Hustle Rating: 4/5
Difficulty [Easy/Intermediate/Hard]: Intermediate
Earning Potential [per month]: £200+
An Introduction to Affiliate Marketing
The term "affiliate" may be new to some so lets take a look at exactly what it is and what it means.
When you are affiliated with something you are part of it, a partner if you like. The main idea is that companies can allow you to promote their products in return for a cut of the profits.
I will choose Amazon as an example as their affiliate program is really easy to get onto and also well documented.
See below the table giving Amazon's rates for each sale you make:

The table goes on and on so if you want to see it for yourself you can find it here
As an affiliate marketer, you can turn a profit by promoting their products with your unique link, whether that be on social media, Google Ads, by post, in person, etc. It is up to you how you share your link, you just need to be original so people want to click!
Now I have marked the earning potential for affiliate marketing at £200+ a month. Similar to most things this is just a rough figure. Some people won't put as much time in and will only make £50 odd a month. Some will build their portfolio, be affiliated with many products, have masses of clicks and make thousands!
How big is Affiliate Marketing?
Once you are aware of what affiliate marketing is you see it absolutely EVERYWHERE!
A website I envy greatly is HotUKDeals. HotUKDeals for those of you who are unaware of it is essentially a large deal sharing platform where members post deals and those deals get voted either hot or cold. Hot deals get pushed to the top, whilst cold deals sit right down at the bottom. Real simple idea, but they are making millions!

Whenever anyone clicks on "Get Deal" have a guess what is behind that button? ...Their affiliate link! Behind every. Single. Offer...! Genius.
I dread to think how much that website makes but I know it is up in the millions based on traffic stats alone! A superb example of affiliate marketing at it's finest.
Just a note before anyone tries to get smart and post a deal with their own affiliate link, they swap it out instantly. Not that I have tried that myself...honest
Read on in my guide for a more in depth look into how it all works