourth syllable is stressed, and is pronounced with the long "a" sound, like "day." The final two syllables are pronounced with the short "i" sound, like "hit." This well-known marketing strategy is spelled using the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈfɪliət ˈmɑrkɪtɪŋ/.
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy in which individuals or businesses earn a commission for promoting or selling another company's products or services. It is a mutually beneficial agreement between an affiliate (also known as the publisher) and the company (also known as the merchant or advertiser).
In affiliate marketing, an affiliate promotes the products or services of the merchant through various marketing techniques such as blog posts, social media content, email marketing, or website banners. They provide unique referral links or affiliate codes that track the traffic and sales generated by their promotional efforts.
When a consumer clicks on the affiliate's link and makes a purchase or completes a desired action, such as signing up for a newsletter or filling out a form, the affiliate earns a predetermined commission or reward. The commission can be a percentage of the sale value or a fixed amount per action.
This marketing model offers benefits for both the affiliate and the merchant. Affiliates can earn passive income by leveraging their online presence and audience, while merchants can expand their reach through a network of affiliates without investing in traditional advertising channels. Affiliate marketing is widely used in e-commerce, as it provides a cost-effective way for companies to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to their websites, and boost sales.
The word "affiliate" originated from the Latin word "affiliatus", which means "adopted as a son" or "adopted into a family". It later developed in English to refer to someone or something closely associated with or connected to another.
The term "marketing" comes from the Latin word "mercatus", meaning "marketplace" or "trading". It originally referred to the activities involved in buying and selling goods or services in a market.
"Affiliate marketing" is a compound term that combines "affiliate" with "marketing". In the context of online marketing, affiliate marketing refers to a performance-based marketing model where individuals or businesses (affiliates) promote products or services of another company (merchant) and receive a commission for each sale or customer referral made through their own marketing efforts.