The two parties explicitly involved in this process are the creator or owner of the product and the affiliate marketer. The creator of the product is the one the product belongs to and the affiliate marketer is the one who puts in his interest and marketing efforts to promote the product. The purpose of affiliate marketing is to divide the marketing efforts amongst different parties who are interested in promoting your product to receive a share of the revenues you’ll earn through the sales of the products they are promoting.
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An Overview of Affiliate Marketing – Facts and Figures
Globally the affiliate marketing industry is worth $12 billion and is responsible for 16% of sales done worldwide through eCommerce platforms. Nearly 81% of the brands around the world use affiliate marketing programs and 94% of publishers use multiple platforms to reach as many customers as possible. The spending in this industry is growing at the rate of 10% each year.
The U.S is the industry leader with a 39% share and the second is the UK with 15%. The fashion industry is the biggest contributor with a contribution of 23%, which is nearly a quarter. Sports and outdoors is in second place with a share of 18% in all affiliate programs.
50% of the traffic from affiliate marketing programs is through mobile devices. Nearly 68% of affiliate marketers connect with customers through social media platforms.
The Pros of Affiliate Marketing
Nearly half of businesses around the world are challenged with generating leads and traffic and are committed to utilizing different platforms to generate traffic and promote their brand. One of the methods of promoting products on different platforms is affiliate marketing. The benefits of affiliate marketing include:
1) A Performance-Based Program: meaning an affiliate marketer will only receive a payout if his/her efforts result in sales. This drives them to put more effort in, in order to attain the conversions, they desire.
2) Increased Audience Reach: Since the affiliates already have established themselves in different sectors, you’ll be able to reach more customers through their sites and network and you may even have the opportunity to introduce your brand in different sectors than your usual target audience.
3) Diversity: Affiliate marketing offers a variety of different platforms so you can test out different outlets with different audiences to understand who engages more, and where your marketing dollars are better allocated.
4) Because of all the reasons listed above affiliate marketing can be very cost-effective. You don’t need to spend your budget on advertising unless you receive conversions.
5 Affiliate Marketing Trends of 2022
The affiliate marketing industry has been growing rapidly, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent times, the eCommerce industry saw a significant boom due to an increase in online sales. Here are a few noted trends that will be prevalent in the affiliate marketing sector.
1) Specialization is Essential
Many affiliates realize that to be successful in this sector, it is important that one understands it is not just about marketing. It demands additional expertise like effective content strategy, web development, and more. A team of four to five affiliates who specialize in different skills can come together to work as a single source. This will ensure more success as each and every person on the team will be responsible for a specific task.
2) Influencers Are Key Players
For a long time, people have been skeptical about buying things online. Mostly because it is hard for them to trust the quality of the product without seeing it. Influencers have followers who trust them. Promoting a product through an influencer will help audiences trust the product, which will encourage them to buy it.
3) Advertising Is A Flexible Discipline
Marketing trends continue to shift, especially in recent times where social media plays a great role in making a product stand out. It is important to keep up with these trends. You should know what you can cash in on immediately and you should also have a clear idea of what digital marketing platforms are most effective for the product that you’re promoting.
4) Automation
Multitasking can be extremely time-consuming, that is where automation tools come in handy to assist you with your marketing initiatives. Delegating some tasks to automated tools will give you more time to focus on strategizing and creating good content, and less on the more tactical tasks.
5) Always Take Holidays and Seasonal Themes Into Account
From big to small brands, everyone has the opportunity to cash in on the holiday seasons. Having seasonal sales or giving discount codes based on a holiday will give your sales a boost, giving your audience an incentive to buy. According to Salesforce, the total holiday sales through digital platforms reached $270 billion globally in 2020.
Continue to promote the products based on the holiday season. You can even get innovative and create a themed day surrounding a product or industry to further motivate the customers.
Frequently Asked Questions – Affiliate Marketing
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How can I find quality publishers?
It is best for your business to collaborate with an affiliate marketing agency. They are more reliable and have an established network.
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What is an affiliate network?
An affiliated network is a group of companies associated together. They offer each other leads and complementary products.
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How does affiliate marketing work alongside other marketing channels?
Affiliated marketing is a single kind of marketing effort that divides the efforts a business needs to invest in different marketing channels in order to be successful.
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How do you know which affiliates would perform well for your brand?
It is important to know what kind of industry the affiliate caters to. There are some affiliates who specialize in a single type of industry, so it is important to vet them out first.
Final Word
Affiliate Marketing is a cost-effective tactic that can help you cater to a bigger market. It helps in generating leads and promoting the brand in a much more efficient manner. Visit our website and learn more about different digital marketing platforms that your business can significantly benefit from.