Everything You Need To Know About Affiliate Marketing

If you’re like the rest of us, chances are you’ve dreamt about the wonders of passive income; generating income without so much as lifting a finger. Yet, it often feels that passive income is simply too good to be true, due to the shock factor it brings about. What do you mean you can generate income without doing anything?!

However, if you follow the correct processes, generating passive income is entirely possible. One process being affiliate marketing. 

Despite rumours that affiliate marketing was on its way out, the industry is continuing to boost incomes across the world. In fact, annual spend on affiliate marketing grew from $5.4 billion in 2017 to $8.2 billion in 2022. So what’s all the hype about?

Put simply, affiliate marketing is the process of an affiliate (such as a content creator) gaining a commission whenever they influence a consumer to buy a product or service. Affiliate marketing has more than just financial benefits, however. As an influencer, affiliate marketing can help boost your following and your audience engagement. As a brand, it can broaden your audience reach and improve your brand image. Winners all round!

WHO ARE THE ACTORS IN AFFILIATE MARKETING?

There are four crucial actors in affiliate marketing, each with their own specific role to play. 

Affiliates 

Affiliates are the people who are gaining a commission through affiliate marketing. Commonly, these actors are content creators and influencers. They receive a link from the brand they are working with and earn a commission every time a consumer purchases a product via that link. 

Occasionally, an affiliate will earn a commission not merely on transactions, but also on clicks and leads. 

Product creators 

As the name suggests, product creators are the people who make the product being promoted by the affiliates. Product creators, typically brands, pay affiliates to market their products. 

The role of product creator does not have to be played by a specific brand however. One of the top affiliate programs is the Amazon Associates Program. This program offers affiliate marketing services to any user interested. Through this program, affiliates can work with any product sold by Amazon, no matter the supplier. 

Networks 

In some more traditional guides to affiliate marketing, networks are left out as actors. However, in our day and age of online affiliate marketing they are an incredibly important part of the process.

Networks are the in-betweeners. They act as intermediaries between the affiliates and the product creators, ensuring that the relationship stays civil and that all financial transactions are truthful. 

Consumers 

Finally, consumers are the people who purchase the products being marketed or fill out lead forms; their actions lead to commission being earned by affiliates. 

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO AFFILIATE MARKETING

Ensuring you succeed at affiliate marketing can be a bit of an intimidating process. But don’t worry, we’ve got your back. Let’s have a look at the most important steps to becoming a pro-affiliate marketer. 

Choose your niche and your platform 

Like most online-based marketing strategies, the first step in affiliate marketing is building a platform. Carving out a niche for your affiliate marketing platform is key to sticking out amongst the crowd and becoming a well-known name. 

When building your account, think about what sorts of brands you would like to attract. If you are passionate about coffee for example, then creating a platform where you review coffee products will make you the perfect candidate for coffee brands. 

Moreover, it is essential to consider the type of audience you are curating in this step. Accounts with smaller, more engaged followers are far more attractive to companies than those with a large following and lower engagement. 

Look into an affiliate program 

Simple and effective, signing up for an affiliate program such as Amazon Associates is a fantastic way to get started on your affiliate marketing journey. 

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These programs will provide you with an affiliate link unique to your account. Your followers are then able to follow this link and make purchases. 

Whilst the majority of these programs do not have any upfront costs, there may be costs depending on how you decide to market the product. For example, if you decide to run ads to promote the product. 

Choose what you want to promote 

When deciding which products you want to promote, it is important to select brands that suit your own mission, values, and personality. 

Your endorsements must be truthful and this is far easier if you respect the brand that you are working with. Furthermore, by becoming an affiliate for a company, you are aligning yourself with their values. Thus, you must ensure that you do not mind having your image tangled up in theirs. 

Beyond trusting the brand that you decide to work with, you must also have faith in the products you promote. Be sure that it works and will be helpful to your specific audience. 

Have your content support your affiliate product

To truly get the most out of your new found affiliate position, it is important to create high quality, authentic content surrounding the product. 

Your audience will pick up on false content and thus become unengaged or untrusting of your platform. Some ideas for quality content include writing blogs reviewing the product and interviewing other fans of the product. 

Track and optimise 

Understanding what affiliate content your audience responds to ensures that you continue to publish content your followers enjoy and that you have direction for future partnerships. 

Tracking your audience’s response to your content is simple through platform analytics. Most major social media platforms have built in analytics that allow you to track your Reach, Impressions, clicks and more. 

Pay day 

There are many different structures for payment within affiliate marketing, so be sure to understand your own and what it entails. 

Depending on your goals, you will want to choose different payment structures and therefore products. Some companies may operate on a pay per sale structure, whilst others may use a pay per lead. Consider your options and which style will work best for you, rather than jumping into the first offer you receive. 

FAQs 

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is the process of a product creator paying an affiliate a commission to promote their products. The commission is typically paid per transaction that the affiliate’s link generates. 

Who are the parties in affiliate marketing?

There are four parties in affiliate marketing. The affiliate, the product creator, the network, and the consumer. 

How does affiliate marketing work?

A product creator gives a unique link to an affiliate who promotes this link on their platforms. Any leads, clicks, or transactions that come from this link can generate commission. As a result, the product creator benefits from the affiliates influence and audience. 

What is an example of affiliate marketing?

An example of affiliate marketing is the Amazon Associates program, which allows any user to generate their own affiliate link and kickstart their affiliate program. For this reason, many believe that Amazon Associates is the best affiliate program. 

What are the best affiliate marketing methods in 2023?

The best affiliate marketing methods in 2023 include influencer marketing, blogging, referral links, and email lists. 

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