5 Factors to Consider when Choosing the Right Affiliate Network

As most digital marketers very well know, affiliate networks are invaluable tools for businesses looking to expand their online presence and drive growth. These networks provide the right platforms for businesses and publishers to connect and collaborate for mutual benefits. The right affiliate networks significantly help businesses to leverage the power of affiliate marketing to reach new audiences, grow their brands and significantly increase their sales. Businesses that thus have the right strategies and network in place can directly harness the full potential of affiliate marketing and achieve significant growths in their operations.

This is exactly why selecting the right and appropriate affiliate network is always a pivotal decision for businesses aiming to harness the full power of affiliate marketing. To get this done, the choices every business makes must always align with the business model, its unique needs and goals/objectives. The following 5 factors are quite handy to help make these vital choices.

1. Network’s Reach
 
The reach of an affiliate network is always of paramount importance in making a choice. That is where the market is. Before making this choice therefore, you must consider the size and scope of the network’s affiliate base. The larger the network, the better for the promotional activities of affiliates! Even though a large network may provide more opportunities for exposure, a smaller but more niche specific network can offer more targeted and high-quality affiliates. Always best therefore to factor in both in the circumstance.
 
2. Network Reputation and Reliability

Yes, just like in any other business, reputation counts for much in affiliate marketing. This is why it is best to thoroughly research a network’s track record before making a choice. You can diligently check out reviews from other businesses and affiliates in the course of your research to properly gauge the reputation of the network. This is because a network with a positive reputation and a proven history of reliability will contribute to a more successful affiliate partnership than otherwise.

3. Business Model Compatibility
 
Niche and business model compatibility are hugely important in affiliate marketing. Therefore, you must always ensure the network you choose caters to your industry and has experience with similar types of products/services you are promoting. If you settle for the right fit, it can significantly affect the success of your affiliate marketing program.

4. Affiliate Management and Support

Be sure to make real efforts to thoroughly evaluate the level of support a network provides in managing affiliates in its program. This management includes customer support, teaching, marketing methods and tools, accurate commissions tracking and attribution and other marketing activities. Always look out for networks that offer dedicated account managers, robust tracking systems, and accessible 24/7 customer service. These services are really needed to assist with any challenges that are bound to arise from time to time.

5. Commission Structures

Everyone is in affiliate marketing to earn money and this is done mostly by way of earned commissions. Since different networks offer various commission models, it helps to carefully consider what you’ll prefer before choosing an affiliate network. Some networks prefer paying commissions as pay-per-sale, pay-per-click, or pay-per-lead. These commissions may be payable weekly, two-weekly or monthly. It is left to you to assess which of these structures best aligns with your sales objectives and marketing strategies before making a choice.

4 Realistic Ways to Make Money on Pinterest

You can realistically make money on Pinterest but mostly in indirect ways. Technically, Pinterest is a self-described visual discovery search engine. Users usually take to Pinterest to for instance find an idea for a fresh new recipe or some suchlike visual discovery and there is an endless feed of vertical images and short videos you can view and save to spark inspiration. You can thus indirectly make money on Pinterest by using pins to promote a blog or online business and partnering with brands to earn through affiliate links. This is more so when you have hundreds of millions of active users on the platform. Because Pinterest also serves as an organic advertising tool for bloggers and business owners and also a credible way for popular pinners to partner with brands and cash in on influential posts, money is made indirectly from the platform.

To partake in these money-making activities, you must first convert your Pinterest account to a free business account. Doing so allows you unhindered access to in-house analytics and the ability for advertisers and merchants to create various ads on the platform to earn some income. Next is to tactically use the built-in Pinterest Trends tool to explore popular search terms, then craft pin titles, tags and description text that hits on relevant keywords. That helps to attract the much needed traffic to your e-commerce business.

If either as a side-hustle or full-time income you really want to make money on Pinterest, here are some four realistic ways to get it done.

1. Affiliate Marketing on Pinterest

If you are active on Pinterest, your pins may be your own way of having fun by sharing what you like and are passionate about with others. Some suchlike common topics like sports, gardening, home décor, cooking and fitness for instance. If you consistently post these pins particularly when they obviously demonstrate your expertise in your chosen niche, with time, you’ll amass a sizeable following on the platform. If you are active on other popular social media platforms as well, your influence could open great opportunities to join an affiliate program. If you do, you can then begin to earn a commission for promoting products featured in your pins. Once you become an affiliate, you can effectively use the product tagging feature of Pinterest to add personalized affiliate links to pins. Viewers can then click directly to your product pages outside of Pinterest and make purchases. That earns you good commissions as an affiliate. You can take full advantage of other popular affiliate programs like Amazon Associates and ShareASale that let you earn a commission for recommending products on social accounts to earn more commissions.

2. Free Advertising for your Monetized Blog

If you write a personal blog that is already popular, you can monetize it by selling ads spaces promoted on Pinterest. You can monetize your popular blog by integrating online ads in it or embedding affiliate links for products relevant to your niche. You can then use Pinterest to promote your blog posts in an effort to drive traffic to the website and exposing your e-commerce products. For effects, you can grab an image from your blog or website and use Pinterest’s built-in in-house tools to add text and tweak the design of your pin. If you add your unique link to the post, it will help drive viewers back to your website/blog. Because the unique link you added is visible to viewers and clickable when viewers hover over your pin, it helps drive traffic to your blog. Such traffic could translate to eventual leads and sales.

3. Inspired Entrepreneurship  

Technically, Pinterest was designed as a digital bulletin board that allows for broad exchange of ideas. It certainly wasn’t started with brand deals and affiliate marketing or even monetization in mind. It was one great place to go to if you’re in search of how to save money by doing things yourself. It thus became popular with people searching for DIY ways to improve their lives and living space. If for instance you want to start an online business, you can search Pinterest directly for the best things to sell online as part of your research process. Pinterest is thus great for inspired entrepreneurship. Even if Pinterest does not pay you directly for the content you create, you can still earn income by using the platform as a very effective marketing or influencer tool. This is because the platform allows you to earn income through outside sources like your own e-commerce business, an affiliate program or any brand you choose to work with.

4. Free Advertising for your E-commerce Business

Pinterest is one great platform for e-commerce business owners to take advantage of organic advertising approach and it’s free. This can be done in the same way you would make pins about your business offering, to attract traffic back to your e-commerce business website. What you write in your pins and how the pins are designed is quite significant in this quest. When viewers hover over your pins and the pins are embedded with clickable links, a click therein sends the viewer directly to your e-commerce business website. Sales can naturally result from such online journeys.