# How affiliate marketing works — and what to do today

In 15–20 minutes, understand where commission comes from, choose one traffic source, and leave with a concrete first action.

- **Outcome:** A chosen traffic source and a plan for creating your first affiliate link.
- **Duration:** 15–20 minutes
- **HTML:** https://playbook.affpartners.io/en/affiliate/lessons/how-affiliate-works/index.html

## What an affiliate program is — and why you are here

You bring interested people to a product, and the platform shares part of the revenue generated by their activity.

Here, the product is financial: people register and trade. You do not sell it manually. You publish advertising or content and earn commission when the users you referred become active.

More than 20,000 partners work with the program around the world. Payments are transparent and available through several payment channels.

1. **You publish.** Create an affiliate link and place it on TikTok, YouTube, Telegram, or another channel.
2. **A person acts.** They follow the link, register, fund their account, and start trading.
3. **You earn commission.** The platform tracks the referred trader's activity and calculates your share.

## How it works — with numbers

Kate published a TikTok video. Here is the result without complicated math.

- **100:** registrations from the link
- **30:** active traders
- **$3,000:** platform revenue
- **$900:** example commission for Kate

> $900 is an educational example, not an income promise. Actual commission depends on program terms and referred-user activity.

## What to do to launch in one day

- [ ] Register for the affiliate program.
- [ ] Choose one traffic source.
- [ ] Create and test an affiliate link.
- [ ] Prepare one promotional asset from a template.
- [ ] Publish the asset or launch a test.
- [ ] Check clicks, registrations, and first deposits.
- [ ] Improve a working idea and scale it gradually.

## Three ways to start — choose yours

### Easy

- **Best for:** No budget, but some available time
- **Channels:** TikTok, Shorts, Stories, Reels, or a Telegram blog
- **First action:** Make one short video or post from a ready-made template.

### Medium

- **Best for:** $200–$500 for testing and a faster start
- **Channels:** Telegram advertising or an influencer placement
- **First action:** Buy one small test and set a budget limit in advance.

### Advanced

- **Best for:** Experience and a budget of at least $1,000
- **Channels:** YouTube, PPC, or Kick streaming
- **First action:** Launch one measurable campaign instead of spreading effort across channels.

## Beginner concerns are normal

- **“I have never run advertising”** — Start with free content and one template. The next lessons will break down your first creative step by step.
- **“What if I waste my budget?”** — Do not begin with a large budget. Set a single-test limit, use a demo account when demonstrating the product, and show your plan to a support agent.
- **“I have no ideas”** — Use one ready-made campaign: a specific traffic source, one creative, and one clear offer. Examples and templates will be covered in a separate lesson.

## Terms in plain language

- **FTD — A trader's first deposit.** The first successful account funding by a user you referred. Example: Forty people registered through the link, and eight of them made an FTD.
- **Lead — A person who followed your link.** A potential customer who came from your content or advertising. Registration and deposit may happen later. Example: The video brought 120 leads to the registration page.
- **Creative — An advertising asset.** A video, banner, text, cover, or other material a person sees before following your link. Example: Two short videos are two creatives for the same channel.
- **Campaign — Source + creative + offer.** A specific combination of channel, advertising asset, and offer that you can measure and improve. Example: TikTok + a short trade breakdown + an invitation to open a demo account.
- **RTD conversion — The share of visitors who deposit.** The percentage of leads who move from following your link to funding their account. Example: If 12 out of 100 leads deposit, RTD conversion is 12%.

## Your first mini-task

Create an affiliate link and choose one traffic source. Then send your choice to the assistant for help with the first step.

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- [Affiliate Academy](https://playbook.affpartners.io/en/affiliate/index.html)
- [Partner Playbook](https://playbook.affpartners.io/en/)