Throughout the years, the affiliate marketing industry has undergone many permutations that have challenged advertisers and publishers alike.
For a long time, PPC and affiliate marketing focused content marketing dominated the affiliate model. While those methods are still valid, new tactics are quickly becoming just as effective.
Affiliates that want to get the jump on the competition are always looking for new methods to promote their links. Here are a few that deserve a closer look.
1. SMS-Based Pay Per Call
These days, Pay Per Call marketing is doing well when it comes to commissions for affiliates and conversions for merchants. Ad networks are making it easier than ever for businesses and their affiliate promoters to make a serious impact.
While there are many ways to play the Pay Per Call angle, SMS messages are often the preferred technique for promoting mobile affiliate offers.
2. Niche Online Coupon Sites
One of the best things about the web is that it allows everyday consumers to save gobs of money. Simultaneously, it enables merchants to gain an edge by offering loss leader promotions that can attract lifelong customers.
Coupon sites are a great opportunity for affiliates in a number of ways. The top coupon sites get major traffic and are a great place to position affiliate links.
3. Offline QR-Code Campaigns
Not long ago, a short-lived interest in QR codes and their ability to drive web traffic sort of fizzled and died. Truthfully, QR codes can be pretty lucrative if you know how to promote them.
Offline QR code promotions have the potential to boast the best ROI of any marketing campaigns under the right circumstances. You’ll need the right approach and good locations to make QR codes a win.
4. Visual Marketing via Pinterest
Using images to promote offers is pretty much the future of affiliate marketing, at least in the short term.
While it doesn’t allow for direct affiliate pitches via images, Pinterest can still enable stealth methods of offer promotion if you’re willing to get creative.
The key is to utilize semi-offsite techniques for getting your image-based links in front of the right consumers. Try pinning YouTube review videos as a start. Use your imagination to push this method to its limit.
5. YouTube Tutorial Videos
While many major businesses use YouTube videos to establish brand credibility, few rely on how-to videos for direct affiliate marketing. Whatever your niche or approach, you can suck in tons of views and traffic by providing potential consumers with a quick how-to.
While they’re watching, include an in-video, clickable link that leads to your landing page. This approach can seriously jump-start a campaign that’s not going anywhere.
Seizing the Day
There’s no reason why you can’t use mainstream affiliate tactics like blog marketing and PPC in conjunction with the development of alternative avenues of promotion.
Of course, a scattershot approach only works if you have the time and resources to devote to each affiliate model. You’ll need to carefully choose just a few and go whole hog with each. Play around with a few formats and decide what’s best for you.
