8 Reasons why your E-commerce business needs a great affiliate network.
You’ll Wonder Why You’ve Waited So Long To Engage Their Services
- What exactly is affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing refers to the process of connecting with a publisher, or affiliate, willing to promote your products and services using a unique link that sends traffic directly to your website.
- Are there multiple types of publishers? Yes. Conventional wisdom says that there are 5 different categories of affiliates.
- Comparison engines: websites aimed at helping buyers filter and compare products based on price, features, etc.
- Content sites and blogs: websites that focus on creating and distributing valuable and consistent content to a clearly defined audience.
- Corporate intranet portals: where organizations are able to provide offers and benefits to a closed network of buyers looking for deals, discount codes, points, etc.
- Cashback and loyalty sites: websites where affiliate marketing networks repurpose some of their commissions to attract new buyers by offering rewards.
- Voucher code directories: websites that exist for the sole purpose of providing discount codes to potential buyers.
3. Can our company connect directly with affiliates? The quick answer is yes, in many instances. However, as you read on, you will realize when astute ecommerce companies engage with an affiliate marketing network.
4. What exactly is an affiliate marketing network? Affiliate marketing networks are companies or individuals who provide the platform to reach dozens to thousands of targeted publishers on your behalf. Essentially, they are the liaison between your company and an array of publishers interested in helping you sell your product and often your story.
5. What advantages do affiliate marketing networks have? The answer is many.
- If you choose correctly, your affiliate marketing partner already has positive relationships with the type of publishers whose readers/followers would be interested in what you offer.
- That saves you time and gives you the greatest chance to affiliate with a sought-after publisher and still do so affordably.
- Because of the way an affiliate marketing network is compensated, they are driven to ensure that your goods and/or services sell well…and quickly.
6. How are affiliate networks compensated? Fortunately, you pay them only a percentage of sales. When you buy traditional advertising, you pay for what you place whether it helps to convert sales or not. Affiliate marketing partners are essentially paid as if there were commissioned sales people of yours?
7. Are some affiliate marketing companies more likely to bring us more ecommerce sales than others? Absolutely! The best recognize what you do and are confident that they have, or can build, relationships with the publishers most likely to generate sales of your product. They also establish upfront the exact terms of their relationship with you. They will often advise you of the best strategy/promotions that they believe will spark the most interest in your offerings.
8. Besides driving sales, what other advantages can my company expect from working with a top affiliate marketing network?
- Limited or no start-up costs
- Increased brand awareness
- A bump in SEO
- Better understanding of your exact buyer
- Enhanced company reputation
- More time to focus in areas other than sales and marketing
- Widened customer base
- Insight into new product/services opportunities
By now, you are starting to realize why you find links to certain products or services on blogs, ‘Best of’ lists and coupon sites. You probably are now anxious to add affiliate marketing to your marketing and sales arsenal. Not so fast. Not all affiliate marketing networks are for you. Your best partner offers relationships with publishers, and enough of them, who will drive business to you. They will exhibit patience during your learning curve, possess great references, and have zero concerns providing written details of your impending “partnership.” Odds are it won’t be long before your company finds itself visible in ways that will surprise even you.
