Affiliate marketing is practically the promotion of other people’s products in which a commission is earned from each sale. This is one of the most popular ways to promote and sell products online. While this method is still in its infancy in our region, a large amount of money is earned in this way on the global market.
This is a very popular way to increase sales of a product. And while in classic stores you resell products, in this type of sale you do not specifically sell anything, but refer customers to the store. In this way, many sites make great money, which has caused a great development of the market, which amounts to billions of dollars.
What is affiliate marketing?
The definition of affiliate marketing explains the process of this type of promotion. This is an area of digital marketing. By promoting products or services on our site, we refer future customers to the site of the manufacturer or the one who offers services. If a purchase is made based on our recommendation, we receive a percentage of the sale from the manufacturer.
Unlike running an online store, in this case you do not worry about direct sales, product storage, warranty and similar things. Your job is to persuade the reader, the potential customer, to click on the product link. He will take him further to the site where the specific sale of products takes place.
In this way, you are able to make money on products that are interesting to your audience, without having to physically own them. Simply put, you make money on other people’s products that you promote on your site. Once you’ve promoted a product, all you have to do is wait for visitors to convert to customers. In doing so, you have no liability in the event of product failure or poor service. You are simply someone who connects the two sides.
An additional advantage is working from home, more precisely from anywhere on the planet. This specific type of marketing does not require any meetings or even acquaintances with the end customer. The only thing you need to be interested in is how much you can earn and how reliable the seller is.
Of course, the question arises as to how the seller knows that you are the one who recommended someone to visit his e-shop and buy the product, and how to make sure that you will be paid for it.
Basic elements of affiliate marketing
In this process of promotion and sales, everyone does what they are good at. The marketer promotes the product for a percentage, and the seller earns from additional sales, which he probably would not have. This way, everyone focuses on their business. There are many successful companies that do complete promotion through the affiliate program.
Thanks to this type of marketing, different types of promotion are obtained. The manufacturer is not interested in the way you will write about the product. Namely, the affiliate is not the official representative of the company. So he has more freedom in communicating with consumers. This allows using a different language (less corporate) for promotion compared to the way the manufacturer is otherwise promoted.
Affiliate marketing practically has three important parts, and they are: the seller or producer of the product / service, the affiliate and the consumer. Of course, it goes without saying that you have a quality marketing plan.
Service provider or manufacturer
In order to start a chain of events, it is necessary to start from the basic thing – the product. For a start, someone needs to have something they want to sell. These can be specific products such as video games, lamps, pictures, cameras… On the other hand, services such as travel packages, online dating, astrology, business advice, etc. are also promoted.
A manufacturer or brand often offers services that may be of interest to a specific target group. So it is in their interest for someone to bring in as many customers as possible who are interested in their product. In this case, it is necessary to research the market, reach consumers and explain to them why they really need the manufacturer’s product.
This process requires knowledge and investment of money and time to create promotional activities. That is why it is more profitable for many to leave it to someone to work for a percentage of sales. Of course, often affiliate marketing is not enough to achieve the set goals. But, even as an additional activity it is very profitable, because it does not bring financial risks for the manufacturer.
Thanks to a specific form of promotion, the manufacturer does not take part in the creation of promotional activities or pay for them. It is up to him to approve the promotion of the product on a certain site (or social network) and wait for the arrival of new customers. The producer takes minimal risks in this way, because this way he can get more customers, and even giving him a percentage pays off. One of the most famous companies that work in this way are Amazon and Rakuten.
Affiliate (Partner)
The backbone of this type of marketing is the sales partner who promotes the product or service. Also known as a publisher. It is a person or company that promotes the products and services of a manufacturer to its audience in exchange for a percentage of sales. Although it is often a site that is interesting to a certain population, this work can also be done through social networks. The main limiting factor is whether it is possible to place an affiliate link to the product.
Take the case where your Instagram travel profile is extremely popular. You want to monetize this by promoting products such as the camera you use, clothes, travel equipment, travel agency… In this case, you rely on your popularity to recommend products to your companions. As Instagram does not allow linking within the photo, within the “Bio” section, you will insert a link to your site where the “catalog” is located.
Here we come to a place where abuses often occur. Namely, certain publishers are trying to mislead customers. This is done by clicking on the purchase and going to the seller’s website without the buyer even being aware of it. This is used by affiliate companies or people who want to present themselves as “first hand”.
This way, they sell products as if it were their brand. While in reality it is a no name brand that has nothing to do with the publisher (except that he recommends his products).
Such abuses are possible because there is no signed agency agreement. But, the affiliate is allowed to say whatever he wants, as long as it does not directly endanger the brand itself. If something bad happens, the seller can always say that it is not the attitude of their company or stand behind the views of the person or company that promoted them.
Due to such and similar activities of individual content publishers, affiliate marketing is often notorious. Although this is a method of promotion that is reliable and brings results. Sometimes one malicious site is enough that will promise “100% recovery with pills” or “losing 30 kilograms in just 10 days”. So that the whole industry has a bad reputation.
In addition, if done the right way, this type of marketing can bring all participants in the process an exceptional profit. Also benefits for the end customer.
Buyer
The ultimate goal of affiliate marketing is to connect the manufacturer with the end customer. That is why the customer is the key link on which the entire system depends. If the potential customer does not make the purchase, the seller will not earn anything, and therefore the partner will not earn a commission. So, the only one with money in this chain is the customer, who by his act of purchase enables the system to function. That is why it is important that you address the potential customer in the right way in order to interest him, but in a way that is not fraudulent.
What does an affiliate program look like in practice?
To make money this way, you need to sign up directly with the seller to get your code through which they recognize you. There is also an option when you get products for promotion from “second hand”, i.e. through an affiliate network.
Affiliate Network
Beginners in this business often decide to cooperate with companies that have a database of products that they can promote. They take a percentage of each sale made, and in turn offer additional benefits to the publisher.
It is often the case that the company protects the publishers with whom it cooperates. It does by paying salaries even in the event of a problem with the manufacturer (for example, bankruptcy). In this way, they invest in their network of promoters, especially when it comes to those who have proven to be extremely capable.
Regardless of the way you get affiliate links, it is up to you to promote the services or products of the seller in the best way. The aim is as many visitors as possible to be turned into customers. The good thing is that a potential customer does not have to buy a product right away to earn a commission.
The seller tracks “your” customer through cookies for the next few months, so every time he makes a purchase, you get a commission. This was done primarily for the reason that many do not decide to buy immediately, but are looking for the best option.
Imagine having a site that deals with IT topics. In this way, you can in various ways naturally draw the attention of visitors to all the benefits, for example, laptops that you have chosen to promote. You will encourage visitors to buy this laptop in various attractive ways.
You will achieve this by placing a link on your site or social network that leads to the manufacturer and in turn take the money from the sale. If a site visitor buys something on the manufacturer’s site, you will earn a percentage of the earnings from each product sold. This is the essence of a system called Pay per sale.
Sometimes you can make money even if the customer doesn’t buy anything. This is possible through an affiliate marketing system called Pay per lead. You get your commission when a visitor to your site clicks on a link and performs a certain action. This can be filling out questionnaires, subscribing to the newsletter, downloading demo programs, etc…
The third option is Pay per click, where earnings are measured by the amount of visitors that the site redirects to the seller. In this case, it is the job of the publisher to explain to visitors why it is a good decision to visit the site in question.
In order to make money this way, it is necessary to have a really big visit to your site. This way the earnings are definitely lower per user who clicks on the link compared to the case when something was bought.
How can products be promoted?
In order to successfully apply the knowledge that you can acquire through the course of affiliate marketing, you need to communicate in the right way with site visitors, i.e. with fans on social media. Namely, without them and their trust, even the best-made site and developed business will mean nothing. There are several types of ways to reach potential customers.
Visited media portals
These are sites that have millions of visits both on the domestic and foreign markets. So, it is possible to earn great money through any type of conversion. Sites like this have a lot of traffic, but the question is how many loyal audiences they can get to buy something.
The fact that someone came to read a couple of news does not mean that they have so much confidence in the portal. Or that they will spend their money because of their words. Everything, of course, depends on the approach, reputation and the product itself. In this case, even Pay per click earnings would be great.
Mailing list
Email marketing is still a very cost effective way to contact potential customers. The good thing is that in this case you are directly addressing the consumer. Directing him directly to your own or the manufacturer’s website.
Many companies still make great money this way, completely skipping their own site. If you have a loyal audience registered on the mailing list, it is often enough to send an e-mail with a well-packaged “unique time-limited offer”.
Sites focused on a specific niche
If your site specializes in a particular thing, it will be easier for you to get visitor conversions, even if you have fewer visits. If you have 100 visitors who are interested in computers and you are promoting a laptop, which is great. We are saying compared to, for example, 10,000 cat lovers (unless you sell cat food).
Influencers
These are people who have a great influence on their fans, regardless of whether they are YouTubers, Twitter users or some famous person. Their main task is to use their fan base to draw their attention to the products they promote. Since they are usually fans who listen to their idols, the conversion is usually extremely high.
How to make an affiliate marketing site?
One of the mistakes that many make is creating a site without thinking about creating a specific niche that will allow you to make good money. All sorts of things will generally not work, unless they look at you as a news portal that covers almost all segments of society. Even in that case, it often happens that sites with less traffic and loyal audiences are much more efficient.
When creating a site, keep in mind that visitors will be attracted primarily by quality content. It is up to you to create content that will be visible in internet searches. You need to reach those visitors who have never heard of you, but are looking for a certain service. This is where quality SEO optimization comes into play. Which allows you to reach your audience more easily.
An important piece of information for a successful business is the conversion rate. This data shows how many potential buyers who clicked on the link actually bought something. This information does not depend on you to some extent (because you managed to persuade them to click on the link). But still, your earnings depend on it.
That’s why it’s wise to work with multiple vendors so you don’t get too attached to one company. Affiliate marketing seems like an ideal business that, when set up properly, makes a profit on its own. However, for real success, it is necessary to apply the knowledge in the field of online sales and e-business in the right way. You need to reach the stage that this type of work brings you a profit as soon as possible.