Inbound marketing

what is affiliate marketing and how can it help my strategy?

Angela Martinez Aug 17, 2023 12:12:51 PM

Index Content

The Internet has evolved a lot in recent years, and with it the new marketing formats have also evolved and had to be reinvented, which need to find new ways and channels with which to attract the attention of the consumer, which is the centre of our strategy and what we have to focus on.

Thanks to this, affiliate marketing has emerged, which is a very interesting alternative for those who work in online sales.

if you still don't know what affiliate marketing is, don't know how it can help your marketing strategy, don't worry, in this post we will tell you everything you need to know about it.

what is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing works as follows:

First of all, the producer launches a product on the market, at this point the affiliate is dedicated to disseminate that product within its various channels. The customer is already one click away from being able to make a purchase, when the customer clicks, the link of that sale is tracked to know where it comes from, the producer gets money thanks to the sale and finally, the affiliate gets a commission for having contributed to that sale.

In short, affiliate marketing is a strategy that consists of an affiliate promoting our brand's product in exchange for a commission for each sale made by users.

This idea has been around since the 90s, Amazon was the pioneer who made this idea available so that anyone who wanted to could advertise the different products that were available in the shop.

This is very clever as you simply have to sit back and wait for your affiliates to do a job of spreading the word, if they generate sales, we will be winning, and if not, we will not be losing out as we will not lose a single cent.

how does it work?

We already know what affiliate marketing is all about, next we need to know how it works. Affiliate marketing uses cookies to securely track information from banners and links that are placed on our affiliates' websites, so we know when a user has clicked on an advert and where, as all the information related to the visitor's browser is stored, so the cookies can track perfectly to identify the actions that have been taken on our affiliate's website, so we can assign the commission that corresponds to them.

Types of promotion

There are a large number of formats for affiliate programmes, of course, the producer is the one who decides which programme is most suitable for his product and for the objectives he has set within his strategy.

Affiliate marketing can be lead generation or conversion oriented, although both aim for the same goal, a positive ROI.

Cost per click (CPC)
The affiliate is paid per click, which means that the affiliate is paid every time a user clicks on the banner or advertisement in question, so the affiliate's remuneration will depend on the performance of the advertiser's campaign.
Cost per action (CPA)
Within the cost per action, the affiliate is only remunerated if users click on the advertisement and subsequently perform some action on the landing page of the advertisement, be it a purchase, a registration or a quotation. In this case, it is no longer sufficient to display your advertisement, but the affiliate must show the benefits of the product, making use of his influence and convincing his followers that the offer is reliable.
Cost per thousand impressions (CPM)
In this strategy, the advertiser pays a fixed amount to the affiliate when the banner reaches 1,000 views. This is beneficial for the affiliate who has a lot of hits, as he/she will be paid on a recurring basis.
Cost per sale (CPV)
In this case, the affiliate will only receive the commission if the link shared by the affiliate generates sales. This is a very good option if you are a small producer.
Website/Blog
This is a great advantage as the affiliate has great freedom when it comes to writing, in addition to the great customisation options they have. Having a blog also benefits us when it comes to persuading your readers as what you are achieving is reinforcing your authority in this area.
Google Ads
This is one of the most effective channels when it comes to selling. Thanks to this tool, you will be able to reach your target audience thanks to relevant ads that you can show at a specific time and moment. It also helps a lot in traffic generation and targeting.
Social media
The most used channels to spread products and services, and bring very beneficial results in sales. The most used networks for this are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. Its reach is much greater than other strategies.
E-mail marketing
The affiliate has an e-mail base where he builds a long-term relationship with his leads, to whom he delivers quality content and convinces them to buy.
It is a very simple strategy that ends up being really effective, you add an element of value to your potential customers, such as content that is useful to them when it comes to satisfying their needs.

And if I want to be an affiliate, what do I need?

There are different types of affiliates, all of them have different characteristics, so you have to choose very well which one suits your personality. Normally, there are a series of requirements that you must fulfil to become an affiliate, and these are the following.