Let’s face it. We would all rather work less for more money even though that idea doesn’t seem to be possible in the real world. But with affiliate marketing, that out-of-this-world concept has been proven to be applicable, with a multitude of people making thousands of dollars out of it.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketingis an online marketing setup, wherein a third party (usually a blogger) helps a business or website promote its products or services for a cost. These third party marketers are called “affiliates”, and they do not get a regular salary for their services. Instead, they get paid for every sale, click, download, registration, or any other intended result out of the marketing campaign. They make use of various tools such as blog articles, guest posts, pop-up ads, email, social media and
Affiliate Marketing vs. Others: Why More and More are Venturing into Affiliate Marketing
So it sounds simple, but does it stand up to other means of promotion? The answer is: yes, very much so. Here are a few reasons why:
It’s cheap
More traditional marketing strategies require a lot of resources. From capital to connections, getting a product or a service out there and into the minds of people means spending a lot of money in creating marketing kits, designing websites, buying ad space and/or airtime, getting endorsements, etc.
With affiliate marketing, all a company has to do is create an affiliate program. It is cost efficient, as the company will only have to pay for actual sales conversion or user responses.
On the other hand, affiliates can get a good source of income that needs minimal investment, as they can use free online resources. All it takes are Internet connection, a computer, and a good deal of knowledge, creativity and determination.
It’s easy
Companies can reach out to a bigger audience through several marketers without having to spend extra and do the work themselves. They can just dole out the paychecks through various easy and convenient means, even to affiliates from the other side of the world.
Affiliates, on the other hand, can simply work on the task during their free time. Affiliate marketing needs minimal supervision and monitoring, since you just have to set up your strategies and let time work its miracles. Especially when you’ve already mastered your niche, making various tactics work for you could be a breeze.
It’s limitless
Despite their considerably higher cost, a 30-second TV commercial or a full-page newspaper ad can only reach so many people for a certain amount of time. But a web post or ad will be there 24/7, and can get people from around the world to see it.
It’s fast
Because of the interconnected high-speed nature of the World Wide Web, everything reaches everyone almost instantly. A brand can be built within a day if it hits the right nerve of the online populace. Sales can skyrocket, with people now being online almost all the time, making their purchase from just about all hours of the day.
Of course, there are some drawbacks to this type of marketing, since it taps a very fickle and sometimes cynical audience. At the speed of information flowing through the Net, people’s attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, with every next big thing getting replaced every other day. The user base is also more intelligent than usual, spotting hard sells quicker than ever, and rejecting sales pitches just as fast. So if we push too hard with the promotion, we can alienate our audience in a snap.
Nevertheless, the pros outweigh the cons, and affiliate marketers can employ strategies to make those downsides irrelevant. Here are seven that can guarantee success (and a whole lotta money):
7 Strategies for Affiliate Marketing Success
# 1. Choose your niche
One mistake beginners make is getting almost anything and everything under the sun and promoting them to the same set of audience.
Pick a niche, study it well, then stick to it. This will help you 1) have mastery of your audience and 2) effectively build your credibility in that niche.
# 2. Get a good grasp of your audience
Advertising a profitable product even if it doesn’t cater to your audience’s needs is a sure-fire way to FAIL. Users will just see the ads as a quick cash grab, and they’ll probably just get turned off and not show up again. So when picking a product to advertise on your website, it has to be relevant to your niche and your audience.
# 3. Know the product or service you are promoting
In affiliate marketing, writing an effective sales copy is one of the ultimate and tested weapons. Thus, it is important to know exactly what you’re talking about. Recommending people to buy the product without being able to say why is disingenuous, and it’ll show.
You can’t underestimate your readers because they can tell if you’re half-heartedly selling them something. And if someone does end up buying the product and sees that it’s not up to snuff, you could end up losing credibility.
Writing in-depth reviews on the merits of the product can do the trick. Make sure to be honest, and don’t deem it as some miracle cure for all your readers’ problems. Pointing out some of its flaws shows that you are being real about it, and this builds trust.
# 4. Be upfront about your business
If you already have a site and a following, don’t just start trying to sell products out of the blue. Your loyal readers will start noticing the ads, and because of whatever reason, their psychological guards will quickly come up. It is better to just inform your audience about your intentions. In exchange, they will share their trust and be more willing to check out the product being advertised.
# 5. Get a good deal
Another mistake newbies make in their excitement to start making money is signing up to the first affiliate program they stumble upon without looking around for better deals. Agreeing to anything less than a 20% commission is foolhardy, and you’d eventually find out how hard it is to make money with a bad contract even if you try your best. A good deal also means more options for how the ads show up in your blogs (banners, videos, pop-ups, pop-unders, etc.).
# 6. Use affiliate tracking services to make management easier
There is no such thing as being too cautious about managing the number of sales you make. By taking advantage of affiliate tracking services, you can ensure that you get exactly what you worked for—down to the last cent—as even affiliate companies can make mistakes in accounting.
# 7. Make even more money through referrals
This is one big reason why affiliate marketing is so popular. Growing a network dedicated to promoting a product that is wide-ranging and cheap is exactly what companies want, so companies will usually pay for referrals as they easily make up the costs.
By following these tips, you can maximize the already simple money-making process of affiliate marketing to earn even more. What’s a little more work to bigger profits anyway?
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