As a small business working on tight margins, it can be challenging to know where to make investments. In some cases, small companies don’t even have an internal marketing team on hand to promote your brand. While marketing is one of the most important aspects to achieving success, at times, the funds aren’t available to justify a marketing specialist or department.
The good news? Affiliate marketing offers the perfect, low-cost, low-risk solution for any small business. As a form of outsourcing, affiliate marketing allows start-up brands to tap into a wealth of marketing experience without the associated costs. Furthermore, because affiliate marketing is performance-based, you’ll only be paying on results.
So, Why Should You Consider Affiliate Marketing for a Small Business?
It Offers Instant Rapport:
Over the years, research shows that online reviews play a significant part in the purchasing process. Nearly 95% of shoppers read reviews before making their final decision to buy. Therefore, when you partner with publishers who have built a rapport with their audience, the trust is already there. Carefully picked publisher within your niche will offer credible social proof for your product and brand, with minimal effort involved.
ROI Is High:
Compared to driving traffic with a Google Ads strategy, the cost per sale, click or lead for affiliate marketing is very favourable. While it depends on the industry, a sale generated through Google Ads can cost as much as 20 times the amount as the same sale via an affiliate. If your affiliate program is based on CPA (cost per action) rather than paying for traffic, which is generally the practice with Google Ads, you’re going to save money.
It Expands your Audience:
Each publisher you accept onto your program will already have an established audience. Whether it be a review site, a social platform or a magazine, you’ll be reaching audiences across many platforms within your niche, at a low cost. For example, if a popular online publication joins your program, they’re likely to create a quality editorial for free to drive sales and earn a commission. These types of placements can save you thousands on traditional media costs.
It’s Cost-effective:
We’ve touched on it a couple of times; however, to be clear, affiliate marketing is a low-cost way to build your brand. Combine low costs with huge potential, and it’s most definitely worth a go.
You’re Creating Partnerships with Specialists:
As we mentioned before, we understand that start-ups can’t afford to hire an entire team of marketing specialists. Thankfully, affiliate marketing has got that covered. From PPC to social and everything in between, you can rest assured there’s a publisher that specialises in it. When you partner with a trusted publisher to outsource skills, both parties can reap the benefits.
You Get Complete Control:
Not only do you get to approve the publishers joining your program, but you can set terms, commission levels and incentives. Furthermore, you can provide creatives for your publishers. Although poor affiliate marketing strategies can pose a risk to your brand, when it’s done well, you’ll get to control the narrative.
When your affiliate marketing strategy is handled with care, it offers plenty of benefits without too much risk. If managing it in-house is a little daunting for you, you’ll be in good hands with Conversion Digital. With years of experience, established relationships with key publishers and a solid understanding of all things marketing, you’ll be glad to have us on board.