Affiliate Marketing 101: Understanding the Basics and Maximizing Earnings Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's own marketing efforts. It is a way for businesses to reach new customers and drive sales without the need for large advertising budgets. The basics of affiliate marketing involve a business, an affiliate, and a customer. The business, also known as the advertiser, creates a product or service and wants to promote it to potential customers. The affiliate, also known as the publisher, agrees to promote the product or service on their website or social media channels. When a customer clicks on the affiliate's link and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a commission. Affiliate marketing is a win-win situation for both the business and the affiliate. The business gets more visibility and sales, while the affiliate earns money for promoti...