Sales Strategy

10 Affiliate Marketing Strategies that Actually Work in 2024

Liucija Adomaite
LAST UPDATED
August 27, 2024
READING TIME
7 min.

Today, most profitable companies have affiliate marketing programs where they pay affiliates to drive sales, traffic, or clicks to their website.

Part of the popularity of affiliate industry is due to the fact that it really works in generating brand awareness, driving sales, and generating passive income.

Affiliate marketing contributes between 5% and 25% of major brands' total internet sales (AffiliateWP). Every year, affiliate marketing's total revenue increases by 10%.

Do you want to become part of it? Start by establishing an affiliate marketing strategy with a long-term goal.

This article explains how to do that, as well as the 10 most important steps to take to make sure your affiliate marketing career is successful.

10 Best Strategies for Affiliate Marketing that Actually Work

Some people start affiliate marketing without thinking of their next steps.

But since the industry is so saturated, you have to plan your affiliate marketing strategy ahead in order to stand out and make a profitable business.

Below, we break down the most effective strategies to use as an affiliate:

1. Choose your niche

This is the first and the most important step when creating a successful strategy for your affiliate marketing business. Make sure you identify current market demand and connect it with your passion and interest.

After you settle down with your subject and area of expertise, come up with a list of topics you're interested in and use tools like Google Trends or SEMrush to determine their popularity.

It's best to look for a niche with moderate competition because too much competition makes it tough to stand out while too little can indicate low demand. Evaluate whether the niche has depth, meaning it should offer various products and subtopics for long-term engagement.

Don't forget to research forums like Reddit and Quora and relevant social media groups to see what questions and problems people have in that niche. Their pain points will guide your content strategy.

The last step is to formalize your niche by detailing your target audience demographics and psychographics. Create your own ICP to make sure your content caters them in an engaged and personal way.

2. Build your audience

Building your audience is the backbone of every marketing affiliate strategy.

While in unatached affiliate marketing, you don't have to engage with your followers personally, in involved affiliate marketing it's the opposite.

All your focus should be shifted on audience engagement.

Make sure you learn about affiliate marketing types, the differences between them and how to choose the right one for you.

Your goal is to build your trust, authority, and reputation, which will boost your passive income since people will be more willing to make purchases.

Here are the main steps in building an audience as an affiliate marketer:

1 Step: The first step is to build your audience by finding new buyers and their emails with lemlist's database of over 450M contacts. Then personalize at scale your emails to send valuable affiliate offers to your followers.

Email list segmentation based on your audience behavior and preferences is crucial in effective campaigns. Remember, your content must be both personalized and relevant so wise to avoid generic content for the sake of just posting something.

2 Step: The next step is to send our regular newsletters using an email marketing platform like Mailchimp. Offer a valuable lead magnet such as a free eBook, checklist, or webinar to incentivize subscription.

3 Step: Finally, engage your audience in order to build stronger connections. To do so, make sure you:

  • post on a consistent schedule
  • interact through comments, likes, and shares
  • run polls
  • ask relevant questions
  • host live sessions and webinars
  • segment your email list

3. Use SEO to drive traffic

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is crucial for attracting organic traffic.

SEO is especially relevant for the unattached affiliate marketing type. It's when you promote products or services without having any personal connection or expertise in the niche.

Begin by performing comprehensive keyword research using tools like Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner.

The common practice is to focus on long-tail keywords since they are less competitive and more likely to convert. It's also important to optimize on-page elements such as titles, meta descriptions, headers, and alt text for images.

Create backlink-worthy content (learn how to get backlinks) so other websites will link to you. It will improve your domain authority. Regularly update older content to ensure it remains relevant and accurate.

Use a mobile-friendly and fast-loading website design to enhance user experience, both of which are critical SEO factors.

Don't forget to monitor your SEO performance using Google Analytics and Search Console, and adjust your strategy based on the data.

4. Use a multichannel strategy

Relying solely on one traffic source is risky.

That's why it's crucial to use multiple social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at once to drive traffic to your website or landing pages.

Here's how you can use multiple communication channels to enhance your affiliate marketing:

  • participate in online forums and niche-specific groups to promote the content organically (Reddit and Facebook)
  • guest post on high-authority blogs to draw new followers in
  • collaborate with other influencers in your niche to widen your reach
  • retarget campaigns and follow up on your website visitors
  • add paid advertising options (Facebook Ads and Google Ads) for targeted outreach
  • share product or service reviews on your social media channels
  • use social selling tactics using LinkedIn or Taplio
  • find new potential buyers and constantly build your email list using tools like lemlist

5. Join the right affiliate program

This may sound like a no brainer, but it's a very important move.

Your affiliate marketing career will fail if you join the wrong program in the first place.

To make sure you start from the right page, make sure to:

  • choose the affiliate program that alligns with your chosen niche
  • research the reputation of the affiliate program
  • evaluate the comission structure
  • never skip carefully reading terms and conditions
  • consider the payout frequency and the percentage
  • monitor your performance and adapt accordingly
  • automate manual tasks to save time and resources
  • test the product or service yourself (ask for a demo) so you can be authentic about your promotions
  • make sure your values and interests align with the values of an affiliate program

6. Analyze data and analytics

No decision can be better than a data-informed decision. Why? Because you can be sure it works.

Analytics tools like Google Analytics and Hotjar can provide valuable insights into your audience's behavior and preferences.

Start by setting up goal tracking to measure conversions and other key actions on your site:

  • monitor metrics such as user demographics, time on page, bounce rate, and exit pages to understand your audience better
  • analyze which types of content or products drive the most engagement and conversions
  • use A/B testing to experiment with different headlines, CTAs, and layouts to see what performs best
  • adjust your strategies based on the data to optimize your campaigns continuously
  • implement tracking pixels and UTM parameters to get more detailed insights into the performance of your affiliate links

7. Create effective CTAs (Call-to-Actions)

Effective CTAs can significantly improve your conversion rates.

Clearly define the action you want your audience to take, whether it's clicking an affiliate link, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading a resource.

Use action-oriented language that creates a sense of urgency, such as "Get Started Today" or "Don't Miss Out." Place CTAs strategically within your content, ensuring they are visible but not disruptive.

Experiment with different styles—buttons, text links, banners—to see which resonates best with your audience. Ensure that your CTAs stand out visually, using contrasting colors and clear fonts.

Test different messaging and designs using A/B tests to determine what works best for your target audience.

Keep refining based on performance metrics to enhance their effectiveness continually.

8. Earn trust

This strategy is closely tied to audience engagement, but it's focused on the long-lasting goal. Trust is the backbone of affiliate marketing success; without it, conversions plummet.

Here's how you built trust in affiliate marketing:

  • be transparent about your affiliate relationships
  • only promote products you believe in or you like
  • share your personal account of using a service or product
  • don't hide negative impressions about using a service or product from your audience
  • when giving a review, include genuine pros and cons (people want to know the full picture)
  • prioritize your audience over short-term financial gains
  • use testimonials and case studies for social proof and credibility
  • invest in the well-being of your followers (address their frustrations, answer their questions, and make sure they truly benefit from your affiliate links)

9. Stay updated with your industry

The digital marketing landscape is changing all the time. That's why you have to work on your own skills and expertise in order to share it with others.

Nobody is going to buy through your affiliate promos if your industry knowledge is outdated. Make sure you:

  • subscribe to industry-leading blogs and newsletters
  • participate in podcasts
  • attend webinars, workshops, and conferences
  • join the industry network
  • follow influencers in your niche for the first-hand insights
  • follow emerging trends and real-time updates
  • invest in your own ongoing education
  • see market changes as new affiliate opportunities

10. Create WOW content

The last strategy sounds like a cliche, as you have heard it many times before.

But creating truly good content is easier said than done, that's why marketers keep reminding themselves of this rule.

The truth is, high-quality content serves as the foundation of successful affiliate marketing. There are no workarounds about it.

Here are some of the best practices to great good content as an affiliate marketer:

  • stick to a consistent publishing schedule
  • build habits in the ay you engage with followers
  • integrate affiliate links naturally into your content
  • use high-resolution images, infographics, videos
  • make content digestible, not shallow (work on formatting)
  • work on clarity and readability (Grammarly and Hemingway can help)
  • learn to build actionable hooks to encourage clicks
  • stick to your niche
  • stay truthful about your content

Inserting your affiliate links here and there will make them look like blatant promotions.

When creating good affiliate content, you must carefully think of how, where and why your links land in a piece of content.

Whether it's a Youtube video, a LinkedIn post, or a story on Instagram, the affiliate links have to be added in a relevant context with an engaging hook or an interesting story.

Key Takeaways

You can do affiliate marketing without a strategy, but you won't get far.

As an affiliate, you can be middle-man where you simply share links and paid ads with hopes of landing some sales, and earning easy money.

But that's not sustainable. In the long run this type of affiliate relationship (known as unatached affiliate marketing) can cost more money than you earn.

Building a profitable affiliate business needs strategizing. The best practices are:

  • Choosing your niche and the right affiliate program
  • Engaging your audience in a truthful and authentic way
  • Delivering content that's both genuine and personal
  • Being fully transparent about your affiliate relationship
  • Using multiple communication channels to promote your affiliate links at once
  • Staying updated with your industry trends
  • Focusing on connecting with your audience rather than short-term gains
  • Being open to constant changes and ready to adapt to new industry trends

The best strategy in affiliate marketing is to combine all the tactics listed in this article into one robust affiliate marketing strategy.

Whatever affiliate strategy you choose, it will take time, effort, and constant work to make it work.

After all it's worth it, since affiliate marketing is very profitable career if done right. More than 15% of people who do affiliate marketing earn over $50,000 of passive income.

That means they can make money anywhere and at any time, even when they are asleep.

Liucija Adomaite
Liucija Adomaite is a viral content writer and organic traffic expert on a mission to help turn ambitious businesses into big names.
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Price
Best for
Standout feature
Con
4.9
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star
star
star
star
$30/mo
$75/mo
$2,999/mo
Large, distributed sales teams
AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs
Lack of tracking system
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Sales operations and finance teams
Powerful configurability
Limited training resources and complex to navigate
4.4
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Mid-market and enterprise businesses
Comprehensive incentive management
Potentially high cost and steep learning curve
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
$15/user/mo
$40/user/mo
Enterprise: custom price
Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Steep learning curve
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Collaborative teams
Connected planning
Complexity and steep learning curve
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with complex sales structures
Complex incentive compensation management (ICM) with high efficiency and accuracy
Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts
Simplicity and ease of use
Lack of features like redirection
4.7
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star
star
star
star-half
$30/user/mo
$35/user/mo
Custom: upon request
Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software
Ease of use and adoption
Lack of ability to configure the product based on user needs
4.8
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights
A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility
Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow
4.9
star
star
star
star
star
$30/user/mo
$50/user/mo
Smaller sales teams
Powerful automation
Lesser user base and average user interface
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with scalable needs
Automated Commission Calculations
Lack of filtering by date, no mobile app
ERP vs. CRM
ERP
CRM
Summary
Backbone of a business's internal operations.
Backbone of customer-centric interactions and operations.
Goal
To centralize and streamline core business processes in a company.
To increase customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty, and boost sales.
Focus
Internal operations and processes across departments (finance, accounting, inventory, supply chain, HR, and sales).
All interactions with leads and customers.
Manages
Internal business data like financial data, inventory levels, production details, supply chain, HR info.
All customer data like contact info, purchase history, communication history, customer preferences and more.
Users
Finance, accounting, operations, supply chain, and HR departments.
Customer-facing teams like sales, marketing, and customer service.
Benefits
Streamlines operations, improves data accuracy, enhances decision-making, boosts collaboration, increases productivity.
Improves customer relationships, increases sales, strengthens customer service, personalizes marketing campaigns, provides insights.
Price
$150 per user per year on average.
$10 to $30 per user per month on average.
PRM Tool
Rating
Feature
Pro
Con
Mobile App
Integrations
Free Plan
Pricing
4.65
star
star
star
star
star-half
Org-wide alignment
User-friendly layout and database
Suboptimal as a personal CRM
square-check
Lack of tracking system
square-check
Team: $20/month
Business: $45/month
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Social Media Integration
Easy contact data collection
No marketing/sales features
square-check
Lack of tracking system
square-xmark
7-day trial
$12/month
4.75
star
star
star
star
star-half
Block Functions
High customization capability
Not a dedicated CRM
square-check
Limited
square-check
Plus: €7.50/month
Business: €14/month
N/A
Open-source
Open-source flexibility
Requires extensive manual input
square-xmark
Limited
square-check
Self-hosted
$9/month or
$90/year
3.1
star
star
star
Simple iOS app
Ideal for non-tech-savvy users
iPhone only
square-check
iOS only
Limited
square-xmark
1-month trial
$1.49/month or
$14.99/month
3.6
star
star
star
star-half
Smart Contact Management
Feature-rich and flexible
Reported bugs
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
7-day trial
Premium: $13.99/month
Teams: $17.99/month
4.4
star
star
star
star
star-half
Customizable Interface
Customizable for teamwork
Pricey for personal use
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
Standard: $24/member
Premium: $39/member
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Integrated Calling
Integrated Calling
Too sales-oriented & pricey
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
Startup: $59/user/month
Professional: $329/user/month
4.8
star
star
star
star
star
Business Card Scanning
Business Card Scanning
Mobile only
square-check
Limited
square-check
$9.99/month
4.45
star
star
star
star
star-half
160+ app integrations
Comprehensive integrations
No free app version
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
$29.90/month or
$24.90/month (billed annually)
Capterra Rating
Free Trial
Free Plan
Starting Price (excluding the free plan)
Maximum Price (for the most expensive plan)
Best for
4.5
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-check
14-day
square-check
€15/month/seat billed annually
€792/month/3 seats billed annually + €45/month for each extra seat
Versatility and free plan
4.2
star
star
star
star
square-check
30-day
square-xmark
But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations
€25/user/month
€500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI)
Best overall operational CRM
4.3
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-xmark
square-check
Limited to 3 users
Comprehensive incentive management
€52/user/month billed annually
Small-medium businesses and automation
4.5
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-check
14-day
square-xmark
€14/seat/month billed annually
€99/seat/month billed annually
Sales teams and ease of use
4.1
star
star
star
star
square-xmark
square-check
Limited 10 users
$9.99/user/month billed annually
$64.99/user/month billed annually
Free plan for very small teams up to 10
CRM goal
Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months.
SMART Breakdown
1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation).
2. Measurable: The desired increase (10%) is a clear metric, and the timeframe (6 months) allows for progress tracking.
3. Achievable: A 10% increase is possible based on historical data and potential improvements.
4. Relevant: Boosting sales from marketing efforts aligns with overall business objectives.
5. Time-bound: The 6-month timeframe creates urgency and a clear target date.
Actions
Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation.
Step 2: Personalize marketing automation campaigns based on lead demographics, interests, and behavior.
Step 3: Develop targeted landing pages with clear calls to action for qualified leads.
Step 4: Implement lead scoring to prioritize high-potential leads for sales follow-up.
Step 5: Track and analyze campaign performance to identify areas for optimization.
Outcomes
Increased sales and revenue
Improved marketing automation ROI
Marketing and sales alignment
Data-driven marketing optimization
Table
CDP Software
CRM Software
Approach
Data-centric
Customer-centric
Focus
Interactions across various channels and touchpoints, both online and offline.
Sales, marketing, and customer service interactions.
Functionality
Automatically collects, organizes, tags, and makes data available in real-time.
Helps businesses track customer interactions, sales pipelines, prospects, and service requests.
Goals
Personalized customer experiences across all channels.
Better customer relationships, streamlined processes, and improved profitability.
Benefits
Data integration, management, and accessibility, allowing for detailed analysis and segmentation.
Better communication within teams and with customers by organizing information about customer interactions and history.
Data Handling
Handles both identified and anonymous data, stitches together various data points.
Deals primarily with identified customer data.
Use Cases
Personalized marketing campaigns, targeted advertising, content customization across multiple channels.
Managing campaigns and leads, enhancing customer service, providing better customer support, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Examples
Insider, Bloomreach, Salesforce Marketing Cloud CDP
HubSpot, Salesforce Sales Cloud Lightning Professional, and Zoho CRM
CRM
Free plan
Best feature
Best for
Con
1. HubSpot CRM
square-check
Sales automation
Sales teams
Up to 1,000 contacts
2. Insightly
square-check
Custom fields
Basic needs
Not enough info about the free plan
3. Agile CRM
square-check
Deal and sales pipeline tracking
Small teams
Up to 10 users
4. Zoho CRM
square-check
Lead and contact management
Businesses of all sizes
Limited to 3 users
5. ClickUp
square-check
Unlimited tasks and unlimited members
Personal use
Up to 100MB storage
6. EngageBay
square-check
Live chat
Small and midsize enterprises
Up to 1,000 branded emails per month
7. Bitrix24
square-check
Unlimited users and 5 scrum teams
Big teams
Up to 5GB of cloud storage
8. FreshSales
square-check
Easy to use and simple setup
Beginners
Up to 3 users
9. Mailchimp
square-check
Very beginner friendly
Marketing teams
Send up to 500 branded emails per month
Type of Affiliate Marketing
Unattached
Related
Involved
Format
Paid advertising
Social media or YouTube channels
Dedicated website or blog
Focus
Quick income
Your niche
Your audience
Engagement with your audience
square-xmark
square-check
square-check
square-check
square-check
Very close connection with your audience
Pro
Little effort
Higher credibility thanks to your niche
Long-lasting and scalable
Con
Paid ads cost a lot
Potential for bias since you don’t use the thing you promote
Require time, effort, and dedication

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