Affiliate marketing is a thriving business. Forbes estimated that it grew from $9.7 billion in 2020 to almost $14 billion in 2021. If you have an eye for digital marketing and can find your niche in the industry, you can use affiliate marketing to turn your life around. We’re here to help you along your affiliate journey by outlining what every affiliate needs to succeed.
Influencer marketing refers to a type of social media marketing where products and services are mentioned and endorsed by the social media star, the influencer to their audience. Affiliate marketing allows you to promote your product or service on another platform or website. Influencers become affiliate marketers by promoting a product on their personal platform.
People assume being an affiliate is just about making money, however, it’s much more than that. Affiliate marketing is about sharing information, products or services with people who can benefit from them. Being part of Alison’s Affiliate Programme means you love learning, are passionate about sharing with others, and you believe in encouraging people to empower themselves and ultimately, change their lives.
Is Affiliate Marketing Easy?
It’s true that many individuals are leaving their 9-5 behind for a more flexible working lifestyle. The idea of being your own boss as an affiliate seems easy. However, the fast-changing digital marketing space is making it a bit difficult to create a feasible affiliate business. What this means for you as an affiliate is that you need to consider the various aspects of affiliate marketing to make it work. So, the challenges and moving parts you need to consider don’t make it impossible for you to become a successful affiliate, you just need the right tools to help you succeed.
What Every Affiliate Needs To Succeed
Find an Affiliate Programme
There are lots of companies that utilise affiliate marketing strategies. Choosing the right one is the key to your success. You’ve chosen Alison’s Affiliate Programme because it’s the right fit for you and your audience. Aligning yourself with a platform that resonates with you will make it easy for you to create content that your audience will enjoy.
Select a good platform
You don’t need to have a large social media following to be an affiliate. You do, however, need a digital platform you can use to share your affiliate links. A platform helps you build an audience, gain influence and ultimately, people you can invite. Some examples of great platforms are WordPress or HubSpot (for bloggers), MailChimp for e-newsletters people can subscribe to, Instagram, TikTok, or other social media platforms you regularly use.
Websites like CouponXoo are a great example using a platform that meets and delivers a need to a unique group. They’ve found their niche – people who love couponing. Here, visitors can find great deals and use the coupons to access exclusive markdowns on a wide selection of products and services.
Performance tracking tools
As an affiliate you need to know and keep track of any conversions you make on your platforms. When you’re able to measure your success or failure, you learn what works (or doesn’t) and the data will give you insights on how to better work the content you create when sharing your affiliate links. Tools like AnyTrack are a great way to monitor your performance.
Create content
“Content is king”. We’re living in a digitally driven world where people spend lots of time online consuming content. You want traffic to your platform, and you want that traffic to result in not just clicks, but purchases. You need to create valuable content to achieve this and ensure they keep coming back and buying what you’re sharing.
SEMRush
SEMRush is a valuable tool especially for affiliates who are bloggers. It’s a great tool marketers use to tap into their competitors’ marketing strategies and help you find updated keywords to help you optimise your content for SEO. And this is just the tip of the iceberg of what the tool provides its users. Conduct some research and find out what capabilities or plug-ins your platform enables you to do so that you can maximise your content for your audience.
Follow the rules
Yes, there are rules to the affiliate marketing business. Each country has a regulating body that serves to protect consumers from dodgy marketing practices. For example, the USA has the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), that monitors and enforces laws on unfair market competition and deception. Visitors to your platform will know you’re following the law by disclosing that you may receive a portion of funds from any links they click through or products they buy. You should familiarise yourself and stay up to date with these regulations in your country.
There are many more tips, tricks, and rules you need to know as an affiliate. Alison’s Affiliate Programme provides you with support to help you succeed. We also host free webinars with experts you can chat with and have all your questions answered. We’ve made it that easy for you!
Affiliate marketing is a great way to introduce people to something you are passionate about and help them experience the same benefits you do.
What you should always remember as an affiliate is to treat those that you’ll be sharing links with as ‘people’ and not just avenues to make money. Ensure that your love for the Alison brand shines through your content and this will encourage people to connect with you and us.
