This is learn how to construct a dependable (and worthwhile) affiliate community from the bottom up

Industry expectations are that total affiliate marketing spending will be by 2020 Reach $ 6.8 billionHowever, despite the proliferation of this promotional tactic, many brands remain unsure what exactly affiliate marketing is – or how to use it in their own strategies.

Related: Affiliate vs. Influencer Marketing: Which One Should Your Company Use?

In a nutshell, affiliate marketing is a method by which brands partner with third-party channels to promote their products. These partners share links to products and earn a small commission on sales or web traffic generated by their content. Unlike standard ad placements, your brand is not responsible for creating the ad content. Rather, the affiliates create the content themselves.

There are a multitude of partners who can fall under the affiliate marketing umbrella, making building a reliable and relevant network a major priority for brands today.

Understand your network options.

Before you start building your own affiliate network, you should understand the types of affiliates that are out there. After all, different partners may be better suited to your brand than others.

A recent article from LinkTrust, an affiliate marketing software solution, noticed that most affiliates fall into one of three categories: publishers, solo marketers, and influencers. “Everyone uses their reach to advertise your product,” says the article. “Typically, the best affiliates will attract a specific audience that is interested in your product. For example, if you sell fitness equipment, a fitness Instagram influencer could be a good choice for an affiliate partnership. “

In this regard, a fitness magazine would be another excellent choice, as the article pointed out. A magazine could promote the gym company’s products in any way the company wants. Advertising, social media updates or links within content would be potential channels, the article says.

The good news is that you and your own company don’t need to feel overwhelmed managing partner relationships. Affiliate marketing software platforms (like the aforementioned LinkTrust) provide a system that helps brands manage their affiliate campaigns. These systems also manage payments and transaction tracking to further simplify your workload.

Related: Top Affiliate Marketing Trends To Watch For In 2019

When choosing partners, you should focus on affiliates that, logically, best fit your niche. Research these partners’ audiences and messaging tactics to determine if they match your brand image. These are the partners most likely to be interested in promoting your products while bringing high quality traffic to your website.

Create an attractive opportunity.

Affiliate marketing is ultimately about creating a win-win situation for you and your partners. Many enter this field as a secondary source of income or with the aim of making it a primary source of income.

For example, a case study from online marketing company I Am Dawn-Marie showed how site CB Passive Income earned its founder over $ 12,000 in commission during the first three months of operation. It did this thanks to a mix of blogging, email marketing, targeted landing pages, and more.

Such case studies illustrate why many people want to become affiliate marketers. They also show that these marketers are actively trying to filter out the best partnerships.

As a brand, you need to make your own affiliate marketing program as attractive as possible. This starts with paying a high quality commission rate; and what is deemed appropriate usually varies by industry.

Take Amazon. The commission structure of the e-commerce giant is based on product type. While video game commissions are only 1 percent, fashion products receive an impressive 10 percent commission. Other programs offer even higher commissions for partners who sell more products.

As Mark Hayes in a. wrote Shopify blog post, “You have to do a little math to find out what percentage you can afford to do without affiliate marketing. Can you part with 5 percent of the total revenue that comes from a sale? How about 10 percent?

“The higher the percentage, the more affiliate traffic you will generally get.”

Have clear expectations.

Even with the help of an online network, you should be constantly on the lookout for new potential partnerships and make it as easy as possible for your existing partners.

In a blog post for The balance SMB, recommended Laura Lake, “Provide your affiliate partners with creative and promotional materials. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to market your product or service. The less work they have to do and the more conversions they see, the more likely they are to promote your products or services. “

So actively communicate with current affiliate partners when you expand or change your product line. Make sure you have all marketing guidelines for your products in place beforehand to avoid costly or reputational misunderstandings.

The tragic forest fires in California provide a case study: As Digiday reported, several influencers sparked controversy in 2018 when they used these devastating fires to promote their personal accounts and brand partners – a move that undoubtedly damaged the brand’s overall image. When working with affiliate marketers, establish clear rules or guidelines to avoid such reputational issues.

In conclusion, building a strong affiliate marketing network can take some work, but once your network is in place this type of system is relatively low maintenance compared to other advertising strategies.

However, one thing remains constant: You should always continue to network! The more affiliates you reach, the greater your sales potential. Be ready to invest the time to continuously recruit quality partners.

Related: How to Earn Residual Income with an Amazon Affiliate Business

By using a commission-based setup to motivate others to promote your products, you are essentially creating a modern word of mouth system that will reach more customers than ever before.