Differentiating Affiliate Marketing: What Sets this Monetization Channel Apart

There are many options available for bloggers and Affiliates to monetize their websites these days, from sponsored posts to AdSense to using Ad Networks. Thousands of Merchants are taking advantage of Affiliate Marketing techniques, which has led to a significant increase in publishers turning to Affiliate Networks to promote their favorite brands.

Check out these seven ways on how ShareASale Affiliate Marketing can help you partner with the Merchants and brands that you love! 

1. Customization 

You are in total control of who you promote and how you promote them (once approved by the Merchant, of course). The Affiliate will always know that the link, product or banner on their website will reflect their image and fit in nicely with the content of their website. This also means that the Affiliate link will be relevant to their audience. The more relevant the Affiliate links, the more likely the readers are to check out the Merchant and make a purchase. It’s also a good way to gain trust with your readers, especially if you are writing a product review. 

2. Building a Relationship With Your Merchant Partners

Affiliate Marketing allows bloggers to have a direct relationship with the Merchant(s) that they choose to feature. Affiliate Program managers often have their contact information included in their program bios, allowing Affiliates to strike up a conversation and ask questions about their programs or  receive helpful insights on new products. When you work directly with a Merchant, often times you will see a higher personalized commission, longer cookie duration, custom creative made just for you, advice on industry trends, notifications of best sellers, etc. All these items are products of a successful relationship between Merchants and Affiliates! 

3. No Hefty Requirements 

It’s very easy to get started with ShareASale. There’s a 5 step application which takes only about 10 minutes to complete and there are no costs associated to be an Affiliate. We have no traffic requirements, so beginners are welcome to join the Network. ShareASale also does not have any exclusivity requirements. Therefore, bloggers are free to promote our Merchant partners and utilize other monetization strategies as they see fit. 

4. Multiple Ways to Use Links

There are a handful of ways to put Affiliate links on your website. Some of the most common include banner ads, text links, video ads and product images. ShareASale has a few blogger-friendly tools to help make your content more visually appealing, including our Make-A-Page and Product Showcase. These tools feature are a twist on the traditional banner and helps you to effectively display products in an interactive and dynamic manner!

Our Product Discovery Bookmarklet also provides different images, layouts and customized text for affiliate links. The Bookmarklet can go on your tool bar and automatically populates various Affiliate links to choose from. 

You can also create a custom link, which will direct your audience to specific pages on Merchant’s websites. Using the custom link generator, there is an option to make a ‘license plate link,’ suitable for social media updates! 

5. Affiliate Links Live Forever

Once you put an Affiliate link on your blog or within your post, you will continue to earn commissions on that link year after year. Bloggers can use email and social media techniques to drive traffic to their most popular posts, where relevant Affiliate links also live. Therefore, the potential to get paid on posts years after they were initially published is very possible. 

6. Robust Set of Tools and Reports 

ShareASale is constantly working to roll out new technology and tools for our Affiliate partners. In the Affiliate interface, we have roughly 20 reports available to help you keep track of your Merchants and see which creatives are performing best for you. This is another way to ensure your most popular posts are making you money! Our reports are available to show you the commissions (and hits) made per month, as well as the total for your individual Merchants and much more. 

7. Endless Resources Available

There are hundreds of different resources available to help you grow your website through Affiliate Marketing. ShareASale offers customer service options, a Help Center located inside your account, webinars and blog posts. Here are a few to get you started: 

Affiliate marketing allows bloggers to be personable, credible and visually appealing. It won’t dilute your brand equity with irrelevant ads, unless you allow it. The ease of getting started and using an affiliate network makes this a no-brainer for bloggers and other Affiliates that are looking to monetize their website!