The affiliate marketing sector is already worth $12 billion – and it is expected to grow by 10% in the coming years! There’s nothing surprising, then, about the fact that more companies and online creators are wondering whether to join this group.
Affiliate marketing seems a relatively no-risk marketing channel. Go on reading to find out why this is so.
What is affiliate marketing?
The chances are you run into affiliate marketing almost every day. It is a really simple method of promoting products or services on the Internet.
Affiliate marketing consists of a referral arrangement where the affiliate marketer shares a special link to a product or service. For each purchase made thanks to this link, the company shares some percentage of commission with the marketer.
How can you start it?
For any affiliate marketing programme to work, it needs three sides taking part: the company, the affiliates, and, of course, the customers. If you are a company, you can start off by setting the rules and finding affiliates who are willing to join your programme. Being an affiliate wannabe, you can reach out to interesting companies and ask if they lead such a programme.
It requires a lot of individual work, reaching out to potential candidates and investing your time in the searching. Nevertheless, you can streamline the process by joining an affiliate network. Look for the best matches on the platform and let them take care of the rest.
How does it work?
Usually, the affiliate puts out a disclaimer informing that it is an affiliate link and explaining the rules to the customers. This transparency maintains trust between affiliates and their audiences.
When readers enter the link, their IP and the link data are stored within the system. so If the same reader purchases an item, even some time after reading the article, the affiliate gets a commission.
The trust is crucial here. As with all channels that rely on word-of-mouth, the most important ingredient is the belief that a given blogger or influencer promotes valuable products.
That is why neither the company nor the affiliate will benefit from unmarked affiliate links in the long run. A loss of trust is hard to forget, and it will be challenging to win it back.
No risk for the company
When you think about undertaking a new marketing channel, the risk you assume with it is often an important factor. Let’s analyse how it looks like with an affiliate marketing programme.
Pay for the results
The first, crucial question you may have is one concerning the results and investments. Compared to the majority of other digital marketing, it has a great advantage: you pay for the results.
With an affiliate marketing programme, you transfer the fee to the affiliate only after a consumer makes a purchase. In a good situation, you will get an additional group of clients. In a worse one, you will not have invested any money in this channel.
Reach out to new audiences
With an affiliate marketing programme, you can connect with new potential buyers in an easier, more natural way. You don’t have to invest a lot in Facebook or Google ad campaigns to appear in new niches.
Diverse source of sales
Adding an affiliate marketing channel actually helps you in lowering the biggest threat: getting all your sales from one source. By adding one more way of gaining new customers, you will minimize the impacts of a crisis.
No risk for the affiliates
If you are considering becoming an affiliate, you also don’t run any risks. Let’s break it down point by point.
An additional income
Opting for an affiliate marketing programme can become an important source of additional income. For some content creators, it can become the first step towards monetization of their social media and blog actions.
Choose the projects that are in line with your interests
Participation in an affiliate marketing programme doesn’t mean you have to accept each offer and promote every single item available. What’s more, that would be the worst thing you could do.
You keep the choice of working on projects that are suitable for your up-to-date direction, making use of the network as often – or as rarely – as you wish.
Keep your authenticity
Especially when you just start to monetize your Internet actions, you may be afraid of criticism and loss of your audience. Some people will point out this switch, labelling it as “loss of genuine character” or “greed”. Haters are always going to be around, so don’t worry and just ignore them.
To make sure your quality audience doesn’t leave you, you should stay authentic. Keep communication transparent and opt for offers that you would recommend sincerely anyway. Most probably, your followers will be happy to help you.
No risk for the consumers
The last group involved in the process are the clients: after all, without them, no marketing channel is efficient. Being the third party in the affiliate marketing programme, they are also in a good position.
The final price stays the same
When choosing between a regular and an affiliate link, the price factor doesn’t influence the decision as the final cost stays the same. It means only gains for the customers. They pay exactly the same price, yet they get a product and valuable content shared by the affiliate.
They can support their favourite creators
Preparing interesting, engaging, valuable content is a hard nut to crack – and with time, more and more followers are starting to be conscious of this. Purchasing an item they like via an affiliate link doesn’t mean an increase in price for them, yet at the same time they can reward their favourite creator. It is a quick and hassle-free way to show appreciation.
Affiliate programmes vs influencer campaigns
Affiliate programmes share some common characteristics with influencer campaigns. At first, their aims are similar. Both allow the business to reach out for a new group of customers. They also rely on the trust between influencers and their followers in building a positive image of the brand and, finally, to convince them to buy.
The differences concern the terms of cooperation. In influencer campaigns, the brand cooperates with the influencer in terms of the overall idea and execution. In affiliate marketing programmes, the business prepares promotional materials and resources for the affiliate, and they place a link to the item.
Finally, in influencer campaigns, the business usually has to pay for it regardless of the final results. Affiliate marketing allows them to share the gains from already sold products.
Nevertheless, you can make use of both channels. An influencer can become your affiliate partner, and you can prepare a campaign for your affiliate company.
How to ensure the best results of affiliate marketing?
Choose your partner wisely
In each partnership, the parts that create it are crucial for efficient cooperation. It is the same case with affiliate marketing programmes.
For the company, a great affiliate with suitable communication and an audience can determine the success of their campaigns. A poor choice of partner can reflect on the overall brand perception.
For the affiliate, a reliable partner with interesting products is crucial for high-quality content on their sites. Also, they don’t want to be left wondering when their paycheck will come.
If you want to learn more about building relationships with new affiliate partners, head to this blog post.
Keep your actions consistent
Consistency and coherency in your actions help to maintain crucial trust. As a company, this can be achieved by cooperating with bloggers that feel the brand. As an affiliate, don’t change your voice anytime a new partnership appears.
Integrate it into your overall marketing strategy
Ideas work better when combined, and this holds true especially in the marketing strategy. Add the affiliate channel into your customer roadmap and think about all the synergies that might appear so you can make the most out of the programme.
An affiliate network
An affiliate network will be your key tool for success in this kind of marketing. If you are wondering whether to create your own affiliate programme or join a network, this article may help you find the answer.
What can it do for you?
An affiliate marketing network takes all the tedious work off your shoulders. It allows you to support your sales much faster than setting up a programme on your own.
You will get access to a database of affiliates who are willing to promote your product. The choice will definitely be wider and more accessible than if you had to research them on your own. What’s more, you won’t have to wonder whether they are willing to participate in an affiliate marketing programme.
Also, you don’t have to worry about technical issues and security of your data, as this will be covered. All the time and effort you would have to dedicate to creating a working solution can boost your results in other areas.
Price
If you are a company that is willing to enter the affiliate marketing area, PostAffiliatePro offers you three plans starting at $129 monthly.
Even in the simplest plan, you get extensive options. You can cooperate with an unlimited number of affiliates from the network. There are various methods of setting up the cooperation depending on your aims, as well as currencies. You can also access the reports easily, having clarity about what partnerships bring you the best results.
If you wish to join the network as an affiliate, you just have to create an account. When a link on your website leads to a sale, you will receive a commission.
Final thoughts
This marketing channel is one of the largest sources of online income, together with email marketing. When used wisely, it can be a win-win-win situation for all three sides: the company, the affiliate, and, most importantly, the customer.
With a payment model in which the cost occurs after the customer’s purchase, it can support other selling and marketing channels without requiring a lot of investment from the business side.
For the affiliates, it helps them in monetizing their content to finally become another source of income.
The customers can support their trusted content creators without spending additional money.
Sounds convincing? Go for the PostAffiliatePro platform and make the most of affiliate marketing!
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