Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money for any company specializing in e-commerce. Assuming you have not heard of affiliate marketing, you are probably selling based only on the leads from your own marketing campaigns. This way, you only depend on the visibility that your networks generate. What if there was a way to generate leads from other people’s networks? How about paying for marketing only when the leads convert to actual sales? Well, that’s exactly what affiliate marketing does.
When you sign up for affiliate marketing, you get into a commission-based payment model with a retailer to promote and sell your goods and services. The advertiser(retailer) markets and sells your products through a unique link, and they get paid a commission only when the sale happens. In the business sense, it makes sense because you receive the service before you pay, and it can work alongside your other digital marketing strategies—think of it like expanding your marketing team.
Building a strong brand is key to surviving in today’s highly competitive business environment. For one, when transacting online, clients prefer to deal with brands they are familiar with. It has been shown that even if there’s an unfamiliar brand offering the same product for much cheaper, they’d still prefer the familiar brand. Besides, you need strong branding so that you can take advantage of the synergies of affiliate marketing. Take SEO, for instance. If you were to work with a highly ranked partner, you could promote your site through their social media pages, blogs, and backlinks through their sites. When their audience shares posts about your product, you not only get new clients but also grow your brand’s visibility.
When you work with affiliates who understand your market segment, you promote more products than just the one you have an agreement for—even more reasons to have a strong brand. Therefore, since you are paying a commission, affiliate marketing is a cost-effective digital marketing strategy.
