There are 4 key parties in affiliate marketing: the publisher, network, advertisers and consumers.
The publisher is the individual or individuals that promote the product or service and receive a commission. These can be bloggers, website owners or influencers. They are typically called affiliates and can range from being a single person or a company.
Affiliate networks are optional. They are the marketplaces or middlemen between affiliates and the product or service owner. An affiliate network would be Amazon; affiliates could work with a brand directly, but choose to earn commissions through the Amazon Affiliate Program.
Advertisers (also known as merchants) are the companies that own the product, service or offer. The advertiser will only pay an affiliate when there has been a transaction through their efforts.
Consumers are the people who are buying the affiliate product or service through affiliates.