In a highly competitive business environment that characterises our current existence, brands scramble to market their products profitably. While most, if not all, brands have their own ad departments with generous budgets, there is a new kid on the block — and a new kid who packs a punch: the affiliate.
What gives the new kid their punch? Social media — characterised by infinite possibilities. A typical FB user has followers, whose followers have followers, whose followers followers have their followers in an infinitely proliferating system of circles.
The potential for monetising that sits, literally, in the palm of every smart phone owner vastly outstrips the reach of any conventional advertising department — it is a wonder they exist.
And, the fact that an affiliate is only paid when an actual sale takes place ties it to a performance based approach. Moreover, affiliates are not employees with benefits. This alone gives brands unimagined flexibility in engaging with affiliates — a classic win-win.
On the other side of the equation, the flexibility of working from anywhere in the world almost (the digital nomads) and what hours to work and how long to work for makes affiliate marketing an obvious choice.
Discover why Wealthy Affiliate could be one of these choices.
Particularly, this is true of millennials, tech savvy and unprepared to put up the drudgery of conventional work regimes — 9-5, year in and year out — that has been accepted passively by earlier generations. Not only the millennials, but also other age demographics disenchanted by the classic model of work in which they were invested — and which they found unfulfilling in the end — are drawn to affiliate marketing, arguably because affiliate marketing eliminates the hierarchical nature of the conventional work model: there is no boss. The affiliate is accountable only to themselves.
Although affiliate marketing — like e-commerce itself — is a 24/7 365 days enterprise, the affiliate does not have to work those gruelling hours. Once they have put up a website and connected it to the necessary social platforms, they can shut the laptop and go to sleep for the night. Technology does not need sleeping and therefore can work for the affiliate while they sleep. It would, therefore, be no exaggeration to say that an affiliate can make money in their sleep — what once they used to say about the select few, the uber wealthy, the Jeff Bezos of the world is now potentially accessible to all. Affiliate marketing is the technologically driven democratization of work and prosperity.
Strategic Advantages for Businesses
In the digital world that we all now inhabit in, there is an expression: curated traffic. This is the traffic most likely to convert — that means they are likely to buy a product when exposed to it in its digital incarnation, an image, for example. Amazon has stipulated instructions about the the dimensions of an image. If there is any truth in the saying image sells, then Amazon is the living proof.
As mentioned earlier, each of us have many followers on social media — in fact, social media functions of the premise of acquiring followers. This is a ready-made market. People congregate around a common interest that defines them. This is also the basis of community. This is why it is called social media.
Let us take the example of sports. Let us make this even more specific: running. Imagine you are that person. You and your followers would respond favourably (likes) when there is a post on running on your FB. Taking this scenario further, runners cannot be imagined without running shoes. Nike. Adidas. Puma. Those are the major brands hovering over this niche.
If now you were to create a website which discusses running — as a sport or a career — and can direct your followers to those brands you could earn a commission when someone makes a purchase.
Now let us refine this process further. You may or may not be a star runner but are nevertheless enthusiastic about it. Over a period of time you have gathered many insights into running. This is an interest that you could monetise by providing valuable knowledge to anyone contemplating taking up running.
That model is so flexible that it could be applied to almost anything, ranging from the mundane (laundry; lawn mowing; storage) to the esoteric (zen archery; Tibetan singing bowls; transcendental meditation). As you may gather, the potential of affiliate marketing is mind boggling.
From Intangibility To Tangibility
We have to ask ourselves this question: how can something so intangible produce such tangible outcomes?
We need only take a few digital steps online, intangibly, and we can make something happen, tangibly.
Let us take another scenario.
As a coffee enthusiast you own a machine and you are, frankly speaking, a bit bored with the current flavours you have. You jump online (or on the app) and find a chocolate flavoured dark Italian roast. Immediately you are in love. The aroma has already started to filter into your nostrils. A few more clicks and by choosing the express same day delivery before noon, you get it. Long before that welcome knock on the door, he app has already alerted you to the approaching delivery.
This is an example of moving between the intangible and the tangible.
This is important to understand because affiliate marketing is essentially an intangible process — you do not physically encounter the people who click on a link or the goods they purchase as a consequence.
Having said that, the question is whether the income you earn through this process is also intangible? No, this is real income that will go into your account from the brand to your designated account. There is nothing intangible about that, especially when you spend it on your expenses. You can do it, too.
See Wealthy Affiliate.
So, to qualify my earlier position — this is producing real, tangible results from intangible forms of operation.
Because affiliate marketing occurs online, it does not mean that it does not have well formulated protocols for transactions and tracking of data. In other words, affiliate marketing is inherently data driven.
What does that mean? It means that you can track the traffic movement and using the back end data crunching features, you will be able to see where improvements are required to optimise your income by identifying and tracking key performance metrics.
The technology enables us now to identify — and, more importantly, understand — the key metrics, as they are explained in common language. No need to take a degree in data science from MIT. Otherwise, the florist on the corner could not be flourishing (pun unintended).
Where To Go From Here?
There are at least two things to consider in this regard: the strategic bond between the affiliate and the brand; and the entrance of AI.
In view of what I have outlined above about the relationship between a brand and an affiliate, it would be clear that this is a mutually beneficial partnership. That means it is never antagonistic — you do not need to compete against the boss — or the colleague — to get recognition. Rather, you are rewarded, regardless, as long as your website sends converting traffic to your chosen brand.
Find out how understanding affiliate marketing is your pathway to success by clicking here on Wealthy Affiliate.
This part, traffic, referred to above, is also inextricably related to another issue: content. If the content is good you can expect to rank high on Google — a subject I hope to cover in another post in greater detail.
The best practice of affiliate marketing is not hard sell but providing good advice to already eager potential buyers who have not yet made that decision. They need permission — you might say.
To revert to my earlier scenario of a runner, you may have gone through a series of decisions to purchase a pair of running shoes that worked for you. In your content outline this process — this creates empathy immediately. It gives your audience an insight into your thinking processes. It brings them closer. How did you make the decision finally to purchase that particular pair? Did you consider other options? What made you choose this option over others?
This process is called personalisation of advice and in the current cultural climate people are not looking so much for ads as they are looking immediate human connection — ergo, social media; ergo affiliate marketing. While personalisation may be dismissed as just another fad word spawned by e-commerce, it is hard to imagine how anyone can be converted from a bystander to an actor — in the sense that they move from being a mere spectator to an active participant in their own life. It gives people agency when they can make a decision — especially if it is an informed decision — about some aspect of their life.
If people are looking for advice — and they are, believe me — it is not because they are ignorant. It is because they are looking for vindication — which is precisely what you as an affiliate can provide. Please treat your audience with respect. After all, it is only when they buy something, do you make an income.
The best of all best practices is being in good faith.
Now the question of AI. As you can understand, this technological development has added a further dimension to e-commerce. Companies like Amazon are investing heavily into AI. This means they collate and interpret their data with greater effectiveness. AI will undoubtedly be the next big frontier as we can see from ChatGpt with its free and paid versions.
In affiliate marketing one of the central issues is content creation, a task that can be time consuming. Unsurprisingly, reputable platforms have already implemented AI in overcoming this hurdle by installing AI article writers — so that from the very outset you can be productive without having to rely on other third parties. See how this has been done by Wealthy Affiliate.
It does not, however, mean that affiliate marketers can be absolved from the burden of creating authentic content but on the contrary will be required to create more content. As opposed to machine created content it is the authentic content that may stand out even more. This is speculative of course. But think about the value we attach to authenticity — genuine leather, handmade, handloom and so forth.
Who knows we may have a need for genuine writers, after all.
Are humanities courses going to make a resounding comeback? Who knows?
Cheers.