In recent times with the dead-end faced by field-related marketing avenues, a branch of marketing that has gained popularity is affiliate marketing. The coronavirus has forced us indoors and brands are now finding creative channels to market their products that don’t involve hoardings, posters, and meet-ups because of their futility.
What Exactly is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is when a brand or a business enrolls a paid ‘affiliate’ to endorse and promote its products or services. It differs from advertising in the way that it doesn’t involve a high functioning cost and involves regular people who genuinely enjoy the products. These affiliates are paid a small share of the sales by the company, which are easily traceable.
It involves three separate parties:
- The Brand/ Seller
- The Affiliate
- The Consumer/ Buyer
How does the Payment Work?
The affiliates get a small share of the profit on each sale. That sounds like a dream job, right? It is surely a way out of your regular 9-5 exhausting routine. But how exactly does it work?
It all depends on the agreement you have with the brand. Let us look closely.
Pay Per Sale
Pay Per Sale method dictates the fulfillment of a designated percentage of profit after each sale. This negotiation is done on the basis of the affiliate’s number of sales.
Pay Per Lead
In this method of payment, the affiliate is paid for all the leads he/she collects. Essentially, it means that the consumer has to go via the affiliate’s channel and complete a required step (like filling a form or click on the Call To Action button) to qualify for a decided share.
Pay Per Click
This straightforward method involves the viewer reaching the landing page of the seller’s website in order for the affiliate to qualify for payment. It usually involves the affiliate promoting the website’s link as a lead.
What are the Types of Affiliates?
Plenty of types of affiliate marketers are present in today’s online scenario. Let’s take a look.
Influencers
Social media influencers are the biggest chunk of affiliates brands can find to market their products and services. Anything ranging from clothes and accessories to local and international services is marketed by these affiliates through their social media handles to their hundreds of followers.
Sponsored Listings and Microsites
Microsites that are informational generally lead to the principal websites of the sellers. Sponsored listings on partnered websites also act as affiliates for marketing and promotion.
Media Sponsorships
Media channels are designed in such a way that they earn the majority of their income from the affiliate marketing model. Sponsoring brands put money into these media channels in return for their promotion across various media platforms.
Bloggers
If you have ever come across a fashion blog, you will find the writer endorsing various clothing and lifestyle brands to style themselves and give reviews and other information. This is a sure way of marketing products of any kind via informational blogs posted online by various affiliate bloggers.
Affiliate marketing is a win-win for both the brand and the marketer or the affiliate. It is a creative channel for you to outsource your business promotion one hand, and make quick bucks by endorsing your favorite products on the other. Affiliate marketing is known to produce interesting results and a sense of community between the sellers and the buyers, by the medium of the affiliate.
Try it out for yourself and let us know your thoughts on it!