Affiliate Marketing: How It Works, Types, Examples, and Pros & Cons

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based business model where affiliates earn commissions by promoting a merchant's products through their own marketing channels. This comprehensive guide covers how affiliate marketing works through a 9-step process, the three main types (unattached, involved, and related), popular programs like Amazon Associates, ClickBank, and ShareASale, along with the key advantages including low startup costs and passive income potential, and challenges such as high competition and income variability.