Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice where a business rewards one or more affiliates for each customer earned by the affiliate's efforts. An Affiliate Program involves three main players: (1) the Merchant (the person selling a product), (2) the Affiliate (the person promoting the product), and (3) the Customer (the person buying the product).
Once the Merchant has affiliate tracking software in place (like Easy Affiliate) alongside their payment solution, the merchant can start accepting affiliate signups. After an affiliate signs up for an affiliate program, the affiliate is given tracking links and (optionally) banner ads provided by the merchant's affiliate tracking software.
The affiliate can use these links and banners to promote the merchant's products. When a customer clicks on the affiliate's link and makes a purchase, that sale is tracked, and the merchant pays the affiliate a commission for the sale.