What is Affiliate Marketing Doing For You?
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, “What is affiliate marketing doing for me?” In all likelihood, it’s probably given you a lot of frustration, a ton of gray hairs, and a new appreciation for a steady paycheck. If you’re successful, though, you’ve probably realized the amazing perks of doing well in this industry. Since it can be hard to stay motivated through the frustrating early months (or even years), consider all that you can get when you finally find success:
- Freedom – There’s nothing better than losing that Sunday night feeling of dread when the weekend is almost over.
- Income - When you’re working for a boss, you can give 50% or 300%, but you’re never going to get the full benefit of your efforts. If you bring your company an extra $1000, how much of that are you actually going to see personally? It’s nice to work for yourself and enjoy the full fruits of your labor (well, minus Uncle Sam’s cut, anyway).
- Swag – When successful affiliates go to conferences, networks shower them with silly gifts.
- Free Dinners - Decent affiliates can usually swing a free meal at an event like Affiliate Summit, or even just a trip into the hometown of a network they’ve worked with.
- Free Trips - The best affiliates don’t have to pay to get to conferences – their networks foot the bill.
- Contests – When you’re a top affiliate, you can enter network contests with confidence and walk away with huge bonuses to your normal commissions.
- Free Products – Physical products merchants are often very willing to send free review products or gift cards to their top affiliates.
Of course, any affiliate making a ton of money is probably beyond the silly financial rewards and swag – but it’s still fun to feel loved 
What kind of perks have you gotten from your affiliate efforts? Let us know in the comments!