What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates on an agreed action through the affiliates own marketing efforts.

In the most basic terms, affiliate marketing is a shared revenue system where each party earns income every time a successful transaction is made. When a customer completes a purchase driven by the affiliate, the affiliate earns a commission, if no sale is made, then no commission is paid.

Like general marketing, strategy and expertise determine the success of a campaign or project. Most commonly, multiple platforms such as email marketing and PPC are used to promote a certain message or product. Collaboration with individuals such as social media influencers and journalists help to raise awareness of a product or brand and draw in potential customers. Affiliate marketing uses the same strategy and nuance but connects brands, retailers, and content creators with a specialist network.

Within this module we will expand on these terms, the network, process, and types of players who are part of the affiliate marketing mix.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

What is an Affiliate Network?

The affiliate marketing process works on a shared revenue basis, involving three major parties. One of the most integral parts of affiliate marketing is the network.

The Webgains affiliate network is comprised of two parts. The first part is referred to as the platform, which is the technology that underpins your affiliate marketing program. The platform contains a database of products and controls tracking and payments. The second part is comprised of people (account managers) who facilitate the relationship between advertisers and publishers.

Sometimes, to work with a particular advertiser, publishers will have to sign up to an affiliate network to promote the advertiser’s products. Some advertisers only exclusively work through an affiliate network.

What Are the Benefits of Affiliate Marketing?

Now you have a clear definition of affiliate marketing, but the benefits of affiliate marketing may not be clear. Below are a few

Pay on results

Advertisers only pay publishers a commission when they receive a sale. This means they pay based on performance. For this reason, the return on investment is very clear.

Control over costs

You are in control of incentives and costs. This control over the costs and the fact that there are no upfront payments makes affiliate marketing low risk. As affiliate marketing is performance based, this allows flexibility and room for experimentation when planning campaigns and budgeting.

Brand Exposure & Constant Innovation

Publishers are constantly finding innovative ways of promoting advertisers. It’s not only about how innovative these methods are but also how diverse they can be. Boost your reputation and broaden your audience by working with a variety of publishers. Partnering with these publishers will expand your brand into new markets and granting you the opportunity to raise your online presence.

Here at Webgains no matter the scale of your business we are motivated in nurturing your success and coaching you every step of the way; gaining access to an unlimited network of affiliates, optimisation calls, sophisticated tracking technology, and our Knowledge Hub resources.