When you search for affiliate marketing, you might become overwhelmed with information. Let’s talk about an introduction to affiliate marketing, what it is and why brands choose to use affiliates. Likewise, it’s important to know how it works, pays, and some of the best programs for you to consider.
What is affiliate marketing?
A basic introduction to affiliate marketing is the practice of marketing a brand or company’s products in exchange for a commission. Firstly, the affiliate chooses which products they want to promote and then proceeds to earn a commission from every sale they make.Why should I become an affiliate marketer?
It’s essentially persuading people to buy products you know and love. Plus, you’ll get a portion of the profits without any of the worries. You don’t have to worry about any customer service issues, or, anything other than promoting the affiliate link.Why do brands use affiliates?
There are numerous reasons why brands use affiliates. However, it’s mainly to grow brand awareness and increase exposure. This will then equal an increase in product sales.Can affiliates market any product or service?
Essentially, yes! There is a huge amount of products and services that an affiliate can market. This can be anything from a physical good such as beauty products, or, a digital good such as software. Affiliates can also market services, like online classes or even workshops. Whatever your speciality is, there will most likely be an affiliate program for it.How do I know what products I should market?
Ideally, you should be picking things that you have a genuine interest and knowledge in. Find your niche. It will be easier for you to promote if you choose the products you use and can recommend. This will also create a level of trust from your audience.How do affiliates promote the products / services?
It’s up to you what content you create. Many affiliates choose to promote via blogs or social media channels. For example, let’s say you like sharing your favourite beauty products on social media. You could post creative pictures combined with your affiliate links. Or, let’s say you have a YouTube account showing people how to use a type of software. You could create a video including your affiliate link for said software in the description. It’s entirely up to you how to market the products and over time you’ll figure out what works best for you.How do brands know if you generate a sale?
Each affiliate is provided with unique affiliate links. The affiliate would typically place these somewhere in their blog, website or social media bio for their audience to access. These links take your audience to the product listing page to complete a sale. If the action is completed and a sale is made, the brand will know this as the link is tracked. Following this, commission payments will be made.Do consumers have to pay more if they purchase a product via an affiliate link?
Generally speaking, no. The brand will already include the affiliates commission in the retail price.How do affiliates receive payment?
There are three main ways in which an affiliate can earn a commission via their affiliate link. The most common way for an affiliate to be paid from affiliate marketing is, ‘pay per sale’. This is when a consumer directly purchases a product from the brand via the affiliate link. This will then result in a commission for the affiliate, based on a percentage of the product’s retail price. Secondly, another way to be paid via your affiliate marketing is from ‘pay per lead’. This means that the affiliate doesn’t need their audience to make a sale but they need to complete an action. This could mean their affiliate link is designed to lead to an email list sign up for the brand or a digital download. The third and final way to be paid via your affiliate link is through a ‘pay per click’. This method isn’t as common, however, it is still used as a commission metric by some affiliate programs. This involves the affiliate needing their audience to engage with the brand’s website via their link. This will increase web traffic for the brand and result in the affiliates commission. This is not generally considered enough of a prominent action to justify an affiliate payment. Therefore, this is why pay per sale and pay per lead methods are more favoured by brands.Is a large social media presence essential to be accepted by an affiliate program?
Each affiliate program has different requirements for its affiliates. However, most affiliate programs do not have such requirements. Obviously the bigger audience or blog traffic you have, the more likely you are to attract clicks through your affiliate link. Although, even with a smaller audience you can still attract a good number of conversions because your product is in a niche market.What are the best affiliate programs to use?
There are HUNDREDS of programs to choose from. Here are the two that I think have the most benefits for beginners:Amazon Associates
As of April 2020, Amazon Associates is the largest affiliate program in the world with around 300 million products you can market. This, therefore, makes it appealing for people starting out on their affiliate marketing journey. Through a huge range of products, there are different commission percentages per product category. Visit their affiliate program website to find out more. Additionally, Amazon has launched the Amazon Influencer Program. It’s similar to the Associates, however, it’s tailor-made with influencers specifically in mind. There are higher commissions and you get to create your own store-front on the Amazon website, which is where you can direct your audience to your recommended products.Shopify Affiliate
Do you have knowledge of eCommerce? If so, Shopify is the perfect affiliate program for you. Recommending Shopify and its software/products to your audience can be very rewarding. Whilst this does have a limit to an audience, it’s a niche that could ultimately be very profitable. Its commission rates are 200%! In other words, let’s say a member of your audience signs up for the Shopify starter membership of £29 via your affiliate link, you will then receive a £58 commission. This is an intriguing program for beginners due to its low entry requirements. Whilst the product range is purely specific to the Shopify brand, their affiliate program is a perfect example of how using digital products as your affiliate niche can be very beneficial. Start researching other affiliate programs and networks for inspiration, including:- Fiverr Associates – The perfect affiliate program if your niche is marketing services.
- SkimLinks – An affiliate network hosting a massive range of global brands like Microsoft, Sephora and Trip Advisor.
- Wix – For those of you with expert knowledge in Wix, the website development platform boats a lucrative program.
