Since affiliate marketing first emerged in the 90s, the face of business as we know it today has entirely changed. While businesses were generating large profits, ordinary people were suddenly earning millions in commissions. It’s important to note that affiliate marketing is a lot of work, and it only pays off when you successfully match your audience and product. It’s crucial to choose products or services that fit your niche, your audience, and the products and services you understand. In this blog, we’re going to cover affiliate marketing strategies, opportunities, trends, and how you as an affiliate marketer in South Africa can make the most of any affiliate program.
Affiliate Marketing Strategies
The fact of the matter is affiliate marketing has the potential to make you a lot of money, this however won’t happen overnight. The top affiliate marketers, also referred to as “super affiliates,” invest years in audience development in order to earn six-figure salaries. Pat Flynn – one of the most successful affiliate marketers – is proof that the industry comes with its pros and cons. But how did he do it? How did he get to a point where he could be renowned as one of the best? Strategy.
According to Statista, in 2022 alone, the spend on affiliate marketing programs by businesses has grown to $8.2 billion in the USA. That’s a 76% increase in the last 6 years alone. Unfortunately getting a slice of the billion-dollar pie isn’t as simple as pasting a few affiliate links on your blog or your social media platforms. Here are a few ways you can make the most of affiliate marketing:
Learn about your niche
Stop chasing and relying on trends. Rushing to catch the latest trends can lead to trouble when these trends end faster than they started. Understanding the niche and industry you’re promoting goes a long way. Do the necessary niche research, understand the competitive landscape, and create a viable content plan.
Choose the right platform
Alas, you’ve settled on a niche. Now it’s time to decide where to post your affiliate content and what type of content you want to create for your audience. The three most popular choices for affiliates that are just starting out are websites or blogs, social media platforms, and YouTube.
YouTube and social media can be excellent places to grow an audience, build a brand, and promote affiliate products to an audience that trusts your recommendations.
Find a profitable affiliate program
When choosing an affiliate program to sign up for, you need to ask yourself a few key questions. Is there a demand for these products? What is the commission structure? Can I get solid conversions? Affiliate marketing programs differ greatly in terms of the pay scale. Some programs offer nothing but a few cents per conversion while others like The Digital Geek pay out hundreds if not thousands for a single lead or sale.
Programs with lower payouts are often easier to join and promote. This is a tactic designed to make them seem appealing but in reality, they require a higher number of sales for the same amount of revenue.
Profitable Affiliate Marketing Programs to Join In 2023
We’ve already established that one of the best methods to make money online, especially for bloggers and content creators, is to become an affiliate marketer. Affiliate marketing allows you to start making passive income by signing up for affiliate marketing networks without having to create your own brand from scratch or worry about inventory management. But not all that glitters is gold. You need to find the right programs to join. Below is a list of the top 5 affiliate marketing programs to join in 2023.
SEMRush
Earn up to $200 per sale with SEMrush. Semrush offers one of the most lucrative affiliate programs for content marketers and allows affiliates to earn a fixed-monthly commission for all subscription plans. The SEO company has grown to become one of the world’s most popular brands – thus, making the competition to become an affiliate quite high and makes your job easier by offering you over 40 marketing tools and an affiliate manager to boost your earnings. Sign up here >
Amazon Associates
Online shopping, anyone? At this time of writing, there are over 12 million products on Amazon. The online store has an average of $1.29 billion in daily sales volume. This means if done right, the chances for you making an income as an Amazon affiliate are high. The Amazon Associates affiliate program is one of the largest and most popular affiliate networks worldwide. As a marketplace, its range of products can fit a large variety of niches. This makes the program suitable for affiliate marketing beginners. Need help? Here’s a step-by-step guide on making the most of Amazon Associates. Sign up here >
Fiverr Affiliate Program
Fiverr is one of the world’s largest freelance marketplaces. As a freelancer, you can sell your services to millions of businesses and individuals looking for what you offer. As an affiliate marketer, however, you can leverage the existing freelancers on the platform. With the Fiverr Affiliate Program, you earn money by sharing links that promote Fiverr’s services. Sign up here >
The Digital Geek Affiliate
Did you know that x% of businesses still don’t have a website or an online presence? The Digital Geek helps business owners improve their online presence at affordable rates. Our affiliate program allows you to earn up to R2,500.00 per client depending on which service the client you referred chooses. The earning potential is unlimited and offers you the opportunity to build your own referral business. It’s as simple as signing up, and answering a few questions and once you’ve been approved as an affiliate, start sharing your link and get paid every Friday! Sign up here >
What happens next?
Now? Well, now you do your own research on the relevant niches and sign up as an affiliate to all the above-mentioned programs. Your earning potential is unlimited.