In a single word, yes. This type of campaign may not be for every marketer. This type of strategy can take some time to build up a proper clientele, but has proven to provide a significant increase in traffic and sales. So, go into any new partnership well educated about your particular niche market. We will go over some basics if you are just getting started with affiliates.
Cost Effectiveness:
Let’s start with the biggest “elephant in the room” – cost. Affiliates are usually only paid a commission percentage when they actually drive a sale to your site. The merchant you are working with will pay out a commission based on the work provided. So, if you are considering marketing with an affiliate company you won’t have to worry about extra hidden expenses. However, you of course would always want to make sure you are doing extensive research on the company to make sure they are reputable and their prices & vision align with your marketing strategy.
Start Small:
This type of marketing can actually be quite lucrative especially with smaller businesses. It is easy to become discouraged when comparing to larger niche businesses. Keep in mind that if you have a smaller market niche, then the hard part is already out of the way. You have created a product or service that others do not have leverage over. Use this fact to your advantage and target affiliates that align with your strategy. Your marketing merchant should be able to help you outreach to those in and around your community and express rare value in advertising a smaller company.
Look at the Big Picture:
Creating relationships with affiliates (as long as they are dependable ones) is always a good idea for expanding your circle of consumers. Be cognizant of the fact that affiliate marketing could potentially have a negative effect on a company’s search engine optimization if done incorrectly. The end game shouldn’t be how many sites you can affiliate yourself with, but what quality sites you can partner with. With consistent algorithm updates from Google, one can be sure that those geniuses will find a way to weed out the bad content from the good. If you are putting your company name on quality sites you can be sure that quality consumers will be finding and passing along the information.
Be Prepared:
Affiliate fraud of course is always a concern when marketing this way. However, if you are patient and make business choices with direction this shouldn’t be a problem. Be direct with your partners, test out any business venture before starting it, and follow through with regular check ups to make sure your needs are being met. There are also several technical ways to prepare yourself for fraudulent behaviors depending on your business.
Feel free to check out the articles referenced in this article for more useful information about affiliate marketing and how to avoid affiliate fraud.
