Table of Contents
- Key Takeaways
- Introduction: Affiliate Marketing
- Overall Benefits to Business Owners/Creators
- 10 Reasons to Start Affiliate Marketing
- 1. Low Start-Up Costs [Owners & Creators]
- 2. Website Revenue [Owners]
- 3. Strong ROI [Owners]
- 4. Brand Awareness [Owners]
- 5. Business Reputation [Owners]
- 6. Schedule Flexibility [Creators]
- 7. Over 140 Profitable Niches [Creators]
- 8. Access to Analytical Data [Owners & Creators]
- 9. Networking [Creators]
- 10. Additional Income [Owners & Creators]
- Conclusion
Key Takeaways
- The basic steps involved in the affiliate marketing process;
- A breakdown of the 10 best reasons to start affiliate marketing;
- A resource link (see reason No. 7) to over 140 of the most profitable niches;
- Why affiliate marketing is great for someone wanting income diversification;
Introduction: Affiliate Marketing
Globally, the affiliate marketing industry is currently valued at just over $17 billion according to a recent report by Kinsta, and projected to reach $28 billion by 2027.
Welcome to the 3rd Edition in the Digital Marketing Snapshot Series where we will zoom in for a two (2) to three (3) minute read (based upon my slightly higher than normal word count for this series) and discuss the dynamics of the affiliate marketing industry.
The following graphic shows how affiliate marketing can be promoted through various marketing channels – social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube), search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, and direct to consumer e-mail campaigns, to name a few.
These channels will in turn drive traffic to your blog or website, raise your site’s brand awareness, and ultimately get visitors in front of the products and/or services you are promoting through affiliate links.
Source: Infographic courtesy of Ahrefs.
Overall Benefits to Business Owners/Creators
Generally speaking, for business owners offering a product and/or service, affiliate marketing is a great way to raise brand awareness, drive traffic to a company website or e-commerce store, and increase revenue by expanding sales to existing and new customers.
Content creators (e.g., bloggers and influencers) can expect low costs for entry, passive income opportunities, easy start-up, risk aversion, competitive advantages, and higher than normal conversion rates.
10 Reasons to Start Affiliate Marketing
Here is the curated list, with each reason associated with business owners, content creators, or both :
1. Low Start-Up Costs [Owners & Creators]
The cost barrier to entry is very low.
- A creator can establish an LLC, buy a domain name, pick a web host, design an affiliate site, set up free SEO tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics, and apply for various affiliate marketing programs, for relatively little out of pocket start-up costs.
- An owner can joint venture with an existing online creator or retailer, and market their products at a much lower cost compared to other advertising mediums.
2. Website Revenue [Owners]
- It is estimated that 65% of website publishers believe that affiliate marketing generates additional revenue for their sites.
3. Strong ROI [Owners]
- The Return on Investment (ROI) enjoyed by affiliate marketers such as Amazon has been very lucrative. Overseas studies have shown this ROI ratio can be as high as 15 to 1, or 1,500% for businesses.
4. Brand Awareness [Owners]
- Affiliate marketers like bloggers and influencers are essentially brand advocates spreading the word online about your company – which in turn strengthens your overall brand recognition.
5. Business Reputation [Owners]
- Provided a company works with trustworthy affiliates, your company’s reputation will eventually improve through this marketing approach and attract more consumers to your brand.
6. Schedule Flexibility [Creators]
- Content creators are oftentimes independent contractors who can pick and choose what hours and days will be invested in their work projects. Since a computer and internet access is essentially all the equipment that’s required, affiliate marketing is ideal for the work from home (WFH) community.
Source: Infographic courtesy of Ahrefs.
7. Over 140 Profitable Niches [Creators]
- The site Authority Hacker identified over 140 viable niches that provide the best opportunity for a new or smaller player to still rank high enough on Google for relevant keywords, and develop a profitable affiliate marketing business.
8. Access to Analytical Data [Owners & Creators]
- Content creators and businesses are able to track analytical data such as which products or services are performing the best, how many affiliate links have been clicked, the trends in affiliate sales compared to other sales, and the composition of the audience engaging in affiliate purchases.
9. Networking [Creators]
- Affiliate marketers establish valuable relationships with other professionals that oftentimes lead to more affiliate opportunities, or even a great career opportunity at a large entity they partnered with in a particular sector.
10. Additional Income [Owners & Creators]
According to a study by ZipRecruiter, an affiliate marketing coordinator at a company earns an average annual salary of $69,250. Ahrefs reports that affiliate marketing earnings for creators such as bloggers, ranges from an average of $30k to $50k per year.
Some affiliate marketers (especially creators in certain high-paying, high-volume niches), can bring in 6 and 7 figure annual incomes! The credit card and mortgage industries would be examples of such lucrative niches.
While affiliate marketing offers no guarantees of success, neither does any other professional pursuit. If you are trustworthy, patient, diligent, and passionate in your ways, affiliate marketing offers the same opportunity as any other legitimate enterprise.
Conclusion
That wraps our brief look at the fast-growing affiliate marketing industry, and concludes Edition No. 3 of our snapshot series. Stay tuned for the next snapshot article as we continue to bring another valuable digital marketing topic into focus.
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Insightful Digital Marketing 