Affiliate marketing is a marketing tactic through which you can generate sales, being helped by people who want to earn money in their spare time. The first affiliate program was developed by Amazon in 2009, and since then, numerous platforms have been created that connect advertisers and affiliates for a common win.

If you also have an online store, it might be the right time to join an affiliate platform and include this new promotion method in your long-term marketing strategy . Many internet users have taken advantage of working from home and increased free time, so they have launched niche or generalist blogs and specialized in online promotion methods such as PPC.

You are probably wondering why you should use an affiliate when you could also promote yourself online through the same methods. The answer is simple: the more communication channels you approach, the better chances you have of reaching your target audience. And affiliates have developed environments where they have a loyal user base, who trust what they recommend and who can influence the purchase decision.

How Does Affiliate Work?

There are dedicated platforms for affiliate marketing where you need to create an account and go through the sign-up process. Once the account is activated, you choose the promotion methods and make sure that your offer is attractive enough to attract affiliates. When a customer buys from you through an affiliate link, then you will have to offer the affiliate the agreed commission from the beginning.

How can an affiliate promote you?

There are several ways an affiliate can promote you. These are:

1. Banners

If you have campaigns or want to promote a certain product category more aggressively, create banners in several sizes that can be used in different online publications.

2. Links

Here are two possibilities: the affiliate will put special links on certain keywords in the texts he writes or he will directly put an affiliate link to show where he bought a particular product.

3. PPC

The affiliate will create ads through the ad platforms (Google, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin) using their own budget. The PPC strategy is in no way influenced by you, each affiliate using their own techniques and knowledge to generate traffic and sales. PPC links will link to the affiliate’s website, and from there users will be redirected to your store through banners or links.

4. Product Feed

It is possible that one of the affiliates has a product aggregator. In these situations, you can offer a product feed for the affiliate to upload to their own website.

5. Social media

Depending on the affiliate’s strategy, he can promote you through Social Media through posts, videos or stories.

How to create an affiliate marketing strategy?

1. Create a list of products or product categories that you want to promote

When you decided that you wanted to use this marketing tactic, you may have thought that you would list all the products you have in the online store. It is an easy method by which the affiliate only needs to send through links to your online store.

We recommend that you create campaigns that promote only certain products or product categories, offer discounts and refresh your product list as often as possible. Thus, you also make the work of the affiliate easier and he will have something to promote continuously.

2. Decide the commissions and draft the terms and conditions of the affiliate program

Before joining an affiliate program, do some math and decide what commission you offer to affiliates will be. Also consider that the affiliate platform will charge a commission. You can choose the fixed commission option, regardless of the product, or offer a well-established interval depending on the profit margin.

3. Choose the platform you want to promote yourself through

In Romania, there are 2 affiliate platforms, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Go to profitshare.ro and ro.2performant.com, read the information it offers you and decide according to the direct benefits brought to your online store.

How to attract more affiliates?

You don’t have to work with all affiliates, it’s probably impossible because each one has a certain niche, but you can do a few things to increase the number of those that help you generate more sales.

1. Commission Increase Campaigns

Periodically, you can run campaigns to increase the amount of commission you pay to affiliates. They can be punctual and thematic campaigns that attract more affiliates in a short time.

2. Communicate transparently and pay attention to the materials offered

The materials you prepare, especially the banners, should be made by a designer who knows how to arrange the elements. Don’t rely entirely on affiliates to produce the visuals, help them as much as you can. And if you have an active campaign running on multiple channels, prepare your banners on all the necessary sizes so that they can be used regardless of resolution.

Also, pay commissions on time, transparently communicate their value and approve them in the most optimal time. Only through joint work will you both gain.

3. Promote the affiliate program through your own website

You can develop your own affiliate program to promote through your website or promote the fact that you have an account on one of the affiliate platforms. Whichever option you choose, treat affiliates as partners who help you strengthen your brand on the market and generate sales as a result of which you can develop your store further.

Why would you need a marketing agency in affiliate marketing campaigns?

Working with a marketing agency in affiliate marketing campaigns helps you first of all to save time and increase the performance of this channel. A dedicated team will track several aspects of your brand’s relationship with affiliates to ensure that you are profitable.

Among the aspects that a marketing agency pursues, we list:

• Creating campaigns that attract affiliates to promote your brand;
• Integration of existing campaigns on other channels with those for affiliates;
• Creating graphic materials or text necessary for affiliates, to help them communicate for your brand;
• Maintaining communication with them;
• Tracking how affiliates use your brand name and the techniques they use;
• Tracking performance indicators for high profitability.

These are just some of the points that must be checked by an agency, but the list can go on. If you have more questions related to affiliate marketing, you can contact us and we will offer you the solutions we have for your brand.