Affiliate Marketing for Beginners: How It Actually Works Affiliate marketing is one of the most talked-about ways to make money online. You may have seen people recommending software, online courses, products, or services and wondered how they make money from those recommendations. The answer is often affiliate marketing . Affiliate marketing allows you to earn a commission by referring customers to another company's product or service. You don't have to create the product, handle inventory, or deal with most of the customer service. But affiliate marketing is not instant or guaranteed income. To succeed, you generally need three things: A useful offer + relevant content + targeted traffic. This beginner's guide explains how affiliate marketing works, how affiliates get paid, how to get started, and what beginners should realistically expect. What Is Affiliate Marketing? Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing model. A company or merchant gives an affiliate a...