Affiliate programs are the easiest way to start an online business. Whether you like promoting a special product or service, there are many ways to make money with your affiliate program. Most brands will try to convince you that they have the ideal program. However, where most programs fall short is preparing affiliates for the costly road of making sales.
Many affiliates are given the joy ride of how quickly they will become millionaires, earning six-figure incomes. Some programs promise to “fire your boss’ or let you ‘leave your ‘9 to 5’. However, very soon the aspirant discovers the hurdles that they must overcome. The harsh reality checks in, and they learn the hard way that affiliate program marketing is not for the faint of heart.
Can you really make a living promoting an affiliate program? Yes, you can. Tons of people do exactly that. Yet, if you plan to do that, maybe you should read the rest of this article, as it will provide important insights on marketing your affiliate program.
Main Benefits that You Will Gain from this Guide to Affiliate Program Marketing
Both affiliates and brands will benefit from reading this guide to affiliate program marketing. Webmasters and publishers will discover what is involved in promoting a program and how to effectively harness traffic to their landing pages. How to effectively generate more sales.
Brands will find new techniques to use when vetting their partners and how to acquire much-needed affiliates. Point to consider since affiliate marketing is one of the most effective marketing methods, especially with the low resources it requires. It is also an effective way to grow your brand awareness.
Of the four largest marketing vectors, affiliate marketing is possibly the only one where the brands spend after earning. All other vectors demand spending before sales. However, affiliate marketing pays on the back end of the process. The brand earns an income and pays a commission.
Types of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing involves four key personality types. Each plays a vital role in the distribution of products or services.
- The Producer: This is usually the creator or retailer of the product or service. Product price and affiliate commissions are decided here.
- The Network: These are sometimes present in the process and act as a gateway between the brand and the affiliate. They are responsible for sales and commission payments. Medium to large companies may use a network to manage their affiliate program
- The Publisher: The affiliate or partner who accepts an offer to promote the brand’s product or services in exchange for a percentage of sales.
- The Customer: These are the consumers of products or services that brands produce. They are the most important personality of the four. They drive sales and production volumes and determine the success of the other types.
One of the most essential decisions that an affiliate should make is the type of affiliate marketing they wish to implement. This will affect the level of involvement, the amount of time you will spend recruiting new clients, and the commissions you will earn.
There are generally three ways to promote an affiliate program: Removed or unattached affiliate marketing, related affiliate marketing, and influencer or involved affiliate marketing.
Removed or Unattached Affiliate Program Marketing
This is one of the most basic formats of advertising or promoting an affiliate program. The publisher has no attachment to the product or service and does not provide any assistance in the sales process. New affiliates can benefit from this drop-shipping style as they are not required to have any special skills or make any recommendations about the product.
Their lack of know-how does affect sales of these products. Affiliates can spend more time promoting their store and generating more sales.
Note: Affiliates should be aware that although there are many popular beliefs that dropshipping is easy, it is not a get-rich-quick scheme. The process may take a good while before it starts generating sales.
Brands can easily release new products directly to a marketplace without the need to educate affiliates. All support is kept internal, and the ease and control of merchandise is seamless. This is the best option for branding.
Related Affiliate Marketing
Sometimes an affiliate may prefer to promote only merchandise that is related to his niche or expertise. Many affiliates choose this option because they already have existing targeted traffic or followers. They can generate sales with little marketing effort.
Although this is a bonus for publishers, it does not relate to the essence of sales. That is, a musician may only be interested in musical instruments. Rather, a more realistic outlook would be musical instruments plus entertainment-related items. Nonetheless, musicians may buy fashion-related items, etc.
The affiliate still does not make any commitments to or claims to the product or service and will continue to focus only on generating sales. This type of affiliate program marketing focuses on one product or brand and usually generates higher sales volume due to the quality of the traffic.
Brands can ideally relate to this affiliate marketing option. They are usually found in niche networks or webmaster groups. Niche marketing can generate higher sales per affiliate.
Influencer or Involved Affiliate Marketing
Many corporations hire an influencer to establish sales relations on their behalf. They train personnel to identify involved partners or associates. These affiliates are equipped and experienced with products or services and are capable of providing reviews, tips and even troubleshooting. Their hands-on skills and knowledge sets make them extensions of the product.
They rebrand the product or what is mostly considered white labeling. This is common for travel services that rebrand booking engines, or casinos that customize betting software. However, this is not limited to large industries, as even forum boards and WordPress templates are bought and resold through the same white labeling methods.
Affiliates make their largest profits in this marketing method as they convert into retail frontends. Since they are part of a group that drives production, they are also semi-consumers, They do not utilize the product but are the direct sales point for it.
One of the largest downsides for affiliates with this marketing module is the responsibility that they have to consumers.
Brands also enjoy huge upsides from this advertising method. They focus on productivity as sales and customer service are performed by the affiliate.
How to Drive Traffic to Your Affiliate Program
Once you have completed the setup of your affiliate program, it is time to get sales. The vector used to bring consumers from one center to another differs with each product. However, they all rely on a consistent flow of visitors, known as traffic.
There are two ways to get traffic to your website: Paid advertising or free traffic.
Paid Advertising
Having a budget means that the sky is the limit. The best advertising opportunities are listed below. The methods listed below do not include options that have a low conversion ratio or CTR.
CPC Advertising: These are best bought from search engines such as Google or Bing and although they can be costly, are highly targeted. Please note that banner networks are not recommended.
Email Newsletter Ads: This has the best returns on spending and can pay up to 36 times your investment. Many newsletters are available for ad spots or Solo Ad units.
Push Advertising: although relatively new, they go directly to the desktop of the user and elicit some kind of response. There are ad companies such as Facebook, Google, and Bing that offer this type of advertising.
Social Media: Social giants such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram offer advertising on their platforms.
Free Advertising
For those with no budget, free ads are the way to go. It may require more input and longer hours, but the result can be rewarding. Here are some common free advertising resources:
Free Ad Networks: These are platforms that exchange traffic. Newbies can start by viewing other ads and earning points. They can later redeem these points for traffic. Places such as World Profit and Leads Leap are good places to start.
Webmaster Forums: Most webmaster forums are not beneficial to search engine optimization efforts as they do not permit do-follow links. However, these are great places to generate traffic and sales for both affiliate programs and products. Two recommended forums are Digital Point Forums and Forum Coins.
Free Press Release: Most press release centers will offer newbies a free trial that will reach more than 750 news outlets including Google, NBC, ABC, etc. This is great for backlinks and visitors. One of the most popular is EINS Newswire
Social Media: Create as many social accounts as you can. Join groups and get to know them. They will allow you to post and comment. Use each opportunity to present what you do.
SEO: Search engine optimization is long-term advertising. However, once you get ranked, there will be no better traffic source.
Marketing your affiliate program requires time and hard work. The more you invest, the more you will earn. The Internet offers free opportunities to all, with a budget or no money. The choice is yours.
