Affiliate marketing is one of the smartest ways to make passive income online without having to create a product, build an inventory, or spend a lot of money. This guide is the answer to your questions about affiliate marketing, including what it is and how to find the best affiliate marketing websites like Amazon and Flipkart.
You’ll learn exactly how to start affiliate marketing, discover top programs like Amazon affiliate marketing and Flipkart affiliate marketing, and explore beginner-friendly tools, tips, and strategies.
Let’s first cover the agenda points.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Digital marketing includes affiliate marketing. It is a type of performance-based marketing in which a corporation pays one or more affiliates for each visitor or client brought in by the affiliate’s marketing activities.
In affiliate marketing, a company (also known as the merchant or advertiser) works with one or more affiliates (also known as publishers or partners) to promote their products or services. Affiliates promote the merchant’s products via a unique affiliate link that is tracked by affiliate program software. The affiliate earns a commission when a customer clicks on the affiliate link and purchases anything.
The commission rate and conditions of the agreement between the merchant and the affiliate are agreed upon in advance and can vary depending on the product or service being sold, the commission rate given, and the success of the particular affiliate.
Affiliate marketing is a low-cost technique for merchants to attract new consumers because affiliates are only paid for actual sales or leads created. Affiliates profit from receiving a commission on each sale they generate, and they may advocate things that they believe in, building the trust and credibility of their brand.
Finally, affiliate marketing benefits both the merchant and the affiliate, since the retailer acquires new consumers while the affiliate earns a reward for their efforts.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?
To know what affiliate marketing is, imagine this: it’s a contemporary referral system in which you get paid a commission for promoting products or services online. You do not have to create the product or deal with the shipping. Your role involves traffic and sales generation.
Here is the complete guide to affiliate marketing, including Amazon affiliate marketing, Flipkart affiliate marketing, and others.
1. A Merchant Launches an Affiliate Program
This process begins with a company (also known as the merchant or advertiser) that would like to sell more of its products. They devise an affiliate marketing strategy and ask others to help sell their products.
Examples:
- Amazon Associates (the official Amazon affiliate marketing program)
- The Flipkart Affiliate Program
- Software companies and course platforms, brands, fashion
2. You Sign Up as an Affiliate Marketer
As an affiliate user (the publisher), you will need to register with the merchant’s program or through an affiliate marketing portal, including ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, Amazon, and Flipkart, to become an affiliate.
Upon acceptance, you are assigned an affiliate link for every product or service that you intend to advertise.
- Amazon Affiliate Marketing Program (Amazon Associates)
Imagine you register for free, choose any product on Amazon, and give your unique link to others. If someone clicks your link and purchases the product, you receive a small commission without investing even a single rupee or making any delivery.
- Flipkart Affiliate Program
It is as simple as Amazon’s. You earn money promoting Flipkart products with your special link. When someone clicks and buys, you earn a commission easily. No stock, no shipping, just clever promotion.
3. You Promote the Product or Service Online
All your marketing skills come into play here. You can market your affiliate links through:
- Blogs or niche websites
- YouTube videos
- Social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter)
- Email newsletters
- Paid ads
Ensure your content is valuable, informative, and credible; that’s the way you establish authority and receive clicks.
4. A Customer Clicks on Your Link
When a customer clicks your affiliate link, they are taken to the merchant site (such as Amazon or Flipkart). The affiliate program employs cookies to monitor their activity, so even if they buy days later, you could earn a commission.
This is why selecting reputable affiliate marketing sites with solid tracking systems is important.
5. A Sale is Made — You Get Paid
When the customer buys (or does something else you want them to do, such as filling out a form), you receive a commission. How much depends on the product or product category and the structure of the affiliate program.
For instance:
- Amazon affiliate marketing generally pays 1–10% commission per product category.
- Flipkart affiliate marketing is also structured with tiers of commissions.
6. You Track, Optimize, and Scale
With affiliate tracking software or analytics tools, you can track which links and campaigns are performing well. From there, you can optimize your content, target market, and traffic sources to boost conversions and commissions.
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Who is an Affiliate Marketer?
An affiliate marketer is a person who promotes other people’s products and earns a commission for each sale made through their unique referral link. They do this by promoting the product through a website, blog, social media, or other means, and then earning a percentage of the sale price when a customer clicks through their link and makes a purchase.
- Anybody with an online presence can be an affiliate marketer. Some common affiliate marketing platforms are
- Website owners employing banners and links
- Bloggers creating content around a niche
- YouTubers product reviewing
- Social media influencers promoting affiliate products
How to Start Affiliate Marketing in 2025
The following actions are required to become an affiliate marketer:
- Choose a product or service to promote: Choose something about which you are informed and enthusiastic.
- Advertising: Look for firms that provide affiliate programs for the product or service you wish to advertise.
- Sign up and apply to be an affiliate: Sign up and apply to be an affiliate for the program you’ve chosen.
- Make a website or a blog: Create a platform to market the items or services with which you are associated.
- Get visitors to visit your website by doing the following: To generate visitors to your website, use techniques such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media, and content marketing.
- Include affiliate connections on your website: Add tracking links to your website to track clicks and sales.
- Target Audience: Use your website or blog to market the product or service to your target audience.
- Track your achievements: Track your revenue and performance using affiliate tracking software.
- Improve your approach: Evaluate and adjust your plan on a regular basis to improve your outcomes.
- Networking: Network with other affiliates to benefit from their experiences and gain fresh ideas.
Affiliate marketing tools are software and platforms that assist affiliate marketers in promoting and tracking the performance of their affiliate campaigns.
Affiliate marketing is a kind of performance-based marketing in which affiliates are compensated for promoting the products or services of a merchant. The affiliate receives a commission for each sale generated by their marketing efforts.
Affiliates and merchants can use these tools to streamline and improve their affiliate marketing programs, resulting in better outcomes and higher income. Some of the most commonly used affiliate marketing tools include-
These platforms provide a central location for affiliates to access and manage their affiliate links, including tracking and reporting functionality.
Some affiliate marketing link management examples include
2. Affiliate Tracking Software
This software helps track the performance of affiliate campaigns and provides insights into conversions, clicks, and sales.
Examples of affiliate tracking software in affiliate marketing are:
- LinkTrust
- AffTrack
- Hitpath
3. Affiliate Marketing Networks
These networks act as intermediaries between affiliates and merchants, providing affiliates with access to a large number of products and services to promote.
Examples of Affiliate Marketing Networks-
- ShareASale
- AWIN
- CJ Affiliate
These platforms offer a complete solution for affiliate marketing, including link management, tracking, reporting, and payment processing.
Examples include-
- eBay Partner Network (EPN)
- FlexOffers
- JVZoo
These tools help automate routine tasks such as email marketing, social media posts, and other promotional activities.
Examples of marketing automation tools include-
These platforms handle the financial transactions between affiliates, merchants, and customers.
Example of Payment Processing Platforms-
- Amazon Pay
- Google Pay
- Apple Pay
These tools provide detailed reports and analytics on the performance of affiliate campaigns, including conversion rates, revenue, and more.
Examples of Reporting and Analytics Tools
- SAP Crystal Reports
- Jaspersoft Reporting
- Zoho Analytics
8. Landing Page Builders
These tools help affiliates create effective landing pages for their campaigns, optimizing them for conversion.
Examples of Landing Page Builders-
- ActiveCampaign for Marketing
- Sendinblue
- Wix
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Your success depends on your choice of affiliate marketing platform. The top affiliate marketing platforms and websites that will dominate the market in 2025 are listed below:
| Affiliate Program |
Commission Rate |
Payment Method |
| Amazon Associates |
1% – 10% |
Direct deposit, gift card, check |
| Flipkart Affiliate Program |
Varies by category |
Bank transfer |
| ShareASale |
Merchant-defined |
Check, direct deposit, Payoneer |
| CJ Affiliate |
Merchant-defined |
Direct deposit, Payoneer |
| AWIN |
Merchant-defined |
Direct deposit |
| eBay Partner Network (EPN) |
Revenue share model |
PayPal |
| FlexOffers |
Campaign-specific |
Bank transfer, PayPal |
If you are a beginner and planning to indulge in affiliate marketing, watch our video:
Conclusion
Affiliate marketing is not a trend; it is one of the strongest means of generating passive income online in 2025. Possessing the correct information can make all the difference when it comes to selling goods through affiliate marketing on Amazon, Flipkart, or any of the top affiliate marketing platforms.
So, stop wondering what affiliate marketing is and get started. Check out leading affiliate marketing sites, choose your niche, and launch your journey. It might only take one click to earn your first commission.