Affiliate marketing is often referred to as a “marketing channel,” but in practical terms, it is more of a marketing model of framework. It’s all about partnering with individuals and businesses (often called affiliates, publishers, or partners) for marketing purposes and rewarding them based on performance.
Brands using affiliate marketing have access to tools for tracking performance efficiently.
How does affiliate marketing work?
The concept of affiliate marketing is confusing to many marketers. To many marketers, it is just like search marketing or social ads that you can use on and off as the needs arise. Although affiliate marketing varies significantly, effective ones are built on the values of healthy relationships and transparency. It is not just a one-off thing.
An efficient affiliate program creates a win-win relationship between brands and affiliate partners. If an affiliate program is well established, it has the potential of delivering significant ROI for businesses. It can eventually become the primary source of online revenue for a brand.
What is the process of affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is not complicated.
A partner or affiliate promotes the affiliate link of product or service offered by a brand through their preferred platform. When a person clicks on the link, it stores a cookie on the computer and redirects the person to the brand’s website. The cookie is a piece of computer code that tracks sales generated from affiliate links and credits it to the Affiliate.
The amount the affiliate network pays the affiliate depends on the commission structure set by the brand that offers the product or service. That is what affiliate marketing is all about.
What are the best affiliate marketing strategies?
At this stage, you should have a good idea about what affiliate marketing is all about and how it works.
So, let’s take a look at the channels through which affiliate marketers promote affiliate offers today.
- Review and Niche Sites: These types of sites promote affiliate products by writing a review of the product to a niche audience. Sometimes, the approach is to compare and contrast several products from competitors
- Mobile Apps: Many apps contain links to affiliate products. A typical example is a shopping app that helps consumers find the best deals while shopping for products.
- Bloggers and Social Media Experts: Most bloggers write posts in a specific niche. While they write blogs about products and services they like, they include affiliate links that bring in commission when someone clicks and buys the product/service.
- Influencers: An influencers can be a public figure or an expert in a niche. These people have an established audience that can run into millions. They simply recommend products through their affiliate links and earn commissions from the sales generated.
- Workshop and Seminars: Many real-life events such as training and seminars promote affiliate offers in the course of the program. They can simply recommend affiliate products or services that are relevant to the subject matter of the training or seminar.
- Paid Advertising: This approach to affiliate marketing use some sort of paid advertising, such as Search Marketing, Social ads, or Solo Ads for marketing affiliate products.
How can DCM help you with Affiliate Marketing?
With our experts in Affiliate Marketing, DCM can consult with you about the possibilities of growing your niche websites in order to grow your affiliate marketing network.
Would you like to learn more about how we can help? Click here to contact us about affiliate marketing.