Referral marketing has been around for hundreds of years. In the pre-internet days, you might have gone to networking events and handed out business cards. The hope was that you could help a fellow participant by giving them a lead that would result in a purchase. The partner you helped with the lead will return the favor. In a sense, referral marketing was a value exchange that could be summed up as “you help me and I’ll help you.”
However, there was still a lot of opportunity. You didn’t believe that the cards and leads you gave out would be of any mutual benefit to those you helped. There was no easy way to track when purchases were made and the sources of those purchases.
The Internet changed everything. Now there was an easy-to-use tracking mechanism (cookie) that could show you when a purchase was made, who it was for, and the affiliate commission due to the referrer.
William Tobin, founder of PC Flowers and Gifts, was the first Internet affiliate marketer. He started the PC Flowers and Gifts affiliate program in 1989. He was granted a patent for the idea in 2000. Amazon’s affiliate program began in 1996 and quickly grew in size and importance.
Value exchange on the Internet is the same as it was with networking events and business cards. A blogger or website owner shows you a new product, helps you explain a problem you encountered in a post, or convinces you to buy a program. To return the favor, the affiliate marketer is hoping you’ll make a purchase through one of his referral links. The price for a buyer purchasing through an affiliate link is exactly the same as if they had gone directly to the manufacturer.
When we visit websites and they give us solutions to problems we’re having or otherwise help us, we want to reciprocate and help them. We do this by purchasing through their affiliate links.
Whether you realize it or not, practically every blogger, every celebrity, every website, and every company on the internet today is an affiliate marketer. They are all making money day after day from this largely passive means of earning extra income. See that ad on your favorite movie star’s blog? Click on it, and if it’s a pay-per-click ad, your star gets paid. See that link at the end of their recommendation? Click on it, and if you make a purchase, they get paid. There are also campaigns that are sent via email or social media. Click on the ad or make the purchase, and in most cases someone gets paid. See those links on someone’s Facebook or other social media page? Trust us; someone is getting paid, and you may as well join the crowd and start discovering how to earn your share.
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