According to Statista, ecommerce is projected to reach US$3,567bn in 2024 and the number of users is expected to reach 2.5bn by 2028.
(Source: https://www.statista.com/outlook/emo/ecommerce/worldwide)
So what does this mean for you as an affiliate marketer? It simply means that now is a better time than any to take a nibble, or even a large bite from this highly profitable pie.
Since you won’t have to deal with the hassle of fulfilling orders, worrying about inventory, or even answering customer support as an affiliate – all you’ll really need to do is focus on driving traffic, generating leads and promoting hot, high converting products.
While that’s easier said than done, it’s still less challenging than a lot of other online marketing models that have many more moving parts.
Now let’s look at 7 affiliate marketing tactics you can use to get better results in your affiliate marketing today.
1. Use a ‘Master Link’
What’s a master link, you ask?
Simple – it’s a link that you have full control over.
When you apply for any affiliate program, you’re usually given a long link made up of numbers and characters that make no sense. This is a tracking link that the vendor uses to credit sales to you when someone buys through your link. It’s how the vendor knows how much to pay you.
But here’s the problem… Sometimes, a product that you’ve been promoting is suddenly discontinued. Other times, the vendor decides to use a new affiliate tracking software and you’ll be given a new link to use.
When this happens (and it happens quite frequently), the links you were using earlier will become defunct. Either they won’t work or the product no longer exists. and this traffic leak will cost you sales and credibility.
Another problem that arises is that you’ll need to manually change all the affected links if you were using the vendor-provided link as-is. In many cases, if you’ve posted your links on social media, PDFs, you won’t even be able to remember where all the links are – and many times, it’ll be impossible to fix those links.
And if you have your own affiliate site, changing the links one at a time can be more time-consuming than explaining technology to grandparents.
The best way to prevent this problem from happening will be to use a tool like the Pretty Links plugin on your website… or if you don’t have a website, just sign up for an account at TinyURL and create a master link for each product you’re promoting. (Do NOT use these tools if you’re promoting products on Amazon – you’ll likely lose your Amazon affiliate account.) You’ll then use this master link in all your promotions.
In future, should a product be discontinued or if the affiliate link changes, all you’ll need to do is edit the destination URL in the master link and ALL your links everywhere will be updated at once. (One thing to note: You’ll need to purchase a subscription at TinyURL to be able to edit the destination URL, you can’t do this with the free account.)
Easy peasy. You won’t lose sales or need to scramble to fix broken links in multiple paces.
2. Use a Landing Page
As an affiliate marketer, you won’t be able to build an email list of customers, because you’re not processing orders. Very few vendors will share their customer list with you even if you’re the one who is responsible for the sale.
So it’s imperative that you build your own email list of subscribers. This is the one asset you’ll truly own – and it’s easier to remarket to warm traffic. You’ll also have the opportunity to build a relationship with your list and this will improve your conversions.
To build a list, you can either create a squeeze page on your own site if you have one, or if not you can now create squeeze pages right inside your autoresponder such as Aweber or GetResponse, or in the free Systeme.io account
Instructions on how to do this are included within all the respective platform’s help sections.
Once you have this done, create a master link that points to your landing page – and use it for all your promotions. When you’re siphoning traffic from popular platforms, most of the time you’ll want your link pointing to your landing page.
This will help you to build your email list and increase sales in the long run.
3. Promote products that have a good funnel
This is especially true if you’re promoting infoproducts on marketplaces such as ClickBank, WarriorPlus, Digistore24, etc.
When a product has a bump offer and a couple of upsells/downsells, it’ll encourage the customer who’s already in a buying mood to purchase more. This will increase the average customer value and put more money (commissions) in your pocket.
If a product is a standalone product, you’ll only get a percentage of that one sale… but if it has a funnel, you’ll get a percentage of every product in that funnel, depending on how the vendor has set it up.
A funnel can increase your commissions considerably… but… once again, this approach must be tempered with moderation. Avoid promoting funnels that are deeper than the earth’s core.
One or two upsells is fine… 9 upsells is NOT ok. Less is more here.
A way to really turbo charge this is to promote products that have recurring commissions in the funnel (typically membership sites, software products, etc) – that way you promote once but get paid again and again! 🙂
4 . Promote high-ticket items
There’s usually a mental hurdle that many affiliate marketers will need to overcome – and that’s promoting higher-priced items. While lower-priced items tend to convert better, it’s usually easier to generate sizable profit with higher-priced products. This seems counter-intuitive to most affiliates UNTIL they try it out.
This applies to both digital and physical products. While you don’t have to solely focus on high-ticket items, having a few in your ‘repertoire’ will see you have some high paydays.
For example, if you have a website that does movie reviews and promotes Disney+ … you could always have a blog post promoting a cool movie projector like the one below.
Imagine watching your favourite Disney+ shows in ‘cinema quality’ that’s right in your own home!
You get the idea 🙂
5. Study your competitors
Look at what the popular sites in your niche are promoting. Usually, they’ll be focused on promoting relevant, high-converting products that are in demand.
Make a list of these products and try promoting them too.
You can learn a lot from watching what others are doing.
6. Work with influencers
This strategy is highly effective on Instagram and TikTok – but you’ll need to know your numbers (conversion rate) and you’ll have to find an influencer that has reach and is willing to post your affiliate link in their profile (for a fee.)
Since you’ll be paying the influencer to make a post with your affiliate link in it, the amount you pay must be less than the affiliate sales that will be generated (your commissions.) So you don’t want to overpay them… and the influencer must have good reach. Your link has to be in their profile for at least 8 to 24 hours, depending on the stipulations you negotiate with them.
Use a link tracking tool such as ClickMagick to see how well the promotion converts and if you make a profit. With the right influencer and a good post, you can make anywhere from hundreds to even thousands in commissions for a relatively small outlay.
7. Offer a bonus
This is a simple but highly effective strategy when it comes to converting visitors into buyers.
Generally, most people want a good deal. If you have a solid bonus for those who purchase through your link, you’ll incentivize people to buy through you just so they can get your extras.
This tactic has been proven to work over and over when promoting infoproducts. I have won many affiliate contests simply by offering a really good, congruent bonus – the key is to make it a bonus that genuinely complements the product you are promoting, that makes it better in some way. This is very powerful, especially on product launches where you are competing against many other top affiliates.
Conclusion
The 7 powerful affiliate marketing strategies outlined above can really multiply your affiliate earnings. Start putting them into action today.
And for more help with your affiliate marketing, make sure you download my free video training – just fill in the form that’s showing somewhere on this page!
