Affiliate marketing isnt new; people have been endorsing products and services for different companies, for ages. However, the way affiliate marketing is done as a part of digital marketing, in 2019, is quite different. Affiliate marketing is a tool to drive sales and generate revenues for companies. It is not only beneficial for the company, but for the affiliate marketer service search as well; they get free products and commission for generating sales.

The three parties that are involved in the process of affiliate marketing are the seller or the product creators, the affiliate marketer or advertiser and the consumer.

Affiliate Marketing Example

An individual writes a food blog that is very famous among online readers. They visit the individuals blog because of his unbiased opinion, rich experiences and accuracy of details. A company sells food processors and wants the individual to write a blog about their food processor, and in return, they are going to pay him. The food blogger gets the food processor, tries it for some day and then writes a piece on it. He can write about the benefits of the food processors, its capabilities, the recipes that the blogger tried doing with it, the cost and other instructions.

When people take the advice of the blogger and the buy the food processor, then he will become an affiliate with the company. He would write, from time to time, about different products of the company, which can help with cooking. This is what affiliate marketing is all about; a blogger helps a company generate sales and increase their revenues.

Payment For Every Sale

Affiliate marketers are paid in different ways. When an affiliate publishes a piece about a product or service, and then sales of that particular thing increases, then the company would pay the affiliate a percentage of the sale price. An individual should always remember, that he should only write about certain specific branded products, if he is approached by the company. Otherwise, even if the company benefits from his blogs, he wont be getting anything in return.

Pay For Leads

Some companies pay affiliates, when they are successful in persuading a customer to pay a visit to their website. When a company sees that their leads are increasing, because of the efforts of an affiliate marketer, then they pay the affiliate. This can include several things; if a customer fills up a subscription form, then the affiliate would be paid or if he downloads software, the affiliate would be paid.

Pay Per Click

This is simpler than generating leads and all an affiliate is supposed to do, is to convince users to visit the website of a company. The more clicks a website gets, the more an affiliate would be able to earn. However, it is not easy to engage customers and make them visit a website, which is why the work of an affiliate is not easy, making the payment that they get, more rewarding.

If a company chooses the option of affiliate marketing to promote their products, then there are many benefits to them.

Performance-Based Pay

As compared to affiliate marketing, companies have to invest heavily in marketing, and after some time they are able to assess if their marketing campaign is working or not. In affiliate marketing, pay is performance based, which means that affiliates are paid a commission of the sales that they generate. This makes them motivated to work harder and look for new customers for the company.

Increase In Exposure

Affiliate marketing gives more exposure to the company and increases their audience. If a company only uses their website for promotion, they wont get as much exposure as an affiliate would give them on Instagram, with more than ten thousand followers. A partnership or an agreement with an affiliate would give the company a chance to tap new marketers and expand their sales.

Boost In Reputation

As affiliates have a vested interest in generating sales of a company, then they provide a boost to the companys reputation. They present a companys product in a way, that it creates trust among the audience. They show consumers how to use a product, what benefits to derive from it and what new products to look for.

Affiliate marketing is a cost effective strategy, and it is not for big brands only. It is for those brands as well, who are new in the market and want to earn the trust of consumers.