Over the past few years, we witnessed a dramatic arrival of bloggers, carving their way into the arena of affiliate marketing. That’s simply because bloggers today have a greater and more loyal audience than ever. This is partly attributed to social media growth and popularity.
Just as the number of followers rise and the prominence of bloggers grow, the attention they receive from brands is also augmented. Consequently, bloggers today are way smarter in the way they write and promote their blogs.
And Affiliate Marketing Came Along
Not very long ago, bloggers realized that they could be paid for the work they do—writing content. And thus, they found solace in affiliate marketing—the right channel to nurture a brand-to-publisher association.
Stated below are a few questions that are often asked by advertisers and the possible answers that will also help you identify the last piece of the puzzle:
How Can Content and Affiliate Marketing Be Managed Without Duplication?
First of all, it is vital to keep this relationship separate. In the past, if your content team has had strong ties with bloggers, try not to move them into affiliate marketing platform.
In fact, utilize the affiliates as a means to identify new relationships and opportunities. Secondly, don’t try to work on the wheel again. It’s best to talk to the content department and try to get their insights regarding the current strategy and the previous wins and losses experienced. This can assist your next move along with your new content partners, i.e. affiliates.
Isn’t Content At The Top Of The Funnel, And Affiliate At The Bottom?
News flash: the funnel is no longer here. The top-to-bottom model has evolved into a loop –loyalty loop. Customers are continuously in a phase of consideration-and-evaluation, despite the fact that they have purchased from you already.
Until and unless brand loyalty is deeply connected with the customer, they may consistently compare you with competitors. That is why affiliate marketing is not really at the base of the funnel, and content not at the top.
Content is required to reach out to customers across all stages of the loyalty loop. It keeps persuading customers to choose your brand over competitors.
Content Can Influence The Sales Within Affiliate, But They Aren’t Essentially The Last Click In The Consumer Purchase Journey. How Can The Bloggers’ Efforts Be Accounted?
This takes us to the hot topic of attribution. Without digging deep, simply consider the way you compensate your affiliates.
One easy way is to pay them on a CPA – this supports the last-click model. However, speaking of bloggers, there are other advanced payment options at your disposal. Distinctively, try to pay on impression or ‘view through’ only for publishers. Another option is utilizing CJ’s Coupon Code Parameter to restrain commissions to particular or a group of publishers. While it doesn’t look like an organic approach, it’s worth a shot to see how they cater this tactic.
Have you taken the first step of creating your own affiliate program? If not, sign up at LeadDyno now and we’ll tell you how to start an affiliate program. Read through our affiliate program guide or contact us for further details.
You can also launch your affiliate program today and get started with a free 14-day trial of LeadDyno.
