How Affiliate Marketing Could Boost Your E-commerce Business

With the rise of digital stores and online marketing, the two can work hand-in-hand to yield better results and ensure the success of an e-commerce site. 

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing refers to the process whereby an affiliate, another word for an entity linked to or associated with a particular brand, earns a commission for marketing a company’s products or services. Simply put, for every sale made, the affiliate is compensated financially for their efforts and securing the deal. Fortunately, technology has made it possible and easy to track such activity, as affiliates are assigned a particular link that is unique to them and indicates the source of the sale. The reason why affiliate marketing is becoming quite popular is that it is a way to leverage the abilities of multiple people who act as an extension of the marketing function, which makes the efforts more effective. Moreover, each affiliate has a different audience and strategy to make sales, which often leads to improved results overall. Affiliate marketing comprises three key elements, the seller/product creator, advertiser/affiliate and the consumer. 

The rise of e-commerce

Given the role that technology now plays in our everyday activities, it is no wonder that sales and product promotions have also gradually moved online. The move was accelerated by the global conditions of 2020, as people turned to online operations and customers took more notice of e-commerce sites and mobile apps. As a result, e-commerce’s share of all retail sales also increased in 2020, with reports on the matter noting a 3 percent increase from 16 to 19 percent during that period. In light of the fact that some brick and mortar businesses were forced to pivot or close down, many started to integrate e-commerce and make it the core of their operations where possible, as a way to gain market share through online sales. Therefore, it can be said that e-commerce is a concept that is no longer as optional as it was before, in fact, some might argue that it should be prioritised by any business that is looking to stay afloat. 

Where the two collide

With the above in mind, it is clear that affiliate marketing can be an integral part of any online marketing strategy, more so with the rise of influencer and social media marketing. Regardless of what product or service you may be offering on your e-commerce site, affiliate marketing can be a great way of driving traffic to the site and introducing people to your offering, with the hopes of converting those leads into sales. So, whether you are selling beauty products, financial services, or even teaching people how to start trading with different currencies on your e-commerce site, you too can make use of affiliate marketing. Finding people that are motivated and driven to achieve certain sales goals could prove beneficial to you, therefore, when introducing an affiliate programme, it is best that you enlist people that understand targets and will be committed to delivering results. In affiliate marketing, quality is better and preferred over quantity. Having 100 affiliates with only 10 of them delivering results is not ideal, whereas having 15 affiliates who are all committed to earning their commission will most likely drive more traffic to your e-commerce site and yield better results.