Affiliate marketing has proven itself as a successful online marketing channel for years, but many are not yet using its potential. We will explain what affiliate marketing is and why you should use this online marketing measure to set up your campaign. We will also reveal 5 helpful tips for a successful start.
Affiliate Marketing simply explained
Affiliate marketing is the cooperation between a dealer and a sales partner who is popular among the dealer’s target group. The sales partner helps the dealer to sell his products by placing advertising for him on his website.
The difference to a classic advertisement is that the partnership between the merchant (dealer) and the publisher (advertiser) consists of one link to a specific product, the so-called affiliate link. The affiliate link can be stored as a hyperlink on an advertising banner and, when clicked, it leads to the retailer’s online shop.
The merchant provides the advertising material to the publisher. It is then the publisher’s task to attractively integrate the advertising on their website. This can happen, for example, in the form of a blog post, space for advertising banners or through the promotion of discount campaigns. As a result, potential customers are redirected from the publisher’s website to the merchant’s online shop.
How does the remuneration work?
Payment in affiliate marketing is particularly fair, since the most common form of payment to the publisher is made only when an order has actually been placed (cost per order). The publisher then receives a percentage of the value of the order as a commission. The merchant therefore has a very low wastage of his budget. In addition, advertising measures via affiliate marketing are particularly low-risk, because payment is only made if a conversion (in the form of a purchase or a valid contact) has been made.
What else can affiliate marketing be used for?
Affiliate marketing can not only be used to sell products, but also to collect contacts (lead generation). The system is the same. The merchant provides the publisher with advertising material on which a link is stored. The publisher integrates this advertising on their website leading the customer to the provider’s website. If the customer leaves his customer data, a so-called lead (qualified contact) is created. The publisher only receives a commission if a valid lead is generated.
5 tips for your affiliate marketing campaign
In the following we will provide you some helpful tips for starting with affiliate marketing. We will advise you on what you need to pay particular attention to and where we can support you as online marketing professionals.
Tip #1: Join an affiliate network
In order to reach as many publishers as possible who promote advertising for you, you need a platform that brings merchants and publishers together. We work with leading affiliate networks such as AWIN, Adcell, Webgains and many more. The publisher can apply to the merchant via the network – but the merchant can also look for publishers in the network’s portfolio and invite them to the partner program.
Networks offer the clear advantage that essential topics such as tracking, billing of commissions, management of advertising material can be controlled via a platform. All transactions generated via affiliate marketing are bundled into the network and can be checked, processed and approved.
Tip #2: Set goals
In order to achieve the best possible profits with affiliate marketing, it is necessary to set precise objectives in advance. Advertising budget must be defined together with its goal. The biggest objective is to establish as many contacts as possible with potential customers in order to generate a lot of sales. As an online marketing agency, we go deeper and ask the right questions, always with an eye on the future:
- How can sales be increased in a targeted manner?
- How do we increase brand reach?
- Which target group do we want to address?
- How should the advertising material be designed?
- Which publishers are suitable for the affiliate campaign?
- And much more.
Tip #3: Keep in touch
Business relationships must be nurtured, this is crucial for any success. In affiliate marketing, the publisher and the merchant must keep in touch. Important information about the reach and current offers should be communicated to the publisher in due time. It is therefore important that publishers are regularly informed via newsletters or personal messages about current campaigns, innovations in advertising material, changes in the partner program or on the website.
Tip #4: Don’t forget to measure your metrics
For each measure in online marketing, there are common key figures that are used when launching a campaign. This is important in order to measure success and to identify downfalls in campaign performance at an early stage. Therefore, always keep a close eye on the performance of the affiliate campaign. The numerous partnerships established between merchants and publishers should be monitored based on performance. As a result, it is easy to identify the top publishers and unmask the bad performers.
Tip #5: The all-round view
In order to get the most out of your affiliate marketing campaign, an all-round view, going beyond affiliate marketing, should not be missing. Has the website been optimized in such a way that potential new customers can quickly and easily get from the advertising material to the online shop? Are all advertised products available? Are the prices correct and the payment systems up to date? How is the user experience on the website? Which advertising media should be used and how? Is the selection of classic content publishers and voucher publishers balanced? Are the advertising banners attractively designed? Questions that must be answered precisely and whose development must be continuously monitored.
Always keep an eye on all important aspects of online marketing. Your affiliate marketing program will benefit from the synergies of the other channels and become a success.
Conclusion
Affiliate marketing should not be missing from any online marketing strategy. It helps to reach the target group in a risk-averse and cost-effective way if compared to other channels. However, the effort put into an affiliate campaign should not be underestimated as affiliate marketing needs maintenance.
As the interface between merchant and publisher, we take full care of your campaign and save yourself a lot of work. Have we aroused your interest in affiliate marketing? Contact us now and start your affiliate campaign with SaphirSolution!
