Shopify Affiliate Marketing Guide with Examples & Steps to Start

Affiliate marketing is a powerful marketing strategy through which you can tap into the expertise and influence of other marketers and expand your reach to a broader audience.

If you’re wondering how to grow your Shopify business, affiliate marketing should be at the top of your to-do list. By harnessing the power of affiliate marketing, you can drive more traffic to your online store and ultimately increase your revenue. So let’s explore how you explore can use affiliate marketing to grow your business on Shopify.

Basics Of Affiliate Marketing

You have a fantastic online store, but you need help to get the word out. You need people to know about your excellent products, but how can you reach them without breaking the bank? The answer is affiliate marketing!

Affiliate marketing is like having a team of dedicated partners who are just as invested in your success as you are. These partners could be influencers, publishers, or marketers eager to promote your store to their audience and get rewarded.

Your partners can easily refer their followers to your store by setting up their unique links to your website. You can then track the success of these referrals and pay your partners a commission for each sale made through their link.  

What Makes Affiliate Marketing a Great Strategy for Shopify E-commerce Brands?

Increased sales: By partnering with affiliates, you can tap into new audiences and attract customers who may have yet to find your store.

Cost-effective: Unlike traditional advertising, you only pay commissions to affiliates when they successfully refer a sale. This means you can get your brand in front of more eyes without breaking the bank.

Brand exposure: Your brand’s exposure and customer base can be expanded as affiliates promote your products to their own followers.

SEO benefits: Collaborating with affiliates who include links to your website can enhance your store’s search engine rankings and generate increased traffic.

Scalability: As your business expands, you can quickly scale up your affiliate program to reach even more customers without having to increase your marketing budget.

How to Create an Affiliate Marketing Program for Your Shopify Store?

1. Choose An Affiliate Marketing App

Several affiliate marketing apps are available on the Shopify app store that you can use to set up your affiliate program. These apps provide the tools and features to create, manage and track your affiliate program.

Some popular options include Refersion, GOAFFPRO, UpPromote Affiliate & Referral and Automizely Referral&Affiliate. Choose an app that fits your needs and budget.

2. Set Your Commission Rate

This is crucial as it determines how much commission you will pay your affiliates for each sale they generate. A good starting point is to offer a commission rate of 10% to 20% on each sale, but you can adjust the rate based on your profit margins and the value of your products. Ensure the commission rate is competitive enough to incentivize affiliates to promote your products.

3. Create Affiliate Marketing Materials

You’ll need to create marketing materials that your affiliates can use to promote your products, such as banners, text links, and email templates. These materials should be visually appealing, persuasive, and optimized for conversions.

You can create these materials yourself or use a freelancer or agency to help you. Ensure the materials are branded, easy to use and customize, and comply with any regulations or guidelines for affiliate marketing.

4. Recruit Affiliates

Your affiliate program’s success largely depends on your affiliates’ quality. You can reach out to people or businesses interested in promoting your products and offer them the opportunity to join your affiliate program.

You can use social media, email marketing, and other outreach methods to find potential affiliates. Look for affiliates with an audience that matches your target market, has a good reputation, and is committed to promoting your products.

5. Tracking And Reporting

Your affiliate marketing app should have monitoring and reporting tools that allow you to know which affiliates are generating the most sales and how much money they are earning.

Utilize this data to improve your program and reward your top-performing affiliates. Check that the tracking and reporting are accurate, simple to use, and provide useful insights.

6. Monitor And Manage Your Program

Once it is functioning, you must regularly monitor and manage it to make sure that it is working smoothly and change your approach as needed. To achieve the best results, you may need to adjust your commission rate, marketing materials, or recruitment strategies. Maintain contact with your affiliates, offer them assistance and resources, and keep them involved and inspired.

Ways to Promote Your Affiliate Marketing Program

1. Add a Link to The Footer of Your Website

Adding a link to your affiliate marketing program in the footer of your website is a simple and effective way to promote your affiliate program. This nifty little trick ensures interested parties can find it without scouring your site. Plus, it’s super easy to access because it’s linked internally. The footer is a classic space for affiliate programs, so you’ll immediately give people precisely what they want!

Here is an example of how GoDaddy has added a section for Partner Programs in their footer.

2. Develop an Email Marketing Funnel

Your existing customer base can be your potential affiliate partners. These customers have already made a purchase and are familiar with your offer.

You can start by sending an exciting email announcing your new affiliate program and inviting interested customers to apply. To make it even more enticing, consider adding a button in the email to provide more information about the program. This can help you identify and cultivate potential affiliates eager to spread the word about your business.

Here is a template you can use:

Subject: Join Our New Affiliate Program Today!

Dear [Insert Affiliate Name],

We’re excited to invite you to our new affiliate program that helps you earn money while promoting our products/services.

As an affiliate partner, you’ll receive a 10% – 20% commission on every sale generated through your unique referral link. You’ll also have access to marketing materials like banners, text links, and email templates to help you promote our business.

Our affiliate program is easy to use and offers competitive commission rates. Sign up today by visiting [insert link] and completing the registration form. You’ll get your unique referral link and access to our marketing materials once you’ve signed up.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at [insert contact email address]. We look forward to working with you and growing our businesses together.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

[Your Company Name]

3. Social Media

One powerful way to promote your new affiliate program is through social media. To truly reach a wider audience, you should spice things up with a series of social media posts promoting your affiliate program. And to keep things fresh, rotate them every few months. With this strategy, your affiliate program will get maximum exposure and attract potential affiliates.

Here is an example of how Higround announced its new affiliate program on Twitter.

4. Affiliate Networks

One way to attract potential affiliates is by joining affiliate networks that can do the promotion for you. These networks, such as EarnKaro, can help you connect with interested affiliates by providing a platform for you to showcase your program. So, don’t miss out on the opportunity to expand your affiliate program and join a network.

Popular Shopify Apps for Affiliate Marketing

1. Refersion: Affiliate Marketing

With Refersion’s app on Shopify, merchants can easily create and manage their own affiliate programs, offering exciting incentives to affiliates who promote their products and drive traffic to their stores.

With Refersion, customization is key. Merchants can set commission rates, create referral links, and track sales and conversions in real time, all while gaining access to a network of affiliates that can help take their program to the next level.

And affiliates, get access to a range of marketing materials like banner ads, social media posts, and email templates, all while tracking their earnings and conversions through a handy dashboard provided by Refersion.

2. GOAFFPRO ‑ Affiliate Marketing

With Goaffpro, you can easily set up and manage your very own affiliate marketing program, complete with custom commission rates and payout structures. Plus, you can provide your affiliates with eye-catching promotional materials like banners and links to share on their websites and social media channels.

Goaffpro offers real-time reporting and analytics, allowing you to track the performance of your affiliates and identify which products are generating the most sales. You can even automate commission payouts, set up multi-level commissions, and create custom landing pages for your affiliates.

3. UpPromote Affiliate & Referral

UpPromote Affiliate & Referral is an app designed to help you create and manage your affiliate program, which can help you tap into the power of word-of-mouth marketing. With UpPromote, you can easily customize your program to fit your needs, including setting commission rates, referral rewards, and program rules.

UpPromote also includes a referral program feature, which can help you turn your loyal customers into brand ambassadors. Incentivizing them to refer their friends and family to your store can increase your brand awareness and customer loyalty, ultimately leading to more sales.

And with its user-friendly dashboard, UpPromote makes it easy to track your affiliate’s performance, manage payouts, and view critical metrics so that you can optimize your program for maximum success.

4. Automizely Referral&Affiliate

Automizely Referral&Affiliate is a powerful app that empowers you to create and run your very own referral and affiliate program, helping you reach new customers and increase sales.

You can use Automizely Referral&Affiliate to provide your customers with customized referral links that they can share with their friends and family via social media, email, and other channels. When someone clicks on their link and purchases anything, your customer receives a reward, such as a discount or a store credit.

Automizely Referral&Affiliate also lets you create an affiliate program, partnering with bloggers, influencers, and other online marketers to promote your products. You can set commission rates for each affiliate, track their performance, and pay them directly through the app.

Conclusion

If you want to take your online business to the next level, affiliate marketing on Shopify is a scalable and adaptable approach that businesses of all sizes can utilize. It doesn’t matter if you’re just getting started or aiming for long-term success; it’s a guaranteed method to increase your revenue.

So why tap into the power of affiliate marketing on Shopify and watch your sales skyrocket? It’s time to take your e-commerce store to the next level and achieve your business goals with this powerful strategy.

FAQs

Related affiliate marketing opportunities:

• Affiliate Marketing on Facebook
• Youtube Affiliate Marketing