If you’re reading this, I assume that you’re either a)a designer or b)a retailer in need of marketing advice. If not, you might want to stop reading now.

Let’s dive into the question: What is affiliate online marketing?

Put simply, it’s a type of marketing that benefits from the visibility and reach that online platforms offer. In particular, you’ll frequently see this type of marketing used in conjunction with online shops. You’ll usually find out about a shop when you click on one of their product links, or when you visit their website and choose to make a purchase there. Typically, these online shops pay affiliates to promote their products. When a buyer clicks a product link or makes a purchase, the company tracks these transactions and pays the affiliate.

You can also become an affiliate online marketer, so long as you have a product that you think will appeal to a broad audience and have the resources to drive traffic to your site. In today’s world, the potential to earn commissions is practically unlimited. You just have to know where to look.

Why Use Affiliate Online Marketing?

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I frequently promote products that I believe in and that I think will benefit my readers. Some of these products are related to the fashion industry, while others can be found from brands that offer productivity tools or travel essentials. Regardless, all of these products connect to a theme: each one offers something new and unique that my audience might find useful.

The thing about affiliate marketing is that you don’t necessarily need to have a web-based shop to benefit from promoting products. This type of marketing can be executed through various platforms, such as social media. You can find a toolbox of tips and tricks, as well as guidance on how to utilize social media to grow your audience, gain credibility, and generate sales here:

As a retailer that promotes a range of products, whether online or in-store, you’ll frequently encounter this question: “How do I gain credibility with my customers?”

If you have an online shop, you can take advantage of affiliate marketing to showcase your expertise and grow your audience. Not only do you have the option of reaching a global audience, but you can also track the results of your efforts. When a user clicks a product link or makes a purchase after finding your content on social media or a blog, you can point to this as proof that your strategy works.

What’s important to note about this approach is that it requires a lot of planning and research. If you want to succeed, you have to stand out from the crowd. This entails creating unique content that will pique the interest of your target audience. When you’ve got an engaged audience, it’s easy to promote products that they’ll find valuable.

• Product Research – Prior to promoting a product, you need to do your research. Find out as much as you can about the product. Learn its strengths and weaknesses, what are its competitors doing, and what are the ideal use cases for this product. Only then can you determine whether or not it’s something that your target audience will value.
• Competition Analysis – After you’ve determined that your target audience will value the product that you plan on promoting, you need to determine how much competition there will be in the market for this product. The fewer competitors there are, the easier it will be to gain a foothold and generate sales. If there are a lot of competitors, it might be a good idea to reconsider whether or not this product is a fit for your audience.
• Pricing Strategy – Once you’ve determined the demand for your product and have a good idea of how much you’ll need to price it to make a profit, you can develop a pricing strategy. The lower the price, the more buyers you’ll attract, especially if the product is something that people need and will value. However, if the product is complex or has a lot of features, it might be best to choose a higher price to secure buyers who will value the additional features. The key is to choose a price that will make you a profit, but not so high that it will discourage buyers who would have valued the product had it been on sale.
• Online Shop – An online shop provides a medium for retailers to showcase their products and engage with potential buyers. If you have an eCommerce platform, you can set up an online shop in no time at all. What you need to do is decide which products you’ll promote (and why), set up the shop, and then drive traffic to it. Not only does this provide you with a quick and easy way to generate sales, but it also gives you the opportunity to choose from a range of products that you might not have access to in-store.
• Social Media – If you don’t have the time to set up an online shop, you can always opt for a more indirect route and utilize social media to gain credibility with your customers. If you have a blog or a Twitter account, you can easily share content about your target products. Not only will this engage your audience and potentially lead to sales, but it’ll also provide you with additional credibility. When a user follows you on Twitter or subscribes to your blog, they know that you’re an expert in your field and that what you have to say will be valuable.
• Blogging – Regardless of whether or not you have a blog, you can take advantage of affiliate marketing through a content strategy. Create unique and authoritative content about your target products. The more you blog about a product, the more you’ll establish yourself as an expert in your field and the more likely it is that you’ll be able to generate sales. Remember, people trust websites that are well-written and have a nice design. If your target audience doesn’t have much experience with your type of product, a simple tutorial or a how-to guide can be a good place to start. In addition to establishing yourself as an expert, you can also use this space to recommend products that you think will help your audience. What’s important is that you choose products that your audience will find valuable.
• Email Marketing – Similar to social media, email marketing allows you to attract new customers and generate sales. The difference is that with email marketing, you’re pitching a message to someone who has already expressed an interest in your product. The more targeted and relevant your email is, the more likely it is to be read and acted upon. It’s a good idea to segment your email list according to their interests. What’s more, you can use A/B testing to determine the best tactic for conveying your message. In addition to establishing credibility, you can use email marketing to let your audience know about any special offers or discounts that you might have. An engaged and active email list is a good place to start if you want to succeed as an affiliate marketer.
• Analytics – Even if you don’t have the time to set up an online shop, you can still use analytics to track the results of your efforts. Not only does this provide you with valuable information about your target products and where your audience is coming from, but it can also help you determine the effectiveness of your various marketing tactics. For example, if you notice that certain articles or tweets generate a lot of interest and sales, while others don’t, you can opt to adjust your content strategy or spending to generate more results.
• Creative – The last thing you want as an advertiser is to pay for ads that don’t perform well. To prevent this, you can use creative to engage your audience and hopefully, land you some sales. What’s important is that you choose a creative that will suit your target audience. If you have a blog, you can choose an associated creative and use it to promote your target products. When someone clicks on a product link or makes a purchase after viewing your blog post or social media content, you can point to this as additional proof of the value of your strategy.

Hopefully, this article gave you a good idea of what is and isn’t affiliate online marketing. If you found this article valuable, you can subscribe to my newsletter to receive regular updates on ways to make money online. If you have any other questions, feel free to hit me up.