Affiliate marketing is a form of online marketing. Affiliate means partner. Advertisers reward their partners for the sales or leads generated by the affiliate. Affiliates can achieve this by, among other things, placing advertisements from advertisers on their website. If referring customers to advertisers results in a sale or lead. The affiliate then receives compensation from the advertiser. You can also pay per click or per page view.
What media does this work on?
This works on many media, but because the internet is used most, comparison sites, cashback sites, newsletters, blogs on a website and social media are most suitable.
What settlement systems are there?
There are four settlement systems:
CPC – (Cost Per Click – a fee is paid for each click.
CPL – (Cost Per Lead) – a fee is paid for each interested party.
CPM – (Cost Per View) – a fee is paid for each page viewed.
CPS – (Cost Per Sale) – a percentage is paid for each sale.
A lead means more than just an interested party. An interested party means that he/she requests a quote or an appointment.
How do you start with affiliate marketing?
With affiliate marketing you usually work with a publisher who facilitates a network. That network registers visitors who click through, transactions, invoices and arranges payouts. Well-known affiliate networks in the Netherlands are Daisycon, Awin and TradeTracker. Large advertisers such as bol.com and Coolblue do not use network intervention.
Do you want to use affiliate marketing as an advertiser or publisher?
As an advertiser you must take the following steps.
Determine what you want to achieve
You determine the objectives based on the type of company.
Calculate the costs and revenues
Contrast the production costs or purchasing costs, other operating costs against the sales revenues and subtract the publisher costs and affiliation costs. The result must be positive. Determine whether the return is acceptable. The advantage of affiliate marketing is that the advertiser only pays compensation when revenues have been realized.
Calculate the compensation costs
As long as you do not have to send anything, the aforementioned calculation applies. But if you have to physically send something, additional costs are incurred, which you then have to pass on and the return is reduced.
How do you make it attractive for the publisher?
The publisher is only interested in how high the fee is and the chance that a visitor will make a purchase. From the calculation it can be determined what compensation amount can be given. Moreover, the compensation must be competitive. The visitor can be tempted by large discounts and good return conditions.
How can you increase effectiveness?
If you have confidence in successful affiliate marketing, it is best to join an affiliate network. This network helps to put affiliate marketing into practice. A fee of approximately 25% of the agreed fee for the publisher is charged for this. Advertising SMEs benefit more from smaller websites with many visitors. These websites are often affiliated with an affiliate network.
As a publisher you must take the following steps.
What do you need?
A publisher must have a website, blog, large (email) address database or social media profile with many visitors to be attractive to the advertiser.
What should you do?
Make sure you rank high in the search engines and that you are easy to find for search terms.
Join an affiliate network and interesting direct affiliate programs
What are you doing?
You include affiliate hyperlinks in your messages.
You forward visitors to the advertiser via a hyperlink.
How do you receive the compensation?
Each network has multiple advertisers, but together they have one point of contact. The network measures the results as an independent party and arranges payouts. The affiliate network practically helps you with the use of affiliate marketing.
You will receive compensation if the visitor carries out a pre-agreed action on, for example, the advertiser's website.
Can I use affiliate marketing for anything?
Yes, it can be used for many types of products and services. You can compare it with a kind of word of mouth advertising. So make good agreements with affiliates. Agree on attractive compensation and a lasting relationship can arise.
Do I need an affiliate network?
An advertiser can set up its own affiliate program and does not need an affiliate network. But it is cheaper to join an affiliate network. Many affiliates are affiliated with the affiliate networks. They sign up for a campaign and promotional material.
What does the affiliate do?
The affiliate determines how and where the advertisements are used. This could be a website, blog, newsletter or social media. You as an advertiser do not know in advance what the affiliate posts. The affiliate decides whether his/her efforts are sufficiently covered by the compensation.
What do affiliate marketing networks do?
There are dozens of affiliate network companies in the Netherlands. The largest are Awin, Daisycon and Tradetracker. There are also specialized affiliate network companies in a particular industry, niche or region. Thousands of affiliates and advertisers are affiliated with well-known affiliate networks. They take care of all the technology and administration of an affiliate program.
