Often overlooked, affiliate marketing can be an effective way to team up with a business by promoting their products on your website, blog or various social pages. In exchange, the merchant pays a commission to the affiliate.
There isn’t as much risk since you only pay for results, whether it be clicks or conversions. Content is still king with this marketing approach since SEO efforts are needed to draw in your desired consumers. When properly implemented, affiliate marketing can be a cost-effective marketing strategy.
Here are eight reasons why affiliate marketing makes sense:
1. No Setup Fees
Unlike some other marketing strategies, there is no setup costs involved with affiliate marketing. All you need is software, which can be obtained for free, and an Internet-connected device to place your merchant’s products on your webpage or blog.
2. More Coverage, Less Hassle
With affiliate marketing, a merchant can advertise on multiple websites without the tedious process of negotiating various prices for each site. You get more coverage without the hassle associated with working out extensive agreements.
In fact, the more convenient you make your offer, the more a merchant is willing to work with you. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved. If the products aren’t selling, it’s not a big loss of either party.
3. Not Limited to a Platform
Affiliate marketing isn’t restricted to websites only. You can promote a merchant’s products via your social sites and through your email marketing campaign. Depending on what the merchant sells, email marketing may be more effective at reaching your target audience. You can spread your marketing efforts across multiple platforms to see which one is most effective.
4. Opportunity for Lucrative Partnerships
If all goes well, a satisfied merchant is likely to give you more business. Merchants are always thinking of how to get affiliates that produce results to work more with them. If a merchant owns other businesses, they may see how well you can promote other products for them. You have a prime opportunity to form lucrative partnerships that are mutually beneficial for both you and the merchant.
5. No Behind the Scenes Work
Unlike traditional marketing, you don’t have to worry about behind the scenes details such as shipping or dealing with customer service issues. The merchant takes care of all that. All you have to do is promote their products. Once you generate a lead or make a conversion for them, you’re done.
6. Easy to Track
One of the benefits of marketing online is the ability to easily track your efforts. There are many free stat measurement tools you can use to see how much traffic an affiliate is generating for you or how many leads you are generating for them. Not every affiliation is going to be successful, but at least you can track results in real time and make adjustments as necessary.
7. More Products without the Risk
When you’re running an online business, a major concern is finding enough products to offer your customers. With affiliate marketing, you team with a merchant to offer more products via your site without the risk of being left with unsold items.
8. Expansion into a Broader Market
With affiliate marketing, merchants have the opportunity to expand into new markets they might not otherwise reach through traditional marketing. This also eliminates the expense of launching a full campaign into a new or broader market.
