Your marketing strategy should allow you to “work smarter, not harder,” with the goal of earning passive income while freeing up valuable time for current clients or customers.
Making money through your blogSounds good, right? Getting paid for product reviews is far less than you might imagine.
It is possible to generate an income that can almost be profitable without spending too much time.
EnterAffiliate marketing.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting another company's products or services.
Let’s clarify here that this is not multi-level marketing.
Instead, affiliate marketers earn commissions by driving their substantial website or social media traffic to the product pages of the brands they partner with.
For example, suppose you have a social media page that features different types of coffee discovered around the world. If your page is popular and has many subscribers in the ManyChat dashboard, you can profit from the popular coffee page by joining an affiliate program.
Suppose you can join the affiliate program of a Venezuelan coffee company. If you (cleverly) sell their products to your audience and they purchase products from the Venezuelan coffee company using your specially derived affiliate link, you will earn a portion of the revenue from each order placed by customers using that link.
This is just one example. The fact is, we will further explore many affiliate marketing strategies and programs.
How does affiliate marketing work?
Now that we have a definition and an example, let’s understand the behind-the-scenes of affiliate marketing and delve deeper into how it works internally.
There must be three parties involved to make a partnership an affiliate marketing:
- The seller or product creator(The person providing the product)
- The affiliate business or advertiser(The party testing and reviewing the product)
- The consumer(Purchasing products after reading member reviewsThe consumer)
Let’s paint a clear picture of how affiliate marketing works for members:
Sportswear brand Party A offers its members a 25% discount on full-priced products through its membership program. Members can select affiliate companies through a simple application process and then gain access to the affiliate program.
Party B is the owner of a local gym and a well-known fitness blog, and she applied for and was accepted into Party A's membership program. She ordered a new set of sportswear and showcased the product's benefits on her blog and social media accounts. When her blog readers, gym members, and social followers purchase the aforementioned products using her links or personalized discount codes, she earns a portion of the sales.
Customer Party C received their products and is satisfied with their purchase. The goal is to keep the consumer, Party A, and Party B in a continuous cycle... when consumers leave positive reviews directly on the sportswear website or the gym's social media accounts. Then, consumers can also join the brand's membership program.
This mutually beneficial dynamic among the parties means that the sportswear brand, gym owner, and consumers will ultimately all benefit. The benefits are not just financial; there are other advantages as well. For example, both Party A and Party B gain new followers and exposure to their brands and/or services.
Now, imagine this example on a larger scale. If 75 people purchased products from the gym owner through her blog, she could potentially promote more products for the company, thus earning a higher commission.
The most common affiliate marketing programs
There are several ways to kickstart your affiliate marketing program. Here are the most common:
Influencers
Influencers have a significant advantage in affiliate marketing—they already have a large following on social media. With a target audience, posting affiliate links is as easy as tapping their Instagram app. Of course, there will be more ideas, but influencers can earn money almost anytime and anywhere due to the diverse channels they use.
Bloggers
With expertise in SEO, bloggers can review products and generate organic clicks from those reviews. These reviews can help buyers make decisions that lead to sales.
Like influencers, successful bloggers bring an active audience that can convey their successful experiences with products they have tried while staying true to their brand and tone to maintain audience trust. Blogs can also explain their reviews in more detail, hyperlink to information that aids in the purchasing process, and engage in deeper interactions with readers.
Email lists
Creating effective email advertising campaigns can lead to impressive affiliate marketing strategies. Embedding links to products and social media can quickly generate sales, as you already have an audience at that moment, and they can click the URL to make a purchase.
Providing as much specificity as possible in your affiliate-based emails is a viable approach (e.g., “ Click here to get the 2020 orange canvas tote bag, or click here to design your own choice”).
Microsites
Sounds cute, right? Microsites are tools companies use to direct customers to specific products or services. They are separate from the company website and are often temporary ventures for normal business. For example, a company might have a holiday product microsite, a special program, or a major sales event. You can encourage your affiliates to drive traffic to these sites.
Large media websites
Large enterprises, large production, and large websites. Companies use big brands to generate a continuous high traffic flow. They direct customers to affiliate links through banner ads and advertisements. You may have seen these ads a thousand times. These ads are highly optimized based on your search history and interests.
Who engages in affiliate marketing?
Honestly, anyone can incorporate affiliate marketing into their marketing strategy.
If you focus on a specific program and want to create content around it, you can enter affiliate marketing and profit through content. Note: Each affiliate program has different criteria, so you need to ensure you fit the program to be accepted by the company's plan.
How to leverage affiliate marketing for success
When discussing affiliate marketing strategies, the term “passive income” often comes up. The benefits of earning passive income sound easy, but winning this type of business does require hard work and dedication.
Most importantly, affiliate marketing requires a good strategy. When implementing an affiliate marketing strategy, follow these rules:
Make wise choices
When entering partnerships, both sellers and advertisers must be cautious. Sellers need affiliates with a good following, who do not represent too many products and brand the seller's products. If you are an affiliate, it is important to partner with a company that offers fair compensation, adopts excellent customer service standards, and provides products you personally believe in.
Be subtle
It is important to remember that affiliate marketing is slightly different from traditional marketing in its disruptive and “face-to-face” manner, as affiliate marketing allows the audience to choose to read your content and the value it provides them. If your affiliate marketing strategy becomes too heavy-handed, you risk driving away content viewers (who are, after all, the backbone of the affiliate marketing business).
Consider the 80/20 rule, where 80% of the content is rich and valuable to the audience members, while 20% is promotional.
What can be gained
Choosing wisely is not only smart, but during the work period, you also need to stay in touch. Both parties need an easily accessible communication method related to the affiliate program. Sellers and advertisers should have a contact form on their website that specifies program guidelines and expectations.
Use the flow builder in the ManyChat dashboard to create sequences that facilitate specific customer interactions, keeping it “available” even if you don't have it.
Consistency
Proudly review products. Saying something great is one thing. Clarifying why you like the product is another. Answer questions like “Is the product as described?” and “If you didn't buy this product, could you find an alternative of the same quality?” Enhance your SEO skills and don't forget to include photos or videos of using the product.
Track your affiliate traffic
Keep an eye on your traffic sources. Are most readers interacting directly with your blog posts or finding your blog through search engines? Look for trends you notice and stay updated on the algorithms of the chosen platforms.
byEnable conversion tracking,You can easily track analytics using ManyChat.
Important points
Creating your affiliate marketing strategy is not difficult. Just think about the brand that you and your audience will resonate with. Seriously consider what your specific affiliate marketing strategy should look like. List the brands you trust and see if they have affiliate programs. Is your blog socially justice-oriented and eager to take action?
Every audience is different, and every blog is unique. Trust your instincts, hone your skills, and have fun along the way!
Interested in ManyChat's affiliate program?
Source:https://manychat.com/blog/
