How to Choose the Right Ecommerce Affiliate Programs

If you haven’t already jumped on the Ecommerce affiliate marketing approach—there is no better time than the present to take advantage of this unique approach to marketing your brand. Although it is still relatively new, affiliate marketing is helping many Ecommerce brands grow at faster rates than they ever expected.

In 2022, it was projected that more than $8.2 billion was spent on affiliate marketing in the United States alone. With numbers like this on the table, it’s easy to see why so many Ecommerce brands of all sizes are looking to affiliate marketing.

Want to see for yourself what an Ecommerce affiliate marketing program can do for your brand? 

What is an Ecommerce Affiliate Program?

An Ecommerce affiliate is someone who promotes another company’s products or services on their own channels and earns a commission for their promotion. One of the most popular examples of affiliate programs in our world today is the Instagram influencer model. So, if you ever see an “influencer” on social media who gives you a link to a product or service, it is usually safe to assume that they are engaged in an affiliate program. 

Ecommerce affiliate programs are one of the fastest-growing and most profitable forms of marketing in our world today as they not only help companies target their niche market of consumers at a high ROI, but they also are beneficial to affiliate marketers as well, who can typically get high payouts for their recommendations.

How Does Ecommerce Affiliate Marketing Work? 

Ecommerce affiliate marketing operates in a fairly simple manner. An affiliate, which can be an individual or another company, drives traffic to an Ecommerce site on behalf of that brand. The affiliate earns a commission every time someone they send makes a purchase—this is typically tracked through a special link. 

Here’s how it works for most social media affiliate marketers today. 

1. The affiliate marketer does a testimonial or shows an ad for an Ecommerce brand on their website or social media page.
2. The affiliate marketer includes a unique link that takes their website visitor directly to that product or service.
3. The customer clicks on that unique link and purchases a product from the Ecommerce brand.
4. The affiliate network uses that unique link to record the transaction.
5. Once the Ecommerce brand confirms the purchase was made, the affiliate gets paid a commission.

This is beneficial to the Ecommerce brand because they can partner with individuals who have a unique and trusted following of potential customers—and many times, shoppers are more likely to purchase something off of a trusted recommendation (just like referrals). The brand also benefits because they are only paying for this marketing service once a sale is made.

Affiliate marketers obviously benefit by getting a commission. The percentage of this commission can vary depending on the company and the affiliate marketer. Typically the more traffic the affiliate marketer gets to their website or the more engagement they have on their social media page—the higher the commission that they can ask for.

Most affiliate marketers earn between 5% of 50% of the commission on a sale, but it can vary greatly depending on a number of factors. It is important to do the math for yourself and determine what type of ROI makes sense for you in your affiliate partnerships moving forward.

What Are the Benefits of Using Ecommerce Affiliate Programs? 

If you are unsure if Ecommerce affiliate marketing is the right solution for your online brand, then you may want to take a look at some of the key benefits of affiliate programs that have so many brands turning to this form of marketing.

• You only pay when you make a sale, making it a great option for managing your ROI, or a viable option for new businesses without a lot to invest in marketing. 
• There aren’t many barriers to entry and it’s easy to get started with this type of program. 
• You don’t need a lot of marketing experience or a full marketing team to utilize these programs.
• There are few operating expenses and it’s relatively easy to maintain and manage.
• There’s flexibility with this type of marketing, as brands can use multiple affiliates at once. 
• Affiliate marketing is easy to track and delivers measurable results.
• There is greater exposure with affiliate marketing and it is one of the few marketing strategies that truly help with scalability. 
• It’s a modern-day type of referral program as many people trust third-party validation.
• It will quickly boost your online traffic. 

With so many unique benefits of affiliate marketing, it’s easy to see why this form of marketing is exploding in today’s online world—you just need to know how to find the right affiliates to work with.

How Do You Find Ecommerce Affiliate Partners? 

If your Ecommerce brand is ready to find the right affiliate partner to help boost sales, there are a few things to look for first. This includes: 

• Commission levels or percentages 
• Reputation and conversion metrics
• Online following 
• What is the affiliate’s target market is 
• Payout data 

The good news is there are several sites available that can help brands today find the right affiliates to partner with, based on their traffic and the target market of consumers they typically draw in. 

• Shopify
• Amazon Associates
• Apple Affiliate Program
• Bluehost Affiliate Program
• Coinbase
• ClickFunnels Affiliates 
• Target Affiliate Program
• Walmart Affiliate Program 

Of course, some brands also find and message “influencers” directly if they prefer that approach to affiliate marketing over using an affiliate network. The key is to find a partner that will represent your Ecommerce brand and help you directly reach the type of consumers that you target most.

Conclusion

With a little research in mind, it can be easier than you think to find affiliates that you can work with to expand your Ecommerce company’s reach and really take your brand recognition to the next level. 

You've made it this far and you've learned so much. Congratulations!

If you're looking to learn more about marketing or Ecommerce in general, feel free to reach out to us at: solutions@undigital.com