For years entrepreneurs have earned some sort of compensations for referring customers to other businesses even without implicitly referring to the business model as affiliate marketing. That has changed with the advent and popularity of eCommerce.
E-commerce thrives on a reciprocal business model of earning and paying commissions out of sales made. That is affiliate marketing in its simplest form. The affiliate earns a commission from the sales generated with his affiliate link while the product merchant pays the commission as per agreed terms and conditions. This business model of incentivizing referrals somehow creates a mutually beneficial arrangement where both parties are motivated to help each another.
Becoming an affiliate is simple. Just choose a company whose products you’ll like to promote then sign up. After signing up, you can then commence promoting the products’ links of the company in numerous places and online channels. The affiliate relationship may entail many diverse actions but the commonest is generating sales and earning commissions on your efforts. As long as the clicks come from your unique affiliate links, in-house cookies will track the customer all the way to the final action. That is when the affiliate is entitled to a commission that could range from 5-10% of the sale depending on the program. Because of the cost-effectiveness and easy accessibility of affiliate marketing, the business model has managed to become a global phenomenon. According to credible online statistics, here is why:
• Affiliate marketing is credited with up to 16% of all online purchases. Really huge.
• About 80% of affiliate marketers expect their revenue to keep growing.
• About 80% of brands now have affiliate marketing programs.
• Presently, the global industry is valued at around $12 billion. Awesome no doubt.
These staggering statistics make affiliate marketing worth the while as a business model and a veritable avenue for making money online. Anyone can make money with affiliate marketing if they choose to. But you must first understand how it works, how to do it and how to apply yourself adequately to the pursuit. If you do, your earning potential is limitless.
The question then is, will you? Then here is what it takes.
You must be able to market vigorously and target your ads sharply. Targeting is hugely essential for affiliate marketing to work well. Irrespective of whatsoever role you are playing in an affiliate marketing strategy, your marketing must always be well targeted for it to work. That is rather obvious. If your marketing is not well targeted, reactions to it will be poor. If people don’t click on your affiliate links and take the desired action, you can’t earn a commission. That is simple enough I suppose. You get the best results by promoting your affiliate links where your target audience will be looking. Expert affiliate marketers recommend the following locations amongst others.
• Training sessions
• Blog articles
• Email campaigns
• Newsletters
• Webinars
• PPC (pay-per-click) ads
• Social media posts
• Video content
• Google My Business platform
Depending on the products you are marketing, you can use all or some of these avenues to promote your affiliate links. You must however explore all ways to be deliberate and precise in your marketing efforts. As even a rookie marketer very well knows, promoting affiliate links to the wrong audience is all a wasted effort you can least afford.
