The affiliate program as an alternative in Digital Marketing

Earning money by recommending other companies' products or services or having other people recommend our products is a very easy way to monetize through loyalty.

Also, it supposes the most basic principle of what affiliation would be. More precisely, thanks to this, a commercial website (called an advertiser) will be able to remunerate people or companies (called affiliates) every time they contribute something to them, be it visits, traffic or new affiliations.

Most of the time, the payments that will be given to the affiliates refer to a percentage of the sales that they themselves have generated. Advertisers can also pay them for registrations (leads) or any other type of objective.

The affiliate program has a main advantage for the advertiser, it is that in addition to the cost of entry fees, as long as the affiliate does not generate a remunerative action, the campaign does not cost him anything and allows him to obtain free visibility and gain notoriety.

It is one of the ways for a brand to quickly reach a considerable number of Internet users, without having to invest in large image campaigns on well-known portals. Where the advertiser could invest portals in advertising mode, now they can do it directly by controlling their costs.

An affiliate network is like a middleman between an advertiser and a webmaster. This network offers lucrative benefits for both parties.

Affiliate networks: round and very attractive business

There are a series of factors that make an affiliate network one of the most attractive methods in digital marketing and they go far beyond what has to do with the initial investment, which in itself is a huge hook. Some of them could be:

• Restores trust between parties

First of all, you should know that affiliation is often used as a trusted intermediary. It is a reality that people trust the experiences of their peers more than what a company can say through an image or text. Thanks to this, they feel calm.

• time is saved

Although the relationship between advertisers and affiliates is very similar to that with a commercial agent, the main advantage is that time and cumbersome and inert bureaucratic processes are saved, since contracts are not required.

This also gives members the freedom to not have to declare anything if they wish. In other words, there is no obligation of the parties and the remuneration will be based on the work offered and performed.

Hand in hand affiliates and companies: how is the remuneration?

There are 3 types of programs to pay an affiliate:

• by commission
• Profiles or potential clients
• Clicking.

1. The commission-based program (cost per acquisition)

• sales commission

The advertiser, through the website, launches a link that will be redirected through the method that it considers most profitable and successful. If the Internet user places an order, the affiliate receives a commission for the sale of a product.

This commission can be a percentage of the sale or a lump sum.

• The recurring commission on sale

The principle is the same as for the sales commission, with the difference that the advertiser proposes a subscription offer. Therefore, the affiliate will earn a commission for as long as the customer is subscribed.

2. Profiling/Lead Program

When the Internet user clicks on the affiliate site link, he arrives at the seller's site and completes a registration form. He then becomes a prospect for the advertiser. The affiliate receives a commission when the prospect is identified and qualified.

But in this case, the payment will be subject to the profile of the person who needs the company for which the affiliate works. If the company needs “people from 18 to 25 years old” and the affiliate brings him “sedentary women between 40 and 50 years old”, he will not get any commission.

Earning money by recommending products or services from other companies or by having other people recommend these products is a very easy way to monetize through loyalty.

3. The click program (CPC)

This monetization method is used more by Google than by advertisers. The Internet user clicks on a link on the affiliate site and then becomes a potential customer for the seller. The affiliate receives a commission for each click generated.

What are the benefits for members?

1. Income for what was done for free

The human being has the peculiarity of being an innate recommender . If he likes something, he goes and recommends it just because he wants to do good. The novelty is that with the affiliation you can do it and get remuneration in return.

This process is called monetization because it turns viewership into revenue.

2. Earn money without investing

In the case of affiliate marketing, both parties can earn money, without putting a dime up front. It allows you to generate income without necessarily investing in Google or other advertising.

3. A solution to share the passion

Thanks to affiliate income, bloggers/influencers can spend more time on their passion.

4. A true passive income system

Websites generate links that affiliates engage in sharing. If the affiliate does not want to lift a finger, it would only be enough to place this link on the blog , Instagram or in a YouTube video.

As soon as your visitors use it to perform the planned action and you will start earning commissions.

What are the benefits for advertisers?

1. Membership is good for brand image

Affiliates, being sellers, can create a very good image of the brand and its products/services, all in pursuit of achieving the goal of selling.

This type of interaction contributes to improving the brand image with all the benefits in terms of sustainability and margins that this entails.

2. Affiliation is good for SEO

The amount of visits and traffic that this generates positively influences the positioning of the brand in terms of search engines. The more affiliates, the more links to the shared site (social networks, blogs, emails, WhatsApp).