When they make a transaction that is a qualified action (could be a sale or lead form submission, depending on the terms of the program), the merchant is able to record this action and attribute it to you as an affiliate so they can make a payout.
The best platform to start a website or blog on is WordPress. That doesn't mean there aren't other options out there. However, as a beginner, until you get the hang of this, start with WordPress. It is the most feature-rich, easy-to-use, and affordable blogging platform you will find out there.

It’s important to understand that it won’t happen overnight and in fact, it will take at least a few months before you start to make a good living from affiliate marketing. The quality of your contentThe time and effort you put into driving up your traffic and subscriber numbers Your affiliate marketing strategy and the tactics you useThe quality of the affiliate programs you join
But there’s other things that can happen. Software fails all the time. You might see 100 clicks in Google Analytics and only 10 clicks in the link shortener. Is there something wrong there? Or maybe 100/100 and the vendor isn’t seeing the traffic? You might have to reach out to an affiliate manager for some help. If your goal is helping someone, it’s great to realize that people have more than one need in the universe. The best salespeople I’ve EVER met are those who are looking out for the larger story around me instead of just selling me one single product or service. A long time ago, I used to pester Brian Clark for a copy of his WordPress theme. When he started selling a premium theme based on his old one, I was one of his first customers. Then, he sold a premium theme framework. Then, another. Then, hosting. Then a powerful website platform. And now a simpler one too. I’m in line every time he comes up with something new. I love about 85% of the things he’s created. Pretty good number, right? As an affiliate marketer, your job is to help people in a certain space. Maybe you’re helping aspiring nursing students. You help them get scrubs and school supplies and links to books and whatever else. Maybe you find an affiliate program for study guides or something. Why wouldn’t you look to expand what you offer to help students get what they need to do their job better? Let’s say this goes another way. Maybe you’ve done so great with nursing students that you think, “Hey, I’m into vintage 1950s memorabilia- maybe there’s an affiliate project THERE!” That’s awesome. Grow the product lines to the marketplace you serve. Create a new marketplace. What wouldn’t be a great plan is mixing the two. Don’t try to sell nursing students 1950s surfboards or whatever. Make sense? The trust you develop with the people you reach with your media is your first and foremost priority. Never trade your relationship for a few bucks. It’ll never ever EVER be worth it. Serve the people you write and create content for and deliver them products and services you’ve used and/or can vouch for. Be diligent in this. Keep it light. You’re here so you’re not likely going into this business in any hardcore kind of way. But do this stuff lightly. Look for it to buy you a dinner every month. Then a few dinners. Then get yourself to where it can pay your mortgage. And so on. It’s more fun this way. You’ll enjoy the experience more. And remember that selling isn’t evil. Selling without the intention of helping the other party is evil. Most every link I’ve shared above is an affiliate link. Did you feel like I was some kind of jerk? No. Because I’m pointing you towards resources you might want to use to build your own money-making affiliate marketing business. To share this, please point people to https://chrisbrogan.com/start-affiliate-marketing. This article was written by Chris Brogan, (c) 2017.