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As the media landscape continues to evolve, our PR and marketing strategies must do the same. One of the emerging trends in recent years is the growing prominence of affiliate marketing. As consumer brands reduce their advertising budgets, many publications are now exploring alternative methods to monetize their content. This has led to a surge in interest in affiliate marketing as an effective revenue-generating model.
So, what exactly is affiliate marketing, and why is it important in today’s media environment? And, what types of brands and businesses is it most impactful for? Let’s dive in!
Affiliate marketing is a revenue model in which online publishers (digital magazines or social media influencers) earn commissions on products they refer sales to. Affiliates (the publishers) are typically writers, editors, bloggers, content creators, or past customers. As an affiliate, they will market the e-commerce products on digital channels or social media sites that attract significant traffic in exchange for a CPA (commission per action). In other words, an affiliate will earn a commission whenever a product featured in an article is purchased through that affiliate link. Affiliate marketing is a cost-effective way for businesses to increase their reach (editorially and socially) and drive sales while also providing affiliates with a way to monetize their online presence.
CPA can range depending on a brand’s agreement with its affiliate. While the average competitive CPA falls between 10-25%, you can adjust this number as needed for affiliates you deem more or less valuable for your brand. You may also adjust the CPA to control whether an affiliate is paid when they make a sale, generates a new sales lead, or drives a “click” to the brand website or product page.
The affiliate space is the only publishing revenue source on the upward trajectory. It has recently become a huge focus for both the advertising and editorial teams, the large majority of online national publications. Publishers are constantly optimizing their websites for affiliate profit and will link within their platform to affiliate stories to continue pushing traffic and sales from affiliate articles. If a publication or influencer is making money by placing your product, they are incentivized to continue featuring your products time and time again. It’s a mutually beneficial ecosystem.
While it is not impossible to be included in an online product/shopping story without an affiliate, publishers, content creators, writers, and influencers are hungry for the opportunity to make more money and favor brands that allow them to do so.
In the design space, most of our day-to-day media targets prioritize affiliate-driven content - think Architectural Digest, Domino, Dwell, ELLE Decor, House Beautiful, and Veranda to name just a small handful.
Any brand can benefit from affiliate marketing, but we especially encourage all brands with an e-commerce sales model to get on board. As most, if not all, digital shopping content is driven by affiliate links, your chances of being featured in top-tier publications that market to your target audiences - and, of course, sales and revenue increase significantly.
Through Awin, brands can join for a reasonable fee of around $650. Once on board, Awin facilitates transactions by charging 20% of the affiliate’s commission or a minimum of $35 in transaction fees each month.
Let’s break down how this works with an example: Imagine a $100 sale is generated through an affiliate offering a 10% commission. In this case, the affiliate would earn $10, and Awin would receive $2, making the total transaction amount $12.
In summary, Awin provides a cost-effective platform for brands to tap into the power of affiliate marketing, offering fair pricing and an opportunity to increase revenue through valuable partnerships.
Through your affiliate marketing network, you will be able to clearly see how much revenue is being generated through affiliate marketing sales, in addition to the commission you paid to move the affiliate purchase forward.
A few additional value measures include the following:
For any public relations specialist, PR agency or consumer-facing product manufacturing brand, adaptability in every sense is crucial. The digital media landscape will continue to favor opportunities that monetize their content, and it’s important that modern brands adapt as needed to maximize growth and brand awareness. Affiliate marketing is a cost-effective way to reach your target audience, discover success with new audiences, increase exposure across top-tier media platforms, and generate added revenue.
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