What is affiliate marketing?
To put it simply, affiliate marketing is selling another company's services or products for a commission. But like any other transaction, this, too, has different aspects and elements to be considered thoroughly.
The process of affiliate marketing starts with the seller, who creates an affiliate program for affiliate marketers, who receive a link from the seller. Affiliates use that link to promote products/services, and each click on the link stores cookies to help the seller trace the affiliate through whom the product was promoted. Each click brings profit to the affiliate if a sale is made within 30 days after the storing of the cookie in the browser.
4 major parties are included in the affiliate marketing process.
- Sellers create the product or service which affiliates promote. A seller can be a company or an individual, virtually anyone who can pay commission to affiliates.
- Affiliates promote and sell the sellers' products/services. An affiliate can also be a company or an individual. Affiliates are virtually content creators, influencers.
- Networks are optional. Some sellers decide to collaborate with networks to manage their affiliate programs to facilitate transactions and relationships with the affiliates.
- Consumers, naturally, are the people who ultimately purchase the product or service of the seller that was promoted by an affiliate.
Payments are made in various methods, such as per click, per sale, or per lead.Reasons to get into affiliate marketing and its benefits include:
- Flexible hours and easy management;
- Low risk and cost-effectiveness;
- Little effort and potentially big income.
So, where would one start with affiliate marketing?
- Decide what niche you want to be involved in. That is, what you will be promoting. Aim to be known for something, such as eco utilities.
- Choose your platform of operation: will you be promoting the products/services, for example, on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube?
- Make a conscious and informed choice on the products/services you will promote. Make sure to be authentic in your promotions and promote what you yourself would purchase or about the quality of which you are certain.
- Dig into affiliate programs to decide the one you will work with. Pay attention to factors such as payment logistics and methods, relevancy and demand of the products/services, competition, etc.
- Off you go to creating quality content and driving traffic.
Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn money from the web traffic you create as an influencer. Make sure to do your research before committing to an affiliate program to ensure you reap the benefits because they are substantial!
YOU CAN ALSO READ
What is Influencer Marketing and Why is it Gaining Momentum
How to Grow your Audience on TikTok
Tips for Starting a YouTube channel
Types of Inlfuencer Marketing Campaigns