What defines affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is specifically defined as a model where businesses reward affiliates—individuals or other businesses—for driving traffic or sales to their products or services. This typically involves a partnership where affiliates promote the business’s offerings and earn a commission based on the sales or leads generated from their promotional efforts. The success of this model lies in its performance-based nature, allowing businesses to pay only for actual results, such as sales or conversions, rather than upfront advertising costs.

Other choices highlight different aspects of marketing but do not encapsulate the essence of affiliate marketing. For instance, a strategy focused on personal branding pertains more to how individuals position themselves in the marketplace rather than the transactional relationship that defines affiliate marketing. Similarly, creating viral content involves strategies aimed at encouraging shares and views widely on social platforms but is not inherently linked to the rewards system characteristic of affiliate marketing. Lastly, a system for managing customer relations relates to customer support and retention strategies, which is an entirely different domain from the revenue-sharing model of affiliate marketing.