Affiliate marketing can be tricky to navigate. It’s not a new concept, but it’s definitely still unexplored and untapped.
Many have tried and many have failed. And yet, few have succeeded and established themselves as experts in the field. But before we move on to the affiliate marketing challenges and experts, let’s have you test the waters.
What is affiliate marketing in the first place?
Affiliate marketing is a mutual agreement whereby an online retailer pays a commission to an outside party for generating sales and traffic for them. In other words, it’s a brilliant way to make money if you can’t handle the 9-5 drill. An affiliate marketer uses the network, influence and skills of it to find qualified clients for other companies and get a piece of the cake.
It is a great income generating tactic used by businesses to drive sales and increase their audience. A good affiliate marketing strategy can greatly complement and enhance a good digital marketing strategy.
Now that you’ve got your feet wet, let’s dig a little deeper.
Why should bloggers opt for affiliate marketing?
How do you become an affiliate marketer?
And once that is, what is the affiliate marketing process like?
That’s how!
Suppose you become an affiliate marketer for XYZ Ltd. Now the company will provide you with a link to your landing page. It could be a link to your registration page, Newsletter, product purchase page, etc. The link will have trackers added.
You now share this link through your platforms with your audience and the people you think can benefit from XYZ Ltd. Every time someone clicks on your link and completes the target CTA, the company keeps counting the people it receives through. the tracking parameters in the link. Once your purchase is confirmed, the transaction is credited to your account. And they pay you your commission 💰!
money-earn
There are many ways to make money online and affiliate marketing is one of the good ones.
As an individual, there are many reasons why you should become an affiliate marketer. These reasons include, but are not limited to, fast cash and time flexibility. Plus, you can take advantage of that network of professionals you’ve been building on LinkedIn!
Next question, where do you find affiliate programs to join?
Fortunately, there are many options. Check out these affiliate programs if you are a tech blogger or browse the collections of affiliate programs.
Why should businesses go for affiliate marketing?
For a business, affiliate marketing can be a great strategy. And there are several reasons for this.
You are targeting the right audience.
When you partner with affiliates who understand your industry, you make sure you reach the right audience. Your network will be made up of people who will understand the value of your product or service. This will ensure that they have a greater potential to become paid customers and make the best use of your product or service.
Low cost
Profitable strategies are a boon for any marketer. But affiliate marketing takes the cake! The best part of affiliate marketing is that you only pay when a paying customer actually wins. This ends up giving you a profitable strategy with a high ROI.
Flexibility
Affiliate marketing is not a long-term commitment, unlike your gym membership. You can scale your affiliate program up or down as your marketing strategy and budget allow. This gives you much more flexibility and time to focus on other marketing efforts.
Your brand awareness
Affiliate branding can be a twisted way to take advantage of influencer marketing. If an expert in your field trusts your product and sells it to other people in your industry, you will develop trust in the mind of your audience. This will not only increase your sales and revenue, but it will also help steer your brand in a more positive direction.
Affiliate Marketing Guide
These are just some of the incredible benefits you get from affiliate marketing as a business.
There are many tools to run your affiliate marketing for your product.
Before we introduce you to the affiliate marketing experts we initially discussed, we have some tips of our own on affiliate marketing!
Affiliate Marketing Strategies
For business
Leverage Industry Experts – When looking for affiliates, experts in your industry should be your first choice. Why? Well, they already have a built-in network of professionals who would understand the usefulness of their product. They have an authentic relationship with their audience and would perform better as experts.
Offer a good commission rate – Study your industry averages before creating your affiliate marketing program. You don’t want to offer commission rates that are much higher or lower than the prevailing market rates. Your affiliates should get paid that is worth their effort.
Explore their platforms – Search all platforms when trying to find an affiliate. You may only be present on Instagram, but your affiliate may find a better audience for you on Facebook. So don’t limit yourself!
Smooth the process – Make sure the enrollment process is smooth for your affiliate and the people they bring. Streamline your conversion process and make sure there are no glitches down the road. Make sure there are no problems with your landing pages or your checkout processes.
For affiliate
Choose the right product – Commissions are definitely a priority when choosing a product. But make sure you’re not looking for a product where you can’t see the value. Your network will see it through you. Your audience trusts you and your word is their only testimony. Make sure you use it well.
Know the product – Before deciding to promote a product, make sure you know it completely. When you are an affiliate, you are the most authentic source of product information for your audience. Treat it like you have. Go over the features, the operation, the prices, and everything else.
Don’t overwhelm – You need to promote the product to your audience without looking too ‘salesy’. Don’t overwhelm your audience with affiliate links in all your emails, posts, and content. Try to show the value of the product to your audience and keep the balance. And you will see that you will not even have to try to sell it.
Maintain your brand – The company chose you to be their affiliate for a reason. You need to maintain your own brand and voice while promoting the product to your audience. For that they trust and like you. Businesses will often ask you to use their language, but make sure you don’t use it 100% literally. Infuse it with your own crafts!
Well, you are half ready to become an affiliate marketer!
Sounds easy right? If only it were.
Affiliate marketing may not work all the time. But we’ve brought you some of the best experts who have danced and learned the tunes of affiliate marketing. Read on to find out more about them!
Some of the top-earning affiliate marketers.
Do you have a favorite affiliate marketer? See if they made our list!
Pat flynn
We can’t talk about affiliate marketing and don’t start with Pat Flynn! He was forced to enter the online business from architecture due to the economic collapse of 2008.
Pat had no experience in business, content marketing, or even copywriting. He started writing his own blog when he decided to track and post his study notes for the LEED exam in 2007. He passed his exam and was promoted. Everything was great until he was fired in 2008. It was then that he decided to take some courses and learn about business online.
He realized that thousands of people visited his blog every day and he didn’t even know it. His content was SEO-friendly and he was getting Links to this page. He soon began to earn a bit with Good Adsense and private advertising. But it was his e-book on his LEED notes that really changed the game for him. This eventually led to the SmartPassiveIncome domain that we are all familiar with today.
Pat Flynn first created a community of his own through his content and then entered the world of affiliate marketing.
Neil patel
NOW Neil Patel is not someone he usually knows as an affiliate marketer. But with the position he has in the world of digital marketing, would it surprise you?
Neil Patel has not only done his own piece of affiliate marketing, but also shares important insights that can help you boost his own business. He has built and helped many growing companies; he has his own blog that gains traffic like crazy.
Neil Patel gives these tips in his affiliate marketing guide that we think will really help you.
- Collect emails
- Use push notifications to gain subscribers
- Build your brand
- Weave your content
- Have a call to action!
Neil Patel should be your go-to person for all affiliate marketing (only after this guide lol)
Martin Osborn
You won’t find him easily under the name Martin Osborn. But Finch sells, instead.
How amazing you have to be to make your brand your identity! Well, it’s in his name! This guy sells, and that’s what has made him the youngest successful affiliate marketer. Finch quit his 9-5 job, like most affiliate marketers, and started working his job full time.
Today he owns a company called Finch Media Ltd. His main website is finchsells.com, and his estimated earnings are close to $ 25,000 per month. Previously, he used to earn most of his money by selling his Ultimate Premium Package and Premium Publications. But recently, he has published his complete guide on affiliate marketing that he can check out in stores.
Martin started promoting his forums at the age of 12, had his own forum at 14, and had learned how to monetize. At age 16, he learned about affiliate marketing with Clickbank, an affiliate marketplace. There, he was selling learning kits for next to nothing.
CPA marketing was what gave him that much-needed boost and that increased his profits. Today’s blog is a great place to learn everything he wants to know about affiliate marketing. He talks about his personal life, professional experience, and digital marketing tips for optimizing his affiliate marketing network.
Shawn collins
Shawn Collins is one of the most experienced affiliate marketers, with over 2 decades of experience in the field. He started affiliate marketing in 1997 and soon co-founded the Affiliate Summit in 2003 together with Missy Ward. Affiliate Summit is the world’s leading conference and trade show for the affiliate marketing industry. He is also the author of the book Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants.
His shift to the world of affiliate marketing from the publishing industry began with Amazon’s affiliate marketing program. Today, his book, ‘Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants’ is the best-selling book in the space, and affiliate managers consider it a must-read.
He wrote Amazon’s Best Selling Book – Affiliate Manager Boot Camp and Bonus Money Answer: Affiliate Recruitment, Education, and Retention.
John chow
Another great name that you cannot miss when it comes to affiliate marketing is John Chow.
He started from scratch and made a lot of money! John Chow was the winner of the 2012 Affiliate Marketing Awards for Best Affiliate Marketing Blog and is the subject of a blogging and social media documentary for CBC television.
He took his blog from zero to $ 40,000 a month in just two years. He talks about affiliate marketing, some great tips on digital marketing, and how you can boost your blog to monetize it like him.
Well, the above are some of the good affiliate marketers to follow if you are trying to boost your business as an affiliate marketer.
Before you put things to bed, here are some common mistakes that you should make sure to avoid when diving into affiliate marketing.
Common mistakes made by affiliate marketers
Here are some things to keep in mind.
Don’t choose too many products – As an affiliate marketer, you need to be careful not to choose too many products. It helps build trust when you invest in only a few specific products of your choice.
Design a poor quality website – Your website is your face. If your website isn’t appealing to your audience, they are less likely to take your word for it about the products you promote. Design a website that resonates with your brand.
Don’t be regular – Consistency is critical to audience engagement. If you don’t frequently post or post boring content on your social media, your graph will decline faster than an introvert’s interest in a conversation (sorry, we like to try our luck with bad jokes)
Just relying on organic traffic – Like any other marketer, you can’t just rely on organic traffic. If you want people to visit your website and subscribe to the products you market, you have to dance. Invest in paid ad campaigns and target the right audience to get to your website.
Some parting words
Well that was it from our ending in this short affiliate marketing guide. Hope you have great success in affiliate marketing.