How To Launch and Grow Your Affiliate Marketing Business

Picture this. It’s early Monday morning and your alarm goes off. You roll over groggy and blurry-eyed to check your emails. “It’s going to be a long day” you think to yourself. Or is it?

As you scroll, you’re greeted with payment notifications. These coin drops are the fruits of your affiliate marketing partnerships, allowing you to build wealth from anywhere and at any time. You’ve now got an income stream that gives you complete time and financial freedom and you’re no longer bound by your to-do list’s demands.  

The best part is, building a reliable affiliate marketing income isn’t a fairytale reserved for the lucky few. There are more than enough affiliate programs and cash to go around. Affiliate marketing boasts an estimated $12 billion global market value. Also, in the US alone, affiliate marketing spend is tipped to reach $8.2 billion and more than 80% of advertisers dedicate at least 10% of their marketing budget to affiliate marketing.

In this post, we’ll dive into what affiliate marketing really is and why it’s worth your time and effort. We’ll also share our blueprint for affiliate marketing success along with some insider tips to scale your affiliate marketing quickly and efficiently.

Ready to take your influencer business to the next level? Affiliate marketing is a must. Get started – here. 

How To Launch and Grow Your Affiliate Marketing Business:

So, What Is Affiliate Marketing Exactly?

Affiliate marketing is the process of promoting another brand’s product(s) or service(s) in exchange for a commission once the prospect uses your dedicated link to complete a purchase. You can also secure affiliate payouts for helping brands gain qualified leads such as signing up for a webinar or demo. Commissions aren’t released right away. Instead, each affiliate program will set payment thresholds and timeframes.

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How does affiliate marketing work?

Affiliate marketing starts with a target customer engaging with your custom-made affiliate content whether it’s reading a blog post or viewing a social media post. While there’s no set path to affiliate marketing, each program will have some key steps and processes it follows which often include:

1. Sign up for a brand’s affiliate program. Once accepted you’ll become an affiliate partner.
2. Create content or an ad promoting the brand’s product or service with your affiliate link attached.
3. The shopper clicks your link, completes their purchase or sale-related action, and the sale or lead is attributed to your affiliate account.
4. Once the cooling-off period ends you receive a payout. 

For example, say you are a fashion influencer. You could promote a jewelry brand’s signature watch. Each time a person uses your affiliate link to buy the jewelry brand’s watch you’ll get a cut of the sale through a commission payment 30 days after the purchase is delivered to the customer.

Why Affiliate Marketing Is a Must for Ambitious Creators

As a creator focused on honing your craft, time is your most precious asset. To achieve your goals, only projects that will enhance your brand image, delight your audience, and increase your bottom line are viable options. 

So, you may be wondering whether affiliate marketing is worth the time and effort needed to make it a success. The answer is a resounding “yes”. Let’s dive into some ways affiliate marketing can catapult your business into new realms of success:

Create multiple passive income streams at once

Active income through sponsorships and brand deals can be lucrative. But there’s nothing like earning money in your sleep. Since affiliate marketing campaigns run around the clock, you can grow your money-making opportunities exponentially. Plus, affiliate marketing is very scalable, allowing you to work with multiple brands at once for more checks.

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Implement a low-risk way to expand your business

One of the great things about affiliate marketing is it doesn’t cost much to get started. Since you are promoting other brands offering you don’t have to upfront any capital for product development or production. Simply promote your affiliated brand’s product or service, get results, and get paid.

Monetize your audience to skyrocket revenue

After you’ve done all the hard work to build an audience, gain their trust and boost your reach, it’s only normal to want to be compensated fairly. Affiliate marketing allows you to get a bigger reward from your efforts.

Another great feature is that many affiliate brands use visitor data tracking such as “cookies”. These tracking setups monitor a visitor’s movements through a website or landing page. So, if the visitor doesn’t purchase right away, but returns a few days later to buy, the sale would still be attributed to you.

Boost your credibility and network

Being an affiliate for established brands offers a simple yet effective way to increase your brand’s standing in your audience and potential sponsors’ eyes. Being an affiliate can also help you build a solid network you can capitalize on later on through brand deals and sponsorships with the brands you join forces with.

What Makes a Great Affiliate Program?

With all the opportunities to grow your brand and increase your revenue through affiliate marketing, it can be tempting to sign up for every affiliate program you come across. However, for long-lasting relationships and results, there are some important characteristics to look for which include:

• A winning product or service: To preserve your brand’s integrity, encourage purchases, and reduce returns it’s critical the products and services you promote are high quality. You’ll also need to believe in the product to accurately convey its value to your audience and inspire action.

• Fair commissions and terms: Affiliate marketing should be a win-win situation for all parties involved. You’re giving the brand access to one of the most important parts of your business – your audience, so you should be compensated fairly. What counts as fair is when the product value along with the work needed to secure affiliate purchases is reflected in your commission and is paid on time.

• Responsive support: In the digital selling world, anything can happen at the click of a button. Perhaps your affiliate link stops tracking or your affiliate’s landing page goes down. You’ll need access to fast customer support to resolve the issues quickly so you can continue selling.

• Marketing resources: The affiliate should be invested in both yours and their success. The brand should help you sell their offers by providing breakdowns on key product features and benefits, as well as conversion-boosting resources such as affiliate link varieties and promotional banners.

• Setup assistance: It can be challenging to learn different sites and processes. So, the affiliate brand should do all it can to make getting started as simple and as fast as possible. For example, the brand could offer training guides, easy to understand affiliate center interface, and on-hand support.

How To Win at Affiliate Marketing in 2022

Now you’re clued up on what affiliate marketing is and how it can benefit your brand, it’s time to set yourself up to stand out from the crowd and make your dreams a reality. Let’s explore the steps you need to take to hit it big with your promotional campaigns:

Define your goals

Before you jump into creating affiliate marketing content it’s important you step back and assess your goals. Ask yourself where you want your brand to be in the next 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years to gain clarity and establish short-term and long-term goals.

Your goals will act as a guiding framework on which affiliate programs and products to invest your resources in for the most favorable results. Be sure to cover the following areas to create well-rounded targets:

• Business growth 
• Financial
• Network expansion
• Audience satisfaction

Create an affiliate marketing strategy

To create a solid foundation for your affiliate marketing partnership and coherent next steps, it’s vital you create a comprehensive plan for your journey. Map out your main tasks and break them down into manageable steps you can refer to frequently. The strategy you create should also include details on your:

• Topics for each buyers’ journey stage
• Content creation calendar
• Publishing schedule
• Traffic generation channels, tactics, and strategies
• Chosen content types
• Key performance indicators (KPIs) for your campaigns
• Product offers
• Exclusive promotions

For instance, a KPI could be “time from lead to sale” with a target of 78 purchases. You could also state you’ll publish content on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays with content creation falling on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Deepen your product knowledge

To make your content a cut above the rest, it’s essential you expand your knowledge on the products you promote. Invest time in understanding the products’ intricate details to gain a clear understanding of who it can serve best.

Also, stay informed on product updates, industry trends, and the latest competitor offers so you can pass on the information to your audience. Not only will your knowledge aid your audience’s buyer’s journey, but you’ll also position yourself as an expert and improve your ability to create helpful content consistently. 

Create memorable content

Stellar content is a must to rise above the digital noise and gain consumers’ attention. Firstly, become familiar with the content currently in the market.  Study your competitors’ content, then find ways to add more value. Also, look through content from influencers, industries, and niches unrelated to yours to gain fresh ideas for your campaign.

Once you have selected your content topics and formats, educate your audience on the product’s features, benefits, and flaws to help them make informed purchase decisions. 

Opt to lead with value over a sales pitch. As you provide thorough content on the pain points, wants, and needs of your target audience, you’ll gain their trust and become their go-to resource for advice and recommendations. Soon, using your affiliate link will feel like a natural next step for your audience members, boosting your affiliate commissions. Some content types you can experiment with include:

• Deep dive Q&A sessions
• In-depth blog posts
• Live interactive webinars
• Video trainings

Pro tip: Always evaluate whether you are giving your audience the best deal possible. As your relationship with the brand grows, work with them to create enticing offers your audience will love. The more you give, the more of a no-brainer it becomes to use your affiliate links.

Work to increase your traffic levels and quality

Securing affiliate marketing commissions is a numbers game. With the average conversion rate for affiliate marketing sitting between 0.5%-1%, the more high-quality traffic you can funnel towards affiliate offers in large volumes the better. You’ll have higher odds of securing leads and sales for your affiliate partners to lift your commission revenue.

There are many ways you can drive traffic to your affiliate link. But for best results, in the beginning, look into the top three sources for affiliate marketing traffic:

• Blogging
• Social media
• SEO

Don’t be afraid to test new channels as your business grows and improve your presence on existing ones, remembering there’s no failure only feedback. Finally, use the data from your analytics to tweak your messaging, sales copy, and design so you build content that resonates with your target persona.

Quickfire Tips for Big Affiliate Marketing Wins

• Pick the right affiliate partners: All Affiliate marketing programs aren’t created equal. Prioritize brands with products that’ll enrich your audience members’ lives, have values that align with your company mission, and can help you reach your income goals.
• Take your time: Affiliate marketing is a lucrative opportunity, so it can be tempting to rush in. But resist the urge. Learn the ropes with a select few programs and expand as your know-how increases.
• Don’t take rejection personally: Some brands have strict requirements. So, if you don’t make it through the first time keep going knowing you can work your way up to partner with them.
• Uplevel your marketing prowess: Stay up to date on the latest methods to grow your following so you have a steady stream of new leads to nurture and push through your affiliate marketing funnel.

• Choose quality over quantity: While it’s important to diversify your affiliate income streams and traffic sources always opt for higher quality. You can make more money for the same effort and will spend less time trying to convert the leads. 

The Blueprint for Profitable Affiliate Marketing

Stepping into the affiliate marketing world can be intimidating at first glance. But with the right preparation, affiliate partners, and attitude you can rise to the challenge and come out on top.

Research and an inquisitive mindset will be your greatest assets as you embark on the affiliate marketing path. When you make studying your chosen affiliate products, market, and target personas a priority, you develop the skills and knowledge needed to “wow” your audience and encourage them to take action.

So don’t delay. Get started on your affiliate marketing plans, find suitable affiliate partners, and polish your marketing skills. Before you know it, you’ll have a thriving affiliate marketing business and the cash to prove it. 

About the Author

Djanan Kasumovic

Writer

Djanan Kasumovic, a dynamic force in digital marketing, leads as the Head of Growth at Influencer Marketing Hub. His distinguished career includes roles at high-profile companies like SnappCar, a leader in European car sharing, Travelbird, Kids Luxury Group and B&S. Djanan has been at the forefront of innovative digital marketing processes, mastering areas such as AI content production, AI marketing, and AI influencer marketing, establishing himself as a pioneer in these fields.