We've all seen TikToks urging people to start a side hustle as an affiliate marketer for quick and easy money. But with the hype and promises of easy cash, it's natural to question the legitimacy of such claims. Is affiliate marketing truly a viable opportunity, or is it just another online scam preying on hopeful individuals?
In this quick article, we're going to uncover all of this by understanding:
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where businesses partner with individuals, known as affiliates, to promote their products or services. Affiliates earn commissions for driving desired actions, such as sales, leads, or clicks, through their promotional efforts.
The previous definition stands. The only difference in B2B is that businesses are the target end consumers of the product or service being promoted.
A B2B affiliate marketing program offers many benefits for both affiliates and businesses, making it a mutually beneficial partnership. Here are some key benefits for each stakeholder.
For Affiliates:
Set it and leave it: with a personalised affiliate link, affiliates earn commissions for sales or leads generated through promotional efforts, even when you're not actively promoting products or services.
Low Startup Costs: typically, B2B affiliate marketing requires minimal upfront investment. Affiliates can join an affiliate program for free and often have access to promotional materials, such as banners, links, and marketing assets, provided by the B2B brands. This low barrier to entry makes affiliate marketing accessible to individuals of all backgrounds and financial situations.
Flexibility: B2B affiliate marketing offers flexibility and freedom in terms of work hours, location, and strategy. Affiliates can choose when and how they promote products or services, allowing you to work at your own pace and adapt your strategies based on performance and market trends.
For Businesses:
Boosted Reach: affiliate marketing enables B2B SaaS companies, like Sendible, to tap into the existing audiences and networks of affiliates, reaching potential customers they may not have been able to access otherwise. This expanded reach helps businesses increase brand visibility, drive traffic to their website, and acquire new customers more effectively.
Cost-effective marketing strategy: B2B affiliate marketing operates on a pay-for-performance model, meaning businesses only pay commissions when affiliates successfully drive desired actions, such as sales or leads.
Targeted Promotion: potential affiliates often have a deep understanding of their audience's needs and preferences. As a result, they can create targeted and personalised marketing campaigns that resonate with their affiliate network, resulting in higher conversion rates and a more engaged customer base.
One thing those TikTok videos urging you to take on affiliate marketing did get right is that anyone can become an affiliate marketer. All you need is the right audience or following, a wit for your niche and the trust of your followers. Let's look at types of individuals who get involved in affiliate marketing:
Content Creators: Bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, and other content creators often have established audiences interested in specific niches or topics making them the perfect affiliate partner. As affiliate marketers, they can leverage their content platforms to build and promote relevant products or services.
Social Media Influencers: Social media influencers with large followings on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook can become affiliate marketers by recommending products or services to their followers. Their influence and engagement with their audience make them valuable partners for businesses looking to reach new customers.
Digital Marketers: Marketers with expertise in areas such as SEO, advertising, email marketing, and content marketing can apply their skills to affiliate marketing. They can drive targeted traffic to affiliate offers and optimise conversion rates to maximise their earnings as affiliate marketers.
Hobby lovers: Individuals passionate about a particular hobby or interest, such as fitness, cooking, fashion, or travel, can become affiliate marketers by promoting products or services related to their interests. Their genuine enthusiasm for the niche can resonate with their audience and lead to higher conversion rates.
If you fit into any of these categories this could be your sign to become an affiliate marketer ✨
Affiliate marketing operates on a straightforward process that involves several key steps:
Step 1: Signing up for a B2B affiliate program
Affiliates sign up for programs by submitting an application and agreeing to terms. Once approved, they receive a unique affiliate link to promote the brand's products/services.
Step 2: Promoting
Once approved, affiliates promote business products/services through digital marketing avenues such as blogs, reviews, tutorials andsocial media posts to attract customers and drive desired actions.
Step 3: Referral Tracking
When users click on an affiliate's unique tracking link and complete desired actions, like purchases or sign-ups, tracking mechanisms ensure B2B affiliate partners receive credit for their referrals, often in monetary terms, allowing accurate commission calculations by businesses.
Step 4: Payment Models
Affiliate marketing offers different commission structures and payment models, including Pay-Per-Sale (PPS), Pay-Per-Lead (PPL), and Pay-Per-Click (PPC). Each model rewards affiliates for specific actions like sales, leads, or clicks, with varying commission rates and payment conditions.
Like any good social media management tool, Sendible also has its own affiliate programme, and not to brag - it's pretty cool.
On our programme offers Affiliates a lifetime, recurring commission of up to 30%
Commission Rates: Sendible offers competitive commission rates to its affiliates. Affiliates earn a recurring, lifetime commission of 12%, moving to 30% after 100 customers have been referred in 12 months.
Tracking: Sendible's affiliate program utilises a third party tool to track affiliate performance and track that affiliates receive credit for the referrals they generate. Affiliates are provided with unique tracking links that they can use to promote Sendible's services. These links are equipped with cookies that track user activity and attribute referrals to the respective affiliates.
Payout Processes: Sendible's affiliate program features a straightforward payout process. Affiliates receive their commissions monthly via PayPal or direct bank transfer on a monthly basis, with a minimum payout threshold of $50.
Promotional efforts: Create targeted content that resonates with your audience's needs and interests. Highlight the unique features and benefits of Sendible's platform and tailor your messaging to appeal to your audience's pain points.
Utilise various marketing channels: Like your website, blog, social media and email marketing to reach a wider audience and drive more traffic to your affiliate links. Experiment with different types of content and promotional strategies to see what works best for your audience. Monitor your results and adjust your approach accordingly to maximise your conversions.
Analyse your performance data: do this regularly to identify areas for improvement and optimisation. Look for patterns and trends in your data to inform your future promotional efforts and focus on strategies that yield the highest returns.
Well done, you've made it to the end! You now know the ins and outs of affiliate marketing, from understanding what it is and how it works to who can benefit from becoming an affiliate marketer.
Armed with this knowledge, you have the power to leverage B2B affiliate marketing to boost your income, reach new audiences, and grow your online presence. Whether you're a content creator, social media influencer, or simply someone passionate about a specific hobby, affiliate marketing offers a flexible and lucrative opportunity for you to explore. So maybe those TikTok videos sent you in the right direction.
And with Sendible's affiliate program, you have the chance to earn competitive commissions and build a long-term partnership with a trusted social media management tool.