Affiliate networks have opened up huge possibilities in the digital economy, and there are plenty of people out there who rely on them for their main source of income. If you’re new to affiliate marketing, though, it can be difficult to determine which affiliate network is right for you, and what exactly they do.
You’ll want to do your research before joining an affiliate network, and avoid scammers who will leave you without any sales whatsoever, while eating up your time and money in the process. Here’s everything you need to know about how affiliate networks work and how to pick the right one.
How do Affiliate Networks work?
By signing up for an affiliate program, you agree to sell a company’s product if someone clicks your link and makes a purchase. You’ll usually receive some sort of commission on each sale, which is usually around 5 percent. For example, if someone buys something from Amazon using your link, you’ll get 5 percent of whatever they spent.
This percentage will vary depending on what type of product you’re promoting and what industry it’s in. If someone buys something expensive like a car, for example, your commission would be much less than if they bought something inexpensive like a book or movie ticket. The more expensive the item is that your customer buys using your link (and any associated fees), the higher your commission will be.
The Evolution of Affiliate Marketing
Since affiliate marketing is relatively new, there are a lot of moving parts to it. There’s no one right way to do things, which means businesses have had to find their own ways of doing affiliate marketing. The evolution of affiliate marketing has been shaped by many factors, including: how much people trust internet advertising, what role email plays in it all, and how far we’ve come with technology over time. Here’s a brief overview of how each factor has contributed to where we are today with affiliate marketing.
The Benefits of an Affiliate Network
By choosing an affiliate network, you open yourself up to hundreds of different vendors. Each with their own unique products. When you work with a specific vendor, your only option is to sell that company’s product or service; but when working with an affiliate network, you have hundreds of options at your fingertips. This greatly increases your ability to offer a wider range of products and services for your customers, which increases sales by keeping your business relevant in new ways.
It also makes it easier for affiliates looking to promote your business because there are so many more places they can advertise too! Working with an affiliate network opens up your business in a number of other ways as well: * More Traffic: One great thing about using an affiliate network is that it opens up access to even more traffic than what you would be able to get on your own. While some companies will pay affiliates directly, most will not.
Instead, they will focus on driving traffic through SEO optimization, paid advertising and social media marketing—all things that require a lot of time and money on their end. You do not need to spend any extra time or money trying to drive traffic if you choose an affiliate network because they already have all those bases covered for you!
Top 3 affiliate networks
1. Amazon Associates: If you’re an e-commerce merchant with a website, Amazon is one of your best partners for finding new customers. With a current commission rate at 1%, it’s among the most competitive programs available today. To promote products through Amazon Associates, all you need to do is add an easy link (your unique affiliate link) on your website that converts visitors into paying customers or registered users—all without leaving your site. What makes it even easier is if you have an Amazon Webstore account as well as a Shopify store! You can easily generate links on demand that make it easier to track those purchases.
Just use your existing AWS access key ID and secret access key to sign in. Once signed in, simply click on Link Your Account from within Seller Central and follow their instructions. As long as you maintain a positive balance with Amazon, they will continue sending traffic your way without any additional work from you. Make sure to check out our guide for more information about how to get started using Amazon Associates!
2. ShareASale: ShareASale boasts over 2,000 merchants in its network including some big names like Newegg, Expedia, Bluehost, GoDaddy, HostGator & FatWallet just to name a few. The average commission rate is around 25% which means you’ll be able to earn $25 per sale. The company has been around since 2001 so there’s a lot of trust involved here. One great thing about ShareASale is that you don’t have to pay anything up front – instead, you only pay when someone clicks on your unique affiliate link and then completes a purchase on one of their partner sites. It’s completely free and easy to join too – so what are you waiting for?
3. CJ Affiliate by Conversant: With nearly 15 years under its belt, CJ Affiliate offers payment solutions for worldwide affiliates who want to take advantage of USA/Canada and Asian markets. This company is one of the pioneers in making foreign affiliates successful. Their extensive portfolio features thousands of advertisers offering everything from travel deals to auto parts across multiple platforms. From big brands like Travelocity and Priceline to smaller but still recognizable names such as Kensington computers and Zappos shoes, chances are you’ll find what you’re looking for here along with exclusive offers that aren’t available anywhere else!
What are Affiliate Network?
What are affiliate networks? Let’s start by defining what affiliate networks are. From a more technical standpoint, affiliate networks are online services that take care of many aspects of running an affiliate program for you. All you have to do is sign up with one of these companies, define your offer (what kind of products or services you’re promoting), pay a small fee per transaction, and they will help you find affiliates willing to promote your products in exchange for a percentage of sales revenue.
There are also features that allow you to track what affiliates do best so you can manage them better as well as provide various reports on how well your campaign is performing.
Tips for Choosing an Affiliate Network
If you’re thinking about joining an affiliate network, there are a few tips to keep in mind. First, consider how well you’ll integrate with their existing brands; it’s not much use if their partners don’t complement your own products or services. Make sure they have low fees and great technology that will allow you to scale as your business grows.
It’s also important to ask how they approach data protection, paying out commissions and tracking sales performance over time. And consider what impact a potential change of management would have on your relationship with them – will they still be around in 5 years? Working with an affiliate network is more like a marriage than anything else, so choose wisely!
How do affiliate networks make money?
Affiliate networks make money by charging a percentage of commission on each sale referred by an affiliate. For example, if you sign up to become an affiliate of Amazon Associates, they’ll charge you a small percentage (typically between 4% and 10%) of every sale made using your unique referral link.
There are also other types of affiliate programs, such as pay-per-lead or cost per click, but these are less common. Amazon Associates is arguably one of the most popular affiliate programs on earth—and it’s certainly one of the largest with over 1 million active affiliates! So how does it work?
The Disadvantages of an Affiliate Network
There are a few disadvantages to an affiliate network. One is that when you join a particular affiliate network, you have to adhere to their rules. This means that you will have less control over your ad campaigns and may not be able to get as good of results as you would if you were running them independently.
Additionally, many affiliate networks limit what ads can be run on certain sites in order to abide by advertising regulations. In some cases, these restrictions can make your business model null and void because your ad strategy relies on running specific types of ads on certain sites.
Conclusion
What are affiliate networks, exactly? In short, they’re like matchmakers for brands and bloggers. If you’re a brand looking to get your products in front of new eyes, affiliate networks are a cost-effective way to do that without having to go through a lengthy (and possibly expensive) advertising process. For bloggers, affiliate networks offer an easy way to monetize their content while working with brands they love.
These groups act as go-betweens so that all parties have a positive experience. If you want more information about what affiliate marketing is or how it works—or if you just want some solid resources on the subject—it’s important to keep reading. We have all of our best tips in one place for you!