Kickstarting marketing efforts as a small business can feel daunting. You know you need to gain exposure and advertise your products to grow, but you may only have a few staff members and a tight budget to do so.
That’s why many small businesses have turned to affiliate marketing, which enables them to outsource their promotion without eating up unnecessary resources. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll walk through what the tactic is, why it’s valuable, and how you should get started.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based method of marketing in which an advertiser (the brand or seller) partners with a publisher (for example, an influencer, blogger, or online media outlet) to promote and sell its product to consumers. However, instead of paying for direct ads that may not be effective, the advertiser pays for results. Publishers only receive a commission if they drive an agreed-upon outcome such as a sale, lead, or even a click.
Why should you consider the approach?
Small businesses can reap several crucial benefits from incorporating affiliates into their marketing efforts, including:
1. Cost-effectiveness
ROI for affiliate marketing can be significantly higher than other advertising tactics. For one thing, the cost per sale through Google Ads is up to 20 times more expensive than affiliate marketing, depending on the industry. Google Ads and other marketing methods also typically involve paying for traffic, whereas with affiliate marketing, brands only pay commissions for results.
2. Brand awareness and SEO
As publishers promote your products, they’re helping you reach a wide audience, become a more recognized name, and build trust among consumers. Additionally, their promotions include a link to drive traffic to your website. If you partner with publishers that produce high-quality content and have a high ranking, then these backlinks can significantly boost your own search-engine optimization (SEO). Publishers get paid on sales, but there is a halo effect for your brand when you appear on a relevant or popular affiliate site.
3. Experienced sales partners
Affiliate marketing is a type of outsourced marketing that opens the door to hundreds of thousands of different publishers worldwide. It enables you to tap into a wealth of experience and knowledge with a range of specialties. For small businesses who often can’t afford a dedicated marketing department internally, this ability to access such a skilled, niche sales workforce can be game-changing.
4. Social validation
66% of customers purchase a product after seeing another person post about it on social media. Clearly, online consumers are relying on social proof now more than ever before making buying decisions, especially recommendations from their trusted influencers. Partnering with publishers who have established a strong connection with an engaged audience is a great way for small businesses to receive social credibility and third-party validation for their brand and products.
5. New audiences
By partnering with a range of publishers, you can get in front of unique, established audiences that you may not have been able to through other advertising tactics. This increased reach enables small businesses to gauge interest from new markets, which is a crucial part of scaling your business. For example, perhaps you’d like to try expanding internationally. Affiliate marketing allows you to work with professional publishers in your goal regions who can promote your products strategically and efficiently based on their local insight.
Where should you start?
Affiliate programs can be set up manually, which involves reaching out to and working with publishers directly, or through an established network, which provides pre-vetted options and can streamline communication and payments to partners. No matter the approach, affiliate programs are completely customizable. You’re in complete control of the commission levels and incentives, the publishers you work with, and the creatives they have at their disposal.
An important factor when getting started is ensuring you or your network has proper tracking measures in place. Data and insights from your affiliate marketing efforts can help you significantly improve your strategies and future operations by answering key questions such as: where are your customers located? What are they buying? What content is resonating the most with them? Which publishers are performing the best?
Running a small business can be extremely invigorating and rewarding, but also scary – especially when it comes to your marketing budget. If done right, an affiliate marketing program will help you use your resources more effectively while leaning on experienced salespeople to expose your brand to a wide-ranging audience. And when you’re ready to scale, it will enable you to test new markets, products, campaigns, messaging, and more at little to no risk.
Affiliate marketing has become a crucial component of a successful digital strategy, and any small business should hop on board – if they haven’t already.
Adam Weiss is the President of North America at Awin.
