Top 13 Benefits of Affiliate Marketing for Businesses & Creators

Affiliate Marketing is a fast-emerging trend and a great money-maker at that. The 12 billion dollar industry has provided many businesses and online creators the opportunity and means to maximize their potential without investing too heavily into the process. Suffice it to say that Affiliate Marketing comes with a lot of benefits and some disadvantages too. So, today let us talk about all of these aspects of affiliate marketing so that you have a clear picture of whether to indulge in this field or not. But first let us understand, what is Affiliate Marketing.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate Marketing is the process by which online creators & marketers earn a commission every time they bring a sale to an online retailer’s website. Affiliate marketers use different techniques and platforms to capture and guide users to online retail websites. The future of Affiliate Marketing is mutually beneficial for all three parties involved – retailers, marketers, and customers, all of whom gain extensively through affiliate marketing. The Indian affiliate marketing industry is already closing on a billion-dollar valuation, and an increasing number of businesses and marketers are joining the club daily.

Affiliate Marketing Benefits for Businesses

1. Cost-Effective Marketing

Affiliate Marketing can be a game-changer for many new and established businesses when it comes to their marketing process. Affiliate marketing is comparatively cheaper than other forms of marketing. Since most affiliate programs only pay a commission when a new sale is generated, businesses stay safe from leaking money excessively to online advertising campaigns. The importance of affiliate marketing can be seen in the fact that over 80% of companies set aside 10% of their marketing budget exclusively for affiliate partnerships which makes searching for affiliate programs much easier.

2. Increased Brand Awareness

Affiliate Marketing helps businesses get in front of newer audiences and demographics that they may not be able to tap through traditional marketing means. It helps in building good word of mouth and a loyal online community for any brand. According to a recent report, over 88% of consumers get motivated to buy a product their favourite influencer promotes through affiliate links.

3. High Return on Investment

Following up on our first point, affiliate marketing is much more affordable than other marketing techniques. This, in turn, helps businesses in driving sales and growth towards their business without spending heavily on marketing and advertising. The average return on ad spending is reported as 12:1 across all sectors which means businesses earn $12 for every dollar spent on affiliate marketing.

4. Quick Trackability

Results from traditional forms of marketing are harder to track since there are a lot of variables and personnel involved. However, with affiliate marketing, any business can quickly track the performance of its affiliate program. Due to the availability of quick, trackable links, any business can quickly gauge how their marketers are performing at any given point in time.

5. Increased Traffic

This one is a given, but we have to mention it. Affiliate Marketing can help in increasing the overall traffic on your retail website. Not all visits may convert into sales, but there are many benefits of high website traffic. These include better SEO capability, increased brand awareness, higher conversion rates, etc.

6. Variety of Affiliates

Businesses do not have to stay exclusive to a single category of online creators. This opens a vast arena for businesses to find potential affiliate marketers. They can grab the attention of different kinds of audiences by affiliating with content creators from different niches and backgrounds.

Moreover, if you find it difficult to search for new affiliate marketing niches, well, don’t worry, check our guide, where we have mentioned some of the best niches for affiliate marketing. Do give it a read.

Affiliate Marketing Benefits for Creators

7. Flexibility

Affiliate marketing can be a genuinely flexible income stream for content creators. This means that marketers can make money when they are working and even when they are not. This is because your work is complete once you place an affiliate link in your content. You can enjoy incoming commissions anytime, anywhere.

8. High ROI

Most Affiliate Programs are easy and free to join. This means that content creators do not have to spend even a single penny on starting affiliate marketing. Content creators can strategize and utilize their following to bring conversions on whatever deals they are promoting. Every commission that they make on a sale could be seen as a profit. The average yearly income for an affiliate marketer is $65,000.

9. Diversified Income

Different affiliate programs offer commissions at different stages of the buying process. Affiliate marketing does not only add a dependable income stream to every content creator’s portfolio but also pays them in different ways which include Pay-per-Click, Pay-pay-Sale, etc. Over 99% of affiliate programs offer a Cost-per-Action mode of payment.

10. Increased Exposure

Affiliate Marketing can help content creators tap into new pools of audience through brand collaborations and sponsorships. Creators can gain access to newer age groups, and demographics and ultimately increase their following. It increases significantly with the use of Affiliate marketing tools as they allow us to automate some time taking processes and help us to reach maximum users.

11. Leverage Expertise

Affiliate marketing can help content creators leverage their expertise through the promotion of products and services they are knowledgeable about. By becoming an affiliate, content creators can share their knowledge and expertise with potential customers.

12. No Qualification Required

Content creators do not need any minimum qualification to become affiliate marketers. This means they can easily add a revenue stream to their list without any added expenses and without any barriers to entry. They can capitalize on existing and new viewers on their page.

13. Better Credibility

Affiliating with trustworthy brands and promoting good products is a great way to achieve mutual benefit. Content creators gain massive credibility when their audience finds good products through them. Creators must always look out to take frequent feedback from customers to understand their experience and shall only promote high-quality, original products and services.

Did these Points make you believe in the power of affiliate marketing? If yes then do check our recent blog where we have mentioned some of the best affiliate marketing tips which are help full for beginners as well as Experienced affiliates.

Some Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing

However good anything must be, it cannot be rid of flaws. In pursuit of giving you the full picture, let us have a brief look at some of the disadvantages of affiliate marketing.

1. Fake Users

Many affiliate marketers would use dirty tricks to increase their income. These include fake clicks, fake views, etc. Low quality of traffic may hurt any brand’s SEO ranking and may result in blacklisting from the search engine.

2. Volatility

Affiliate marketing completely depends on a content creator’s ability to influence their audience to buy or even try a product. Affiliate commission may soar in the beginning but it can be a hard task to keep the revenue incoming at a consistent rate. This increases the importance of good content and a good following for content creators. This would benefit both the marketers as well as advertisers in the long run.

3. Difficulty in Conversions

Affiliate marketing may influence people to check a retailer’s website but different factors like pricing, delivery conditions, delivery time, customer perception, etc. may stop the potential new customer from placing an order. Many factors may come into play which might make generating revenue from affiliate marketing much more difficult.

4. Reputation

Affiliate Marketers need to be really wary of whom they partner with. Suppose a customer receives a bad product/service through your affiliate link, it would not only hurt your reputation but also would lead to bad word-of-mouth for the advertiser.

5. Low Negotiability

Affiliate marketers may have to agree to fixed terms and conditions from the advertisers which make it difficult to attain a fair position in the deal. Affiliate partners cannot negotiate on terms like commission rate, payment threshold, payout time or anything else.

How to Get Started in Affiliate Marketing?

Many beginner affiliate marketers would not want to be exclusively associated with a single brand for many reasons. However, there is a better way to go about it. Content creators can use trusted affiliate marketing websites like EarnKaro, which has partnerships with more than 150 retailers. They can promote any product from the EarnKaro partner websites and earn an easy commission any time they bring a conversion. EarnKaro affiliate links are easily trackable with easy payment options and a low payout threshold.

Conclusion

Affiliate marketing is a major boon for both content creators and businesses. There are several benefits for all the parties involved. We have made sure that every reader has a fair picture of the affiliate marketing industry. Whether you are a business owner or a content creator, making an informed decision will help you increase your revenue in no time.

In addition to this we would also like you to check out our latest blog, where we have explained how you can start an affiliate marketing without a website. Do give it a read.

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