One of the most effective ways to monetize a website is through affiliate marketing. The basic premise is that a site advertises a specific product or service, and gets paid based on a desired action (a purchase or sign up for example). It makes sense for advertisers because they only pay for advertising when they get exactly what they want (not just eyeballs). It makes sense for website owners, because they get rewarded for putting the right products in front of the right audiences. And it even works for web surfers, since they get to see more relevant (and less annoying) advertising.

In fact, a lot of our revenue comes from affiliate marketing. If you buy from Amazon after clicking one of our links, we get a percentage of the purchase. If you buy men’s clothing from Bonobos using my invite link (which gives you $25 off your first purchase), I get a credit in my account. If you’re interested in a career in teaching and sign up to learn more about the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, we get a referral fee. And if you use our job search engine, we get a cut of any ad revenue generated. On some sites it causes disclosure issues, but I always try to be upfront about what relationships we have, and I only work with companies that I trust to take good care of you. I spend a lot of time finding the right affiliates for the One Day, One Job audience, but some website owners need a simpler solution. That’s where VigLink comes in. They’re a San Francisco, CA based company that automates the process of finding and implementing affiliate marketing opportunities.

Affiliate with VigLink

Enrolling in affiliate marketing programs can be a painful process. You have to search for the right programs, apply to them, fill out all kinds of documentation and tax forms if you get accepted (and it’s not uncommon to get rejected), and then figure out how you’re going to work the affiliate links into your site (a process that can take many hours if you have lots of links that you want to add). VigLink offers a software product that does this all automatically. Once you’re accepted as a VigLink publisher, they automatically make links that you already have on your site into affiliate links. They work with a ton of big names, so you’re automatically enrolled in any program that VigLink is enrolled in. They take 25% of your commissions, but it’s not a bad deal if you’re not willing to spend the time to do all of the affiliate marketing your stuff. This is also great for advertisers because they get a much larger network of affiliates by working with VigLink.

It’s a really cool business, and I imagine that it’s going to keep growing as more and more website owners realize how effective affiliate marketing can be for monetizing their sites. If you’re interested in what VigLink is doing, check out their Jobs page (this is not an affiliate link, but they do have a referral program, so you can tell them that we sent you). Right now they’re looking for a Sales/Business Development Associate. The position looks great for a new or recent grad, so give it a look. I bet they’d also like to hear from you if you have strong Web Development skills.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• VigLink.com
• Jobs at VigLink
• About VigLink
• VigLink’s FAQ
• VigLink News
• VigLink’s Blog

What do you know about affiliate marketing?

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