There is a wide variety of online games available, and many of them can be accessed via mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones. While it’s great to have more options for casual play, this variety of games can be a challenge when trying to promote one singular product or service. In order to combat this, product creators are increasingly looking towards affiliate marketing, in which they can promote other companies’ products and services along with the game.
If you’re looking to try your hand at affiliate marketing or have already begun the process and would like to make the most of your efforts, then this article is for you.
Set A Monetary Goal
One of the first steps towards establishing a profitable affiliate marketing strategy is to set a monetary goal in mind. It is not enough to simply make money online – you should be looking to make as much money as you can, and maximizing your affiliate earnings is a crucial factor in this.
The best affiliate markets are those in which the products are high-quality and of good value. If your target audience is highly sophisticated, then you may want to consider pursuing branded products or subscriptions rather than just free games or one-off purchases. Consider the type of consumer you are targeting and the value that your product or service provides – what is the bottom line that you are trying to achieve?
Determine How You Will Measure Your Success
The second step towards establishing a successful affiliate marketing strategy is to figure out how you will measure your success. There are a variety of metrics that you can use to gauge the performance of your affiliate marketing program.
The simplest and most effective way to do this is to set a daily goal for yourself. Even if you do not meet your daily goal each and every day, you will still be able to track the overall performance of your affiliate program based on the money you have invested. Consider setting a weekly or monthly goal as well so that you can monitor the performance of your program over a longer period of time.
Determine Your Pivot Point
The next step towards establishing a successful affiliate marketing program is to determine your pivot point. This is the point at which you decide that you will either continue to grow your affiliate sales or switch gears and try a different method of marketing. For some businesses, this may mean diving headfirst into PPC (paid search marketing) while others may decide to try building their own websites or using social media to grow their audience.
If you have an idea of what your pivot point is, then you can establish a benchmark for yourself and track the performance of your affiliate sales throughout the year. Setting a benchmark ensures that you stay on course while allowing you to make course corrections as needed.
Understand The Anatomy Of An Online Game
If you are looking to take your gaming experience on the go, then you will need to understand the anatomy of an online game. Although there are a variety of factors that could affect the performance of your program, at its core, an online game is just a large number of clickable units. Each clickable unit, or CUE, represents an opportunity to generate a sale and, in some cases, bonus points that can be converted into money.
The basic anatomy of an online game is as follows:
- Publisher: The company that created the game.
- Developer: The team of people who made the game.
- Promoter: The individual or company responsible for getting the word out about the game.
- Server: The platform that the game is hosted on.
- Currency: The virtual money used within the game. Some games use real money, some use in-game money. Learn more about different currencies here.
- User: The humans playing the game.
- Content: The elements within the game that you can interact with.
- UI: The user interface – the parts of the game that you can view.
- Gameplay: The way you interact with the game – how you play.
- Achievements: Awards, trophies, and other markers of success within the game.
- Levels: The amount of experience you gain as you play the game.
- Account: Your login information, including a username and a password.
- Profile: Your profile page – including your name, email, and a picture.
- Media: Any content that you post, including articles, videos, and stories.
- Community: The in-game communities that you are a part of.
- Logging In: The steps required to log in to the game.
- Text-Based Interface: The text-based user interface that is displayed on the screen.
As a beginner, you will probably only have access to general game information, like the number of clicks required to achieve a goal (usually around 1000) or the amount of money you earn per hour (usually around $3 – $5). You will not be able to access the in-game economy or make any major changes to how the game works without having additional access, which you can get by joining a trusted community of developers.
Choose The Best Affiliate Product
Now that you have a good understanding of what an online game is and how it works, you can begin to choose the right affiliate product for your needs. Choosing the right affiliate product is crucial to the success of your program, and you must consider a number of factors, including the following:
- The type of content that you will create.
- The audience that you will target.
- How experienced that audience is in terms of digital marketing or product development.
- The size of the audience – how many people are there, specifically, who are interested in your product or service?
- How well the product fits with your overall marketing strategy.
- The pricing of the product.
- The quality of the product.
- The reputation of the brand or company producing the product.
- Whether or not you can find a profitable niche for the product.
- The demand for the product – is there enough interest to make this a profitable venture?
This is a lot to think about, especially if you are new to this. When you are developing content for your blog or social media channels, make sure that you consider all of these factors and determine which ones are the most important to you. This way, you can create content that will be valuable to your audience and also the right fit for your affiliate program.
Make Sure That You Take Care Of Everything
Once you have determined everything, the last step before launching your program is to make sure that you take care of everything. First, register with the various affiliates programs that you choose and connect with a large number of potential affiliates. Next, develop a plan to promote the product – consider the type of content that you will create and plan out a schedule for its publication.
As a beginner, you will not have the budget or the experience necessary to effectively promote a product. In order to make the most of your affiliate marketing efforts, you must be willing to experiment with different approaches and tactics. Consider looking into PPC (paid search marketing) along with affiliate marketing – when used together, they can be a powerful mix.
If you put in the time and effort to learn the game, choose the right affiliate product, and establish a successful marketing program, you can be sure of one thing – your financial future will be entirely on the line. Good luck out there.