Affiliate marketing is the process of marketing a company’s products or services to earn a commission. Earnings depend on multiple factors, such as the type of product and the amount of sales generated by the marketer’s efforts.
Affiliate marketers’ sales are tracked via a link that directs customers from one platform to another – the company’s website.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?
There are three parties involved in the transaction that takes places via affiliate marketing:
- The Company or Seller
- The Marketer
- The Customer
The company is the entity who produces and sells a specific product or service. Products can vary from physical products to digital products and services or courses. These companies will often have affiliate programs and forms one can fill out on their website to apply for affiliation.
The marketer is the individual who applies to be affiliated with the company’s products or services – if the company approves, they will provide the marketer with a trackable link that directs potential customers to the landing page of the service or goods they offer.
The marketing individual or company promotes these products to their audience, aiming to convince them that the product at hand is valuable and worth the investment. Marketers will direct potential customers to the link where they can find and purchase this product.
If any customer purchases the company’s goods by utilising the link of the marketer (which is trackable), a percentage of revenue will be allocated to the marketer as commission for their efforts.
Which Marketing Channels Can You Use For Affiliate Marketing?
There are many ways marketers can go about promoting their affiliated products. Each channel offers it’s own set of benefits, and marketers should choose the platforms where they have the best influence, which best suit their products, and where they can most effectively drive traffic. These channels include:
Organic Channels
Content marketing entails the creation of valuable content on a digital platform with the goal of attracting your niche or target audience. These are platforms such as personal/business websites, a blog, or social media pages and YouTube channels.
Social media marketing, similar to product marketing, is the utilisation of social media platforms to reach potential customers and promote affiliate products. These platforms include Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest and others.
Email marketing can be very affective if you have an email list or newsletter. Affiliate products can be promoted via targeted email campaigns.
SEO can be particularly useful to rank higher on search engines, improving your platform’s visibility and thus the visibility of your affiliate products. This can help organically drive traffic to your website which can be converted into sales through affiliate links.
Always try to include affiliate links naturally into your content, showcasing the value of the product and how it improves your life.
More from Guides
- Startups Using Volcanic Heat and Rocks To Power the Future of Clean Energy
- Can You Negotiate Business Bank Account Terms?
- How Do Business Accounts Help With Budget Tracking?
- The Role Of HR In Remote Workforce Management
- What Do Business Account Interest Rates Mean For Your Startup?
- How AI is Transforming Recruitment?
- The Best Books For Startup Founders Looking To Learn About Fundraising
- How Do Payroll Deductions Work?
Paid Channels
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising works by running targeted ads on different platforms to intentionally drive traffic to affiliate links. These platforms include social media and search engines like Google or Bing. PPC is currently also a very high performing marketing funnel, with SEO coming in second best, as reported by NP Digital.
Social media advertising is another method of reaching a targeted audience on social media platforms. Paid advertising allows you to reach a wider audience to promote affiliate products to.
Online forums and communities can also be a great way to introduce your affiliate products as a potential solution to other people’s problems. These communities, such as Quora, are usually accessible for a monthly fee while others such as Reddit can be accessed free of charge.
What Are Some Popular Industries For Affiliate Marketers?
Since affiliate marketing is a low-risk, established marketing strategy, nearly every industry has some or other product marketers can become affiliated with.
But, as with all industries, some perform better and generate more revenue than others, which depends on factors such as economic conditions, the appeal of certain products to a specific audience, etc. Here are the most high earning industries for affiliate marketers:
1. The Wellness And Lifestyle Industry
Especially after the pandemic, people are now more concerned with their health and well-being than they ever been. People have become more health-conscious.
This industry focuses on sectors such as nutrition, fitness, skincare, longevity vitamins, clothing and footwear.
The easiest way to tap into this market, is to target a concern with a product that stands to be a possible solution.
2. The Tech Industry
It is no secret that technological advancement has reached an all-time high.
Digital products such as entertainment, streaming services and downloads, mobile apps, software, video games, and other gadgets have become an integral part of our lives.
The best way to tap into tech is to showcase how a product, whether digital or physical, improves your life.
3. Personal Finance And FinTech
The fintech sector has seen exponential growth in the past few years.
The industry includes aspects like investments and cryptocurrencies, e-banking and e-invoicing, data security measures and innovation in payments (like currency conversion apps).
Most people prioritise having control over their finances, looking for reliable solutions that are safe and stable.
4. The Pet Care Industry
Owning a pet is like having a a teaser version of a child. Once you have the responsibility of a pet, you can’t exactly avoid it.
The industry includes products and services like pet food and snacks, clothing and accessories, therapy and training for service pets, grooming products, and more.
With remote work increasing in popularity, all the more people are inviting pets into their home. By offering potential customers reliable services and the ease of online shopping, turning a profit with pet care can be easily done.
Affiliate marketing is a low-risk, established marketing strategy that is easy to get started with and can be highly profitable if taken seriously. By utilising the right platforms and choosing high-performing industries, affiliate marketers can increase their chances of turning decent profits and turn the opportunity into a solid side hustle.
