Many organizations are making money from their web sites through affiliate links. We’ve all seen it, often in the form of a link from a web site to a book listed through Amazon. Click on the link and you find yourself in line to purchase the book. (For an example, check out the Minnesota Rural Partners book club page.)

For the visitor it can be a nice touch if the item and seller in question
are reputable, related to the content of the initiating site, and something he might be interested in purchasing. For the seller it can be a great way to get customers. For the linking site it can be an easy way to earn a commission.

Many online retailers and services offer sites commission for sending them customers through affiliate (aka associate) links. Generally the process for becoming an affiliate is:

• You sign up through the retailer’s web site
• They will provide you with the html code that will create the link on your site
• You add the code to your site
• The new link will track traffic from your site to the affiliate
• You will a commission each time a visitor makes a purchase from your site

Commission is usually up to 10 percent. Payments are made monthly or quarterly. There is rarely a cap on the amount you can earn. Often the process takes less than a day to implement. One downside is the fact that you are inviting visitors to leave your site. Also, you have to make sure that your affiliates reflect well on own reputation.

For more information, I suggest checking out Amazon’s web site for associates. They aren’t the only ones offering this type of service but they do a good job of describing and offering the service.