What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate Marketing is defined as promoting another company’s product or service in exchange for a commission. When a user or possible customer clicks on the affiliate link, the link’s promoter gets a commission in exchange.
This can be done through many marketing channels such as blogs, email lists, and social media; a good example of this is YouTube
How does Affiliate Marketing Work?
The main concept of affiliate marketing works by exchanging or “dividing” the responsibilities of creating a brand or product and its marketing between parties. This is with the purpose of making more effective the whole marketing system.
The way the Affiliate Marketing system depends a lot on the channel that this is done through. The affiliate can recommend the product through video in case of YouTube, or images in the case of Instagram.
Another example of this can be Amazon, which program is called “Amazon Associates” and it works by the user adding a link on his website to an Amazon’s product. When a user makes a purchase through this product, he gets a commission.
Elements of Successful Affiliate Marketing.
The merchant.
It is also known as the brand, the business, seller, or owner of the product.
The affiliate.
Also known as the publisher, is the part where the actual marketing happens; the affiliate promotes the affiliate products to convince the users or possible customers of renting them.
The consumer.
The part that is to be convinced by the affiliate and will buy the merchant’s product, consumers, are the essential part of the affiliate marketing system because without them, there would not be any gain to either of the other parts.
The network.
A network is a platform where exchanges between merchants and affiliates happen. An affiliate network works as a database of products where the affiliate can choose which one to promote and where the payment and product delivery will occur.
Tips to Affiliate Marketing (for merchants).
- Always test the conversion rates.
The best way to know that the affiliate links are working is by measuring the site’s conversion rate where the purchase is occurring. By this diagnosis, the marketer can define whether to try another tactic or to improve the current one.
- Identify the affiliate traffic sources.
By identifying the demographic of the audience interested in the product, the marketer will have a better idea of what approach to suggest to the affiliate and how to customize the message provided to customers.
Tips to Affiliate Marketing (for affiliates).
- Promote products from different merchants.
It is important to try to work with different businesses and merchants. Otherwise, the affiliate marketer will find himself stuck with the landing pages, commissions, and landing pages of a single website. This strategy will diversify the number of commissions and create a steady job and income source in the future.
- Recommend familiar products.
The more an affiliate marketer makes good and trustworthy recommendations, the more likely the users or possible customers will come back looking for new tips and products or services to buy or rent. Building a good relationship with the audience is key to building a reputation and gaining more and more affiliate links.