Everything you need to know about affiliate marketing

Whether you’re a small business owner or a rising social media star, chances are you’ve heard the term “affiliate marketing.” But what does affiliate marketing mean, and how can it benefit your business or social media presence? Find all about how to boost your sales and revenue with affiliate marketing in this comprehensive guide.

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a commission-based marketing model where individuals (affiliates) promote a company's offerings and, in return, earn rewards for generating conversions such as sales or sign-ups.

This approach fosters a mutually beneficial relationship between a business and an advertiser, and it’s a far more organic way of connecting with a target audience than placing an ad on people’s feeds. In the affiliate style of digital marketing, a business’ message reaches the right crowd through its partnership with an “influencer.” This individual doesn’t have to have millions of followers, just a loyal audience a brand wants to reach. And when brands reach that audience via influencers, the marketing message comes across as an authoritative testimonial.

How can I benefit from affiliate marketing?

If you operate a business, you can appreciate the power of making an impact without making a big investment upfront. Such is the nature of affiliate marketing. Here are some benefits of building affiliate networks:

• Low start-up costs: Since affiliate marketers pay influencers via commissions, you won’t have to shell out for these individuals to create or post content. You’ll only make a contribution when they generate a lead or make a sale.
• Low risk: Since you’re not investing in an advertisement, if your affiliate marketing campaign doesn’t go well, you don’t lose any money. In fact, you learn a valuable lesson about what you can do better next time.
• Targeted traffic: Since you’ll partner with social media influencers who have a following you want to reach, your brand’s message will be put right in front of the viewers who want to engage with your offering.
• High return on investment (ROI): For little to no up-front investment, you stand to see impressive results. Let’s say you simply create an affiliate link for an influencer that allows their 50,000 followers to save a certain percentage off their first purchase. If just 1% of those followers engage with the offer, you could make 500 sales.

What are the different types of affiliate marketing?

There’re a few different types of focus levels in affiliate marketing, so as you start out on this new venture, get familiar with the terms of the trade to channel your marketing efforts.

Unattached affiliate marketing

In this type of affiliate marketing, influencers aren’t particularly connected with your product. They may not even understand it or your industry well. In the case of unattached marketing, influencers may accompany their affiliate link with a disclaimer saying they’re not experts on the subject.

Related affiliate marketing

Related affiliate marketing places a business’ message in the right niche. Influencers may or may not use a company’s product they’re promoting, but the audience is likely to be interested in the content.

Involved affiliate marketing

Influencers are true believers. They deeply connect with your new product or service (or have used it before, if it’s not new), and genuinely want to share it with their followers. That means they're capable of building genuine trust.

What are some common affiliate marketing channels?

Affiliate marketing is often a team effort between businesses that want to market products and those who wish to earn a commission by promoting them. But there are other functional channels as well:

Influencers and bloggers

This type of affiliate marketing is a partnership between a brand and an individual with a following on social media or a web presence that’s attractive to a brand. Their content could be promotional posts, video tutorials, or product reviews.

Paid search-focused microsites

Make a microsite solely for the purpose of generating affiliate sales. You can advertise the site in sponsored search-engine listings or a third-party site, getting the word out to a wider audience. Don’t forget to include a clear CTA (call-to-action).

Email lists

Bloggers or influencers often do their own email marketing. When you partner with a fellow influencer, provide them with your links that they can insert in their blasts to subscribers.

Affiliate marketing websites

Given the popularity of this kind of digital marketing, there are affiliate marketing companies that help businesses get their content in high-traffic spaces and generate leads. You can partner with one of these affiliate marketing programs and have them take over some of the work of finding outlets for your promotional content.

Here are a few popular affiliate sites:

• ConvertKit
• Aweber
• DFO Global
• Amazon Associates Program

Should I start?

It’s no surprise why a significant number of brands take advantage of affiliate marketing. If you’re not one of them already, don’t be left behind. You can quickly get up to speed even if you’re not a tech buff or a marketing maestro. Consider taking an affiliate marketing course to fully understand the ins and outs of the strategy and determine what’s best for your business.

How to start affiliate marketing (for free): a step-by-step guide

New to the game? Here’s how to create a successful affiliate marketing strategy with little risk:

1. Determine your target audience.
2. Identify influencers who have this target audience (or partner with an affiliate program, but this may come at a cost).
3. Approach influencers and offer them an affiliate link with a coupon or referral code. You may want to give these affiliate partners a physical product sample so that they know what they’re talking about when they represent you. Explain how they’ll receive their affiliate commissions, whether for clicks, leads, or sales.
4. Track your metrics and the success of your campaign by identifying where your leads are coming from and the conversion rate from your online marketing.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to expand your reach, whether you’re using influencers and bloggers, an affiliate site or any of the other channels we mentioned here. With the help of a solid strategy and well-connected platforms, you’ll be on your way.

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