No industry was able to avert the devastating impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. Regardless of what shape or size, each business is facing its own distinctive set of challenges to survive this COVID-ravaged economy.
One of the many industries experiencing the surmounting pressure from the pandemic is the affiliate marketing industry. The multifarious effect brought by the pandemic has changed the landscape of the marketing industry, including the affiliate marketing business.
Several businesses are now switching to digital solutions to continue operation in light of government-mandated closure of physical stores. Because of this, the role of affiliate marketing is more important than ever, as the competition among brands is becoming stiffer.
Before going any further in discussing the many benefits of affiliate marketing and ways on how you can use it to grow your business, let us know more of what this term means.
Affiliate Marketing: A Definition
Affiliate marketing is a popular strategy employed to boost sales and generate sizable online revenue. In affiliate marketing, an affiliate endorses the products or services of a company. If such endorsement generates sales, the affiliate will receive a percentage from the company.
This performance-based marketing model is now a gigantic global industry, valuing over $12 billion. Along with effective programmatic advertising, affiliate marketing is one of the popular choices among brands for marketing strategy.
How Affiliate Marketing Works
There are three major stakeholders in an affiliate marketing scheme: the advertiser (merchant), the consumer (user), and the affiliate (publisher). As each of these parties plays its specific role, each receives particular benefits throughout the process.
In a nutshell, the advertiser hires the expertise of an affiliate in order for the latter to convince the user to buy the products or services of the advertiser. An affiliate or publisher could be a blogger, an influencer, or a publisher who already has an existing audience
Benefits of Affiliate Marketing to Your Business
Cost-Effective
Affiliate marketing is cost-efficient compared to hiring your own sales team. By outsourcing your marketing concerns, it takes a lot of load off your company’s plate, allowing you to give more time and attention to other important aspects of your business, such as improving product or service quality.
Convenient to Start and Manage
By using an affiliate network, you can gain access to multiple trustworthy marketers and publishers, allowing you to boost brand awareness through multiple channels. Other than that, the progress of your affiliate marketing strategy can be easily tracked using affiliate tracking software tools.
Helps Create New Audience
Most businesses find it difficult to directly connect with their target audience. But with affiliate marketing, companies are able to reach out to even a wider audience. Consumers are likely to prefer products or services they are more familiar with, and you can increase brand awareness with the help of influencers or bloggers.
How to Grow Your Business With Affiliate Marketing
Know Your Niche
Just because an affiliate works for a certain brand doesn’t mean it would be the same for you. Knowing your niche is a necessary step for you to know your target audience, thus giving you a clearer insight into what type of affiliate marketer to hire. By doing so, you are on the road to a successful affiliate marketing strategy.
Find the Right Affiliates
In relation to the first tip, selecting the right affiliates helps your brand grow. No matter how good your product or service is, if the affiliate you choose is someone who has a bad rapport with their audience, your affiliate marketing tactic will not result in increased leads and converts. Picking the right niche affiliate is necessary so that your efforts are not left in vain.
Build on a Strong Affiliate Network
Create your own affiliate network instead of reaching into different affiliate networks. Though getting your first recruit can be arduous, growing your base is comparatively easy. Be upfront with your potential affiliates on matters such as tasks, processes, and how much commission they will receive. Furthermore, offer appreciation and rewards to your top-performing affiliates to boost performance.
Increase Affiliate Share on Less Salable Items
Another surefire way for affiliate marketing to increase your company’s growth is by offering percentages on low selling products. Not only will it drive your affiliates to perform even better, but it will also increase the number of sales in your business.
Downturns, such as this pandemic, offer an opportunity to grow. With the right affiliate and application of your marketing strategy, surely your business will survive this current crisis.
