Affiliate marketing has been a popular concept since the 1990s, and it has continued to help businesses generate consistent revenue. It continued its rise throughout the 2000s as online marketing became custom for everyone.
Today, affiliate marketing is bigger than ever before. There has never been a better time to use this approach to marketing to your advantage.
Here’s everything that you need to know so you can get started as an affiliate:
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is based on revenue sharing and involves the promotion of a product by a third party. This third party often promotes the product to earn a commission if their marketing efforts prove profitable for the merchant.
The merchant benefits because they have multiple people and businesses bolstering their brand awareness and marketing. The affiliate marketer benefits because they will earn an income for doing minimal work.
How You Can Become an Affiliate Marketer
Give Yourself a Head Start
Becoming an affiliate marketer, also known as a ‘publisher’, is easier and more profitable if you already have a sizable following or an existing customer base. You will also benefit if you choose to add the merchant’s product to your list of products on your e-commerce store. Anyone can become an affiliate marketer.
Learn About the Job
It pays to do some research and amplify your skills to be a success of this venture. The good news is that several websites offer online courses in affiliate marketing or access to communities for advice and guidance. Based on Optimize to Convert, it’s easy to find an affiliate marketing learning community that is 100% free to join.
Keep in mind that there are many different types of affiliate programs to choose from, many of which payout for different outcomes. For example, the most common type is a ‘pay per sale’ model. In other words, your pay equals the number of products that you manage to sell.
However, other models include ‘pay per lead’ and ‘pay per click’. With the latter, a publisher convinces a website visitor to click through to the merchant’s site. The number of clicks generated, the higher the pay. It’s details like this that you’ll need to know ahead of time before you become a serious affiliate. If you don’t know what each model offers, you’ll never understand how to operate as an affiliate.
Join an Affiliate Program
Once you have increased your knowledge about what affiliate marketing requires, you can find an affiliate program to join.
When you a part of an affiliate program, it’s time to start setting your business apart as an authority and leader within your niche. You can do this through content creation, writing/filming reviews, etc. The aim here should be to build up your following and collect email addresses.
Learn about CPA marketing training.
You will also have to consider using pay per click advertising to your advantage to scale your growth.
Is Affiliate Marketing Really Worthwhile?
If the statistics are anything to go by, then yes. According to Business Insider, around 15% of the total digital media advertising revenue generated is due to affiliate marketing.
Ultimately, affiliate marketing has proved itself time and time again. Whether you are a merchant or a publisher, it is almost certain that your bottom line will benefit from embracing this specific online marketing practice. So, give it a try and see for yourself.
Remember: it is much better to promote a product that you actually believe in and have an appreciation for as this will ensure that your marketing is relatable and genuine. Get behind a product you love, and give affiliate marketing your best shot.
