Affiliate marketing is one of the most well-known ways to earn money on the internet today. In summary, it functions as partnerships that pay commissions for the sales of a particular product or service. You can promote them on your website, social media, or through advertisements, in the way you prefer, as long as you are previously an affiliate of that producer or supplier and follow the defined rules. Some selected products require approval for you to gain access to selling them, while others allow you to become an affiliate instantly.

One of the biggest advantages of participating in affiliate programs is that you can start generating passive income without the need to create a brand, a company, or a stock from scratch. You simply look for a certain existing product or service that you believe in and promote it to more people.

How Does the Commission Structure Work?

Affiliate links use cookies that remain in users’ browsers for a certain period. Consequently, the affiliate marketer will receive a commission if the user takes the desired purchasing action while the cookie is still valid in their browser.

Vendor networks typically define a specific percentage for the commission rate you will receive and monitor each sale made through your affiliate link.

These links track the IP addresses of users directed to the vendor’s site through the affiliate’s referral and validate purchases and conversions. This type of method is known as Pay-per-sale and is one of the most commonly used today. In this method, the affiliate or website owner is paid based on the number of sales generated directly through the affiliate’s referral link.

It’s worth noting that commissions can also be earned not just from actual sales but also by how effectively you can direct a customer to the vendor’s site through your affiliate link. This method is known as Pay-per-click.

There is also the Pay-per-lead method, where commissions are paid every time the affiliate can convert the customer into taking a specific action on the vendor’s site, such as downloading a file or submitting a form, among others.

Which Platform to Choose for Affiliate Marketing?

In general, choosing the best affiliate program can be challenging because there are dozens of options available in the market. With that in mind, we’ve gathered the top 5 programs focused on digital marketing to help you save time on your research.

Since affiliate marketing is a performance-based business model, it’s important to join a platform that values you and offers products closely aligned with your target audience. Here are the options:

• Hotmart: It facilitates the sale of digital products and is one of the pioneers in the field. You can create and host your product on the site and start selling it directly, through co-production, or as an affiliate. Both the product creator and the affiliate receive a commission, while Hotmart charges 9.9% + R$1.00 (one Brazilian real) for products that cost more than R$10.
• Ticto: To access products available for affiliation (or production) on Ticto, you need to create a login and password in advance. To become a Ticto affiliate, you simply register and activate your account. The platform charges a fee of approximately 6.99% + R$1.00 per sale. Its key differentiator is its reliability and customer support, along with innovative features for users.
• Kiwify: The newest player in the market but highly relevant, Kiwify offers entrepreneurs a platform for selling digital services, mainly consulting and online courses. The platform charges a fee of 7.99% + R$2.49 per sale.
• Braip: Initially created for selling physical products and gradually moving into the online market. The fees are 9.90% of the transaction amount plus R$1.00 (one Brazilian real), and 6.99% exclusively for KAPSULA product creators, plus R$1.00 (one Brazilian real).
• Monetizze: In essence, Monetizze acts as an intermediary between consumers and producers, handling online payment transactions and offering marketing and metric tools, such as performance reports for promotional links, sales activities, and profit management. It’s a service geared toward freelancers and small businesses. Monetizze charges fees of 9.9% + R$1.00 (one Brazilian real) per transaction.

Now what? What’s the best option?

Well, there’s nothing stopping you from signing up for multiple platforms to understand how they work and whether they meet your practical needs.

Today, we provided a brief overview of the main platforms for intermediating digital/physical products. It’s up to you to choose the one you consider best based on fees, features, and if you’re an affiliate, which one offers the products you want to promote.

Experimenting with multiple platforms and observing which one aligns best with your goals can be a good strategy to find the right fit for your affiliate marketing endeavors.