In 2021, here are ten tried-and-true ways to boost affiliate sales.
Affiliate Marketing is a terrific method to supplement your income while remaining passive, but it is not without its drawbacks. You'll need a good plan to maximize your affiliate sales and optimize your marketing efforts to achieve this effect.
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We've put together a list of tried-and-true affiliate selling techniques and tricks that you can use to grow your audience, maximize your efforts, establish authority, and raise your passive income. These pointers apply to all affiliates, regardless of the program or brand with whom they operate.
What is affiliate marketing, and how does it work?
Affiliate Marketing is a business model in which an affiliate promotes a merchant's products or services. The affiliate receives a percentage or agreed-upon fee for each sale created using the affiliate's unique tracking code.
Everyone involved in affiliate marketing, including merchants, networks, and affiliates, profits greatly. So it's no surprise that this type of marketing has been increasingly popular over time and shows no indications of slowing down.
Affiliate marketing spending in the United States is estimated to reach $8.2 billion by 2022. Please read our article about affiliate marketing features for more information.
Kinsta's affiliate program is a beautiful place to start if you're interested in affiliate marketing. We give up to $500 for each referral and a 10% monthly recurring commission for the rest of your life, making it one of the most incredible packages in the industry.
Affiliate Sales: 21 Proven Tips & Tricks
Discover various techniques for increasing your passive income through affiliate marketing, both directly and indirectly.
1. Track your progress using key performance indicators (KPIs).
It's nice to get a lot of clicks on your affiliate links, but do they translate into sales? Vanity metrics are a waste of time. Instead, concentrate on the figures that matter.
KPIs (key performance indicators) are measures used to assess your marketing operations' efficacy. For example, KPIs can inform you which campaigns have generated the most revenue, which aren't generating any value, and which campaigns need to be tweaked.
Here are a few metrics to keep an eye on:
The number of clicks divided by the number of views is known as the clickthrough rate (CTR). Use this measure to assess the effectiveness of your digital adverts, links, and calls to action, among other things.
The number of conversions divided by the number of clicks is the conversion rate. Although conversions are frequently associated with sales in affiliate marketing, a conversion can technically be any action you want your visitor to perform. This can include downloading an ebook, signing up for a newsletter, or signing up for a demo.
Revenue per source of traffic: The total revenue generated by various sources. Determine which of your platforms (website, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) earns the most money using this metric.
Average time spent on page: The average amount of time spent on a single web page by website visitors. Use this KPI to determine which pages are worth reading and which ones need to be examined.
Keep track of your KPIs regularly and use the data to help you grow affiliate sales.
2. Provide a link to a landing page that has been optimized for conversions.
Clicks aren't always converted into sales. Direct your traffic to the right landing pages to enhance clickthrough potential and increase your chances of making more affiliate sales. We'll show you how to make your own using WordPress.
Your landing page should be relevant, but it should also provide plenty of conversion chances for visitors.
If you're an associate of a travel firm and your travel blog discusses holiday packages in the Côte d'Azur, link straight to the company's page, where viewers may buy those packages right away.
Link to our article on secure WordPress hosting if you're a Kinsta affiliate and your blog post is about website security.
3. Conduct A/B testing to determine which content is the most effective.
Conduct A/B tests to see which of your campaign's two elements performs better. To locate the sweet spot that leads to the most affiliate sales, run A/B tests on web pages, blog posts, banner advertisements, emails, etc.
To conduct your A/B test, follow these steps:
Select which aspect you'd want to assess. Headlines, calls to action, images, and layout are the most common alternatives.
Determine the key performance indicators (KPIs) used to assess the test's success. For example, if you're evaluating your email subject line, you should consider the open rate.
Select the appropriate sample size (the number of tests needed to determine a winner).
Create two copies of your test, with only the test element differing.
Take the examination.
Assess your outcomes in light of the KPIs you've set. Take note of any outside influences on your test.
Check out some of the top WordPress A/B testing tools to improve your conversion rate.
4. Make (or update) a webpage for "tools."
A web page with a list of your referral tools and services will be beneficial to your followers regardless of the size of your audience. They do follow you for a purpose, after all.
Link your tool list to conversion-optimized pages or other relevant information, such as your reviews and comparative pieces, to increase your chances of making an affiliate sale. Maintain it to be up to date and easy to find for readers.
5. Compose (or revise) product reviews
The impact of customer reviews is significant. Before purchasing a product, 93% of shoppers consult online reviews. By contributing value and experience to your reviews, you may improve traffic and your authority in the industry.
You guessed correctly, of course. They can also help you make more money as an affiliate.
Are you stumped as to what to put in a review? To help you get started, here are a few ideas:
What problem(s) was the product or service able to tackle successfully?
Is it up to par with what you'd expect?
Is it worth the money?
Do you think a friend would enjoy it?
Which of the characteristics do you like the most?
Finally, what could be done to improve the product or service?
What matters most is that the reviews are truthful and accurate. Relationships are crucial to affiliate marketing. And giving a glowing review of a defective product is a surefire way to lose your community's trust.
If you already have reviews, go over them to ensure your feelings about the product or service haven't shifted.
6. Make external testimonials stand out (for consultants)
You know how difficult it is to persuade your consumers to sign up for a new tool if you're a freelance developer or consultant earning affiliate commissions.
It's good to back up your claims with testimonials from other happy customers or reviews from third-party websites. Plus, you'll have a better chance of making a sale as an affiliate!
Industry-specific external evaluations exist. Some companies have specific review pages on their websites. Check out the Kinsta reviews page if you're looking for some ideas.
It can also find reviews on third-party review sites like G2 and Trustpilot.
7. Make a comparison and opinion pages (or both)
In the affiliate marketing world, comparison articles and listings are highly profitable. They can help you produce more affiliate sales by increasing your website's traffic and authority, just like reviews.
A collection of articles about two or more items or services is referred to as a comparison article. They give readers the knowledge they need to make educated purchasing decisions. As an example, look at our comparison of Kinsta and WP Engine.
Listicles are items presented in the form of a list, as the name suggests. This piece, in particular, is a good example.
They're popular among creators since they provide value for little work. But, most significantly, readers appreciate how easy it is to navigate, how simple the formatting is, and how engaging the headlines are. For example, check out "76 Proven Tactics to Drive Traffic to Your Website," for example.
It's also feasible to construct a hybrid article that combines comparison and listing features. For example, one of our affiliates put up this article on the best WordPress hosting, which is an excellent example of combining the two styles.
Increase your chances of making affiliate sales by linking to conversion-optimized content.
8. Repurpose information that already exists
It isn't easy to constantly develop fresh material while existing content is frequently underutilized. Repurpose your content to function on different platforms to get the most out of it.
Use this strategy to boost your affiliate sales by reaching a bigger audience and attracting followers you might have missed the first time around.
Here are a few ideas for repurposing your content:
First, make a YouTube video out of a blog post's content.
Second, make an infographic based on a blog article's main themes.
Third, make an IGTV mini-series out of your Facebook video by chopping it up.
Fourth, to make unique Instagram photos, use essential quotations from a blog post.
Finally, make an ebook out of a collection of related blog posts.
9. Incorporate new retailers into old content High-quality "old" content provides numerous SEO benefits. This material can benefit from organic search traffic and link sharing because it has been on the internet for longer.
By adding new merchants to your existing content, you can increase your affiliate sales opportunities.
And that's not all. Use this time to update the text of the article and fix any broken affiliate links. Replace obsolete numbers with links to your most recent content and landing sites geared for conversions. Your viewers will enjoy it, but it will also encourage Google to crawl your site more frequently, potentially resulting in higher search engine ranks.
10. Include CTAs in your long-form posts.
Long-form articles are 2,000 words or longer pieces of material. These articles allow you to delve deeper into issues, are easier to adapt to long-term content, and are often more shareable than standard blog posts. They can also produce up to nine times as many leads as traditional methods.
Users are encouraged to interact with your site using calls to action (CTAs). Text with hyperlinks, buttons, or graphics is the most common format. CTAs almost usually direct consumers to a sales-focused landing page in affiliate marketing.
It should sprinkle this throughout long-form content to maximize conversions. Including a CTA at the end of an article is considered best practice. We also suggest putting one towards the start and a few in the center depending on the length. You'll reach all readers this way, whether they're reading a piece or the whole thing.
See how to write outstanding long-form articles in WordPress in our guide.
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