Much of today’s conversation amongst entrepreneurs is all about the idea of passive income and the nature of “making money while you sleep”. As this concept becomes more and more popular, so is the practice of affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing, since the start of the pandemic, is becoming one of the most popular practices for people who have the interest in working from home and starting their own business.
Below, we are outlining all everything you need to know when it comes to affiliate marketing. Use this as your go-to resource when trying to decide if affiliate marketing is right for you and your entrepreneurship.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is the process by which an affiliate earns a commission for marketing another company’s or brand’s products. Affiliates start the process by usually searching for a product they enjoy and then promoting the product through their own marketing methods while earning a percentage of profit from each sale they make.
The boom in affiliate marketing is significant. In fact, from 2017 to 2022, the spend within affiliate marketing increased from $5.4 billion to $8.2 billion.
Types of Affiliate Marketing
There are three main types of affiliate marketers and the choice one makes is very important when promoting the products they list. For instance, there are some verticals of products such as health and wellness supplements that customers want to see the promoter provide a first hand experience of their enjoyment of the product. A scenario such as this is important to build the trust between seller and consumer. However, there are products where firsthand experience is not important at all.
The three types of affiliate marketing are Unattached, Related and Involved. Here is the breakdown of all three!
Unattached: With this particular option, the marketer has no connection to the promoting of the product. The promoter typically brings no expertise to the product or industry nor can they truly speak to how the product functions in use. In this scenario, marketers will usually run numerous Pay-Per-Click campaigns using their affiliate link hoping to strike gold in sales. This route is truly a numbers game via volume and generally for people who are looking to generate income without a big commitment.
Related: The second option which represents the middle of this spectrum involves the marketer not necessarily using the product they are promoting, but having some sort of relation to the audience they are targeting. For example, if I have a podcast with 100,000 monthly listeners, that is an extremely valuable audience that I can market to. Through my podcast I am able to build trust, relatability and likability amongst a vast audience of potential customers. If you possess the audience, this is a very valuable route of affiliate marketing since you understand how to generate the traffic. However, it is important to be careful to vet the products you promote and avoid the bad ones.
Involved: The final option for affiliate marketing is exactly how it sounds. Those going the involved route are marketers who have a close connection or tie with the product they are promoting. In this scenario, the marketer consistently uses and trusts the products they are trying to sell. Instead of running numerous Pay-Per-Click campaigns, this option allows you to provide valuable firsthand experiences. While this method requires significant commitment to build credibility, it is extremely lucrative when consumers trust your opinion.
Why Do Affiliate Marketing?
There are many reasons why affiliate marketing is so appealing to many especially in today’s societal landscape. Now more than ever, people are committing themselves to finding a true work/life balance that allows them to lead a fulfilling life. These are the most popular reasons people are starting to become affiliate marketers.
Passive Income: Most jobs require your physical attendance in order to make money. However, affiliate marketing is quite the opposite. The initial commitment and investment to get your affiliate shop up and running can be significant. Once you start seeing the continuous sales and consistent flow you are able to essentially make money while you sleep.
No Inventory: One of the most difficult aspects of owning a product driven business is warehousing, organizing, sourcing and shipping the actual product. This is one of the most appealing aspects of being an affiliate marketer, there is no inventory whatsoever! All of the shipping is done directly from the company you are promoting.
Cost-Effective: The startup costs are extremely friendly for those wanting to start out promoting products. When it comes to the brand’s you promote, there are usually never any costs or fees you have to deal with. Ideally, the biggest startup cost you will have is creating your website!
No Ceiling: While some jobs you can over deliver significantly and still take in the same amount of money, as an affiliate marketer the sky’s the limit with how much you can make. The classic angle of getting out what you put in is very true with this entire process. You have the chance to get paid justly for fantastic work.
Start With A Website!
Affiliate marketing is the new frontier of money making on the internet. If you are going to succeed it will start by having great products and an even greater website that consumers can trust.
MKT is a full service marketing agency that can help you excel with a beautiful website as well as digital advertising guidance. Whether you are just starting out or know the ins and outs, we are here to give your marketing the boost it deserves.
Start now and contact us today, we can go over your goals and vision to see how we can best help your business along the way.