Affiliate marketing is performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates on an agreed action through the affiliates own marketing efforts.

In the most basic terms, affiliate marketing is a shared revenue system where each party earns income every time a successful transaction is made. When a customer completes a purchase driven by the affiliate, the affiliate earns a commission, if no sale is made, then no commission is paid.

Like general marketing, strategy and expertise determine the success of a campaign or project. Most commonly, multiple platforms such as email marketing and PPC are used to promote a certain message or product. Collaboration with individuals such as social media influencers and journalists help to raise awareness of a product or brand and draw in potential customers. Affiliate marketing uses the same strategy and nuance but connects brands, retailers, and content creators with a specialist network.

Within this course we will expand on these terms, the network, process, and types of players who are part of the affiliate marketing mix.