How to explain to your parents what is an affiliate marketing

— Mom, I found a job.

— What kind of job?

— Well… In IT

How often have you said this to your parents? And maybe not just parents. After all, for those who are not involved in affiliate marketing, it is difficult to imagine what it is. But let’s be honest: startups, technologies, and media have created professions that no one could have imagined 20 years ago. And sometimes it’s easier to say that you work “on the Internet” than to actually explain what you get paid for.

To make it easier for your beloved ma and pa to understand you, we have made a “cheat sheet script” that will help you explain your occupation without unnecessary nerves.

Son, are you a programmer? Or a hacker?

Neither one nor the other. A webmaster or affiliate is a person who generates traffic in social networks or any other source, and then sells this traffic for a higher price. Traffic is the number of people who visited the site for a certain time (day, week, month). Let’s take the market as an example.

The market is the entire Internet. Sellers near the counters are websites and social networks (for example, Facebook, TikTok or your favorite Instagram). The sellers have goods – vegetables, fruits and other food. All this can be called traffic. And here I am as a buyer. I find where to buy the products I need cheaper, and sell them in other places at a higher price. This is how affiliate marketing works.

That is, we took you to programmer courses in vain?

Yes and no. Affiliate marketing is not about programming, but in this area you need logic and an analytical mindset. Just those who previously worked as a programmer are the fastest to join this work. It will be difficult for humanitarians here.

And the neighbor Galya, a targetologist, also tells something about this traffic of yours. It is the same?

No. Look, a targetologist is a person who knows which users want ice cream and which ones want orange juice. Therefore, Galya can customize advertising on the Internet to the tastes of these users. I also have such knowledge, but I use it for other purposes.

Do you earn a lot?

Of course, there are affiliates who earn untold wealth in some niches (these are areas where you can get traffic). But often teamwork is needed for such a result. In addition, in order to get a lot, you need to invest a lot, therefore, everything is relative here. I still have enough for bread with butter and caviar. But if in the future I want to do a serious business, I will need a team of specialists and investors. Investors are people who give money to a project at a percentage of the profits or on other terms.

Do you go to the office like normal people?

Like normal people, I can work in the office, at home, and even on the other side of the world. My activity does not depend on my location, because all I need to work is a laptop, internet and good brains (preferably mine).

So wait, are you a webmaster or an affiliate?

These are two names for the same profession. So when relatives at family gatherings ask what my job is, you can use both.

Well, now you have universal answers to questions from your parents. Of course, you can always brush aside and say that you work “on the Internet”. But, you see, it is more pleasant when your loved ones understand you.