Getting started in affiliation: what you need to know
If you are interested in digital communication, you have surely already heard of affiliation. It is, in fact, a highly profitable technique because it is based on a principle of pay-for-performance.
However, before launching and creating your first campaigns, you need to know the basics. Want to know more about this concept and how to get started in affiliation?
We help you see more clearly.
Membership: what is it and who is it for?
Two versions confront each other to evoke the origins of affiliation.
The best known is that of Amazon, which claims to be the first to have used this concept by allowing various affiliate partners to promote the American giant’s products on their own site in order to receive, in return, remuneration linked to sales volume.
It is also said that it is the X industry which is at the origin of this concept by proposing, from the beginning, affiliate programs remunerated by CPC (Cost per Click) or CPV (Cost per Sale).
In any case, the first affiliate programs date back to the 1990s . Obviously, since that time, the concept has evolved and taken advantage of new technologies to promote the creation of ever more effective and targeted programs.
However, the principle of affiliation always remains the same: an advertiser (affiliator) asks a partner (affiliate) to promote its products or services. For this, it provides him with promotional elements that can be textual content, a banner in .jpeg or .gif format, a video, a product sample to test or even a promo code.
What is interesting with affiliation is that it can take several forms . Thus, it adapts to the needs and requirements of companies of all sizes . Especially since, thanks to its pay-for-performance system, it is almost impossible to lose money.
We insist on the “almost”, because an affiliate program that is neither optimized nor reworked regularly has very little chance of being successful, and therefore profitable.
Affiliation Marketing at your fingertips
THE KEYS TO MAKING THE MOST OF THIS BOOMING LEVER Download the guide!Affiliation and its economic models
You got it: an affiliate program is based on performance-based pay . It is thus possible to find several remuneration models according to your needs:
- Cost per acquisition (CPA);
- Cost per click (CPC);
- Cost per thousand (CPM);
- Cost per lead (CPL);
- Revenue Sharing.
Obviously, each model corresponds to a specific objective . Indeed, if you want to improve your sales, the cost per lead or the cost per acquisition will be preferable. On the other hand, if you want to boost your visibility, you can opt for the cost per click or even the cost per thousand (which is however a little less interesting).
In addition, you should know that the overall cost of an affiliate program differs depending on the remuneration model used. Indeed, the cost per lead will necessarily be more expensive for the advertiser than a cost per thousand. Because, the objective is not the same: the first will be much more precise than the second.
It is therefore necessary to choose the right model according to the objectives of its affiliate strategy .
Finding the Right Affiliate
Every affiliate program is built on a win-win relationship for both parties . The advertiser/affiliator benefits, in fact, from the audience of a site/affiliate which is remunerated according to the results observed.
Thus, it is easy to understand that it is necessary to take into account both the nature of the site on which its advertisements will appear and the way of communicating . Obviously, it is not advisable to call on your competitors to promote your products and services (moreover, they are unlikely to accept).
On the other hand, it is strongly recommended to take advantage of the popularity of influencers or sites related to your activity.
Let’s take a concrete example that will help you understand. At Arkheus, we specialize in fashion and home. Let’s imagine that you operate in the women’s ready-to-wear sector. If you come to see us for advice on creating your affiliate program, we will seek to get closer to sites selling fashion accessories (jewellery for example) or even couponing sites or good deals related to your sector. .
This will allow you to get a new audience or expand the existing one.
Affiliation: is it really interesting?
Assuming that affiliation offers pay-for-performance, yes, it’s a very interesting channel. Especially since it allows great creativity in the format of promotional messages.
You can therefore offer an animated .gif banner to a site, provide your product to a reputable YouTuber to test it, write textual content for a blog on your theme while sending your product feed to certain sites. price comparators. Everything is possible in affiliation.
The other side of the coin: this is also what makes this channel so difficult to understand for the uninitiated. Because by wanting to do as many things as possible, we risk spreading ourselves too thin. Especially since a good affiliate program must evolve. We are also talking about bringing its affiliate program(s) to life by offering affiliates occasional boosts in terms of remuneration or challenges to improve their remuneration.
In addition, although it is possible to go through affiliate platforms that support any type of professional in setting up their affiliate program, you must be careful to choose your partners carefully . At the risk of ending up on sites that are not very interesting for you and thereby generating a payment for meager results.
In any case, do not hesitate to contact us if you wish to know more about affiliation. Our performance marketing experts specializing in the home and fashion sectors help you create the right content and help you manage your program on a daily basis to improve its ROI.
Affiliation Marketing at your fingertips
THE KEYS TO MAKING THE MOST OF THIS BOOMING LEVER Download the guide!
