What is Affiliate marketing? Advertising and publishing Companies today are cashing in the successful business strategy of mutual profits. According to this winning strategy they make commission only on the sales generated by them. Around 20% of sales revenue was generated by the internet affiliate program based on the CPA or cost-per-acquisition model. As per this model the company pays commission to the recruited affiliate only for the sales generated by them.
Affiliate marketing is generally referred to as a performance based marketing strategy where you recommend an online product to someone and based on that if sale happens you receive a commission. This revenue sharing model of marketing is generally a win-win situation for both the company and the affiliate. The former gets can have an increase in sales while the affiliate gets to earn some quick money in the form of incentives. This might seem to be a simple process but in reality it could be a daunting process especially for the large organizations working with large number of affiliates.
The affiliate marketing consultant’s act as intermediaries between the affiliate and the merchant therefore hiring them has a host of benefits. For starters we can say that they have a team of professionals with a good understanding of the subject. Hence they would be more equipped to create brand centric strategies that would lead to increase in profits. Next they would have access to a network of affiliates with a complete knowledge of their capabilities. Hence these consultants will help you connect with the right affiliates suitable for your business. This in turn also leads to an increase in quality traffic on the merchant’s site. Hiring an affiliate marketing agency might be a profitable decision but making the right choice is important. There is certain criteria to look for while choosing a affiliate marketing network which could prove fruitful in the long run. Look for companies that give importance to quality over quantity. Companies that offer 3:1 program to staff ratio have known to deliver successful results. Before hiring, ensure that your account manager has a strong and successful track record. Insist on knowing about their past projects and the clients they have worked with. Another important aspect to consider is the level of automation that comes into play while recruiting and program reporting. In short before hiring ensure that the company has staff, talent and best practices in line with your product needs.
Be it a small or a large organization over the years affiliate marketing has seen a tremendous rise because it benefits both the affiliate and the merchant. One of the prime advantage of the marketing model is the low entry costs. This is because it does not involve any expense until the ad starts paying off. Affiliates earn incentives only when a successful sale happens. Apart from this there is also some extra traffic that comes for free from these marketing campaigns. The whole design of the marketing strategy involves inbound links which means a better page rank for your site. Moreover since the links are from relevant sites this means even better page ranks. Since the commission and incentives are determined by the advertiser it allows them to have a level of control on the marketing strategy.
Benefits of Affiliate Marketing:
Affiliate Marketing has various paybacks, irrespective of whether you an affiliate or just a retailer. The way collaborative marketing has evolved over the years on the internet, affiliate marketing is going to be more and more beneficial in the future. There are many ways to learn about and get into affiliate marketing, including of course attending a conference.
The partnership between affiliate and advertiser is beneficial to both and is totally sales driven. The content on the affiliate’s site has to be relevant and of high quality that can generate more exposure for the campaign. Another important feature of using affiliates is that hiring them will take care of the entire advertising management and that too within the budget. They provide all the exposure required and can be tracked online.
Doubts regarding Affiliate Marketing:
Handing over the reins of your product to an unknown company can be overwhelming but the only fact that they don’t get paid unless you make a profit, makes this whole arrangement worth giving a try. It becomes even easy when a company can provide facts and figures of their success in the industry.
The other doubt that may pop up is the quality of exposure that the affiliates will give to your product. Even doubt of overpay source of the sales may come up. All this doubts can be cleared if the affiliate company is transparent in all its dealings.
The working of Affiliate Marketing:
Affiliate marketing deals with bloggers and content managers for publishing your brand by giving them a unique traceable link of the brand with a specific time frame. This link has a code that can track the source of the sale and accordingly pay a commission. The entire budget is set by the brand according to its needs. The commission is paid to the affiliates only if the sale has occurred during the window period specified by the advertisers. This business model even works for products that offer subscriptions.
Success of Affiliate Marketing and Brand Collaborations:
Simplicity and profitable revenues are the foundations of the affiliates and brand collaborations. These collaborations become successful only if the entire process is streamlined efficiently. The affiliates can only work with what they have been provided with, thus the onus of the quality of the product lies on the brand. The brand can use modern promotional tactics for the customers as well the affiliates to endorse the product with more conviction. A functional support system is a must to clear all possible doubts regarding the product. The brand should give freedom to its affiliates to market the products according to their liking because they know what their audiences want.
The internet is flooded with so many affiliates. However the right way to choose the best Affiliate Marketing Company is by analyzing their past performances. An affiliate marketing program is a low risk cost effective marketing strategy. Be it a large or a small scale business the affiliate marketing strategy is worth the investment.