Affiliate Marketing for E-Commerce
Ecommerce marketing is testing, refining, and ensuring that your messaging entices people to act while also generating a great return on investment.
Affiliate marketing is a largely unexplored digital marketing channel available to you if you're starting an online business. This tutorial is for you, whether you're just getting started with affiliate marketing or you're ready to go all-in and maximize your eCommerce earning potential. Affiliate marketing is the most coveted digital expertise, according to 40% of marketing experts. The affiliate business is expected to develop to a $6.8 billion sector by 2020. Affiliate marketing programs are used by 81% of companies.
Affiliate marketing's advantages
You may get size and distribution by joining an eCommerce affiliate network. With affiliate marketing, you may expand your reach more quickly and consistently, as well as reach the largest potential audience on the Internet. Furthermore, your eCommerce company only rewards affiliates when a transaction is made.
When you team up with important affiliates, they advertise your items on their own websites and social media platforms, allowing you to take advantage of their massive audiences. The following are some of the advantages of affiliate marketing, in addition to greater exposure and brand awareness:
Strong Return on Investment
Affiliate-related purchases account for 16% of all internet purchases. Consumers are more likely to spend more money when following an affiliate's advice for a purchase than when purchasing an item of their own choosing, according to research. Affiliate marketing consumers spend more than the typical shopper, according to CJ Affiliate's (previously Commission Junction) Affiliate Customer Insights:
Customers that use affiliate marketing have a 31% higher average online order.
Affiliate marketing purchasers have a 21 percent higher AOV.
Customers that use affiliate marketing generate a 58 percent greater average income.
Boost your credibility
Sixty-nine percent of online customers prefer eCommerce sites to provide more product reviews. When affiliates and influencers promote your business, it quickly boosts your reputation. After they've promoted you, make sure to tell your consumers about it. To promote where your brand has been utilized and evaluated around the web, use photos, symbols, or text.
Make brand advocates
People may learn about your brand through marketing. The true value comes when consumers naturally start talking to others about your business because they adore your stuff. Your affiliates can soon become brand advocates for your company.
Social evidence that is more advanced
People will follow the behaviors of others if they feel the crowd is making the right decision, according to the psychological and sociological phenomena known as social proof. For example, if someone is shopping for a new laptop, they may start by reading Amazon user reviews, then hunt up reliable laptop review sites, and draw their conclusions based on other people's experiences.
It's simple: the more good customer experiences a consumer reads, the more likely they are to buy. You'll get found organically for phrases that they rank for, compete better with Amazon, and receive more recommendations if you add your items to review and lifestyle affiliate sites.
Create user-generated content
When people like your business, they want to tell their friends about it, especially on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Product images, videos, and product reviews may all help your eCommerce firm earn cash naturally.
When compared to sponsored advertisements, word-of-mouth generates twice as many sales.
Nearly three-quarters of all consumers rely on social media for product information.
On your website, promote user-generated content. When your customers and followers take images, write great reviews, or upload videos about your stuff, share it everywhere and utilize it as a marketing tool.
Look for influencers
Invite popular bloggers and websites whose audiences are similar to your target market to become affiliates. To find out which influencers in your niche are producing the greatest content, use tools like Linkdex or Buzzsumo. Another simple approach to locate influencers is to conduct a Google search. Enter a description of your target market and browse the results to locate online companies or blogs to contact.
You'll contact each affiliate individually now that you've compiled a list of those you'd want to collaborate with (primarily through email). You must first supply value in order to receive a response.
How to succeed with affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing isn't a one-and-done marketing strategy. Once you've found the ideal affiliate marketing program and influencers, you'll need to nurture those connections. You want to make sure your affiliates are properly portraying your business and using successful advertising strategies.
Encourage your affiliates and keep in touch on a regular basis. Engage them with fresh creatives, trial items, and other incentives in addition to the commission. They must be familiar with your brand, your most recent items, and how to effectively advertise you. According to PayLoadz, the most important variables for affiliates are:
Advisory Committee (19 percent).
The reputation of a trader (13 percent).
Make a competitive commission offer
Your affiliate partners will be compensated in the form of a flat fee or a percentage of sales. Examine what your competitors are doing to ensure that your commission rates are competitive. The typical affiliate proportion ranges from 5% to 30%, and it varies greatly by vertical.
Use your affiliate network to figure out what's the most competitive in your market and what you can afford after accounting for your gross sales and the cost of goods sold (COGS). If you're just getting started with your internet company, you might want to give a greater commitment to attract additional affiliates. You also don't have to limit yourself to a single commission rate.
Provide an innovative menu
You'll provide affiliates with the text advertisements, banner ads, and content they need to promote you successfully through your affiliate marketing network. The majority of your affiliate traffic will come from contextual text links inside the body of material written by an affiliate about your site. You get to pick which landing pages these text links go to in your affiliate network, whether they're category sites, product pages, or the home page.
Make your website mobile-friendly
Shopping on mobile devices is no longer a fad; it's already a way of life. Your clients will swiftly move on to the competition and shop elsewhere if you don't have a responsive, effective mobile site. OuterBox explains why mobile should be prioritized.
Ecommerce sales account for 10% of total retail revenue.
Eighty percent of shoppers have used their phone while shopping in a store to look up store locations, compare pricing, or read product reviews.
Sixty-two percent of smartphone users have made a purchase on their device in the last six months.
During the 2015 Christmas season, one-third of all eCommerce purchases were done on a smartphone.
Take advantage of discount and loyalty websites
Coupons and cashback incentives encourage eCommerce customers to use loyalty sites. Sites like Ebates and RetailMeNot make it simple for buyers to save money on things they were planning to buy anyhow. By integrating your eCommerce site with these platforms, you have access to their large consumer base and traffic.
To put it in a nutshell
Affiliate marketing is a low-cost, scalable method of increasing revenue for your eCommerce store. You'll be able to make use of other websites' expertise and traffic while only paying affiliates once a transaction has been made.
Create an eCommerce affiliate program plan based on your business objectives first. Then go out to other websites and form genuine connections. You'll be a part of a win-win marketing strategy that will improve your eCommerce income in a predictable and scalable manner.