In the context of marketing strategy, an “Affiliate” can be any corporate or marketing firm undertaking the marketing responsibility of another firm. The affiliate earns the commission over the sale of the merchants’ products. The merchants partner with affiliates like publishers, bloggers, companies, or organisations to promote their brands, offers, deals, or sales. The strategies involved in this form of marketing are Email Marketing, PPC, Coupons, Webinars, and Reviews.
Establishing a brand is essential in making Affiliate marketing strategies effective. User- Generated content such as user reviews, ratings of products, and feedback is way more effective than the content a brand delivers. These reviews help businesses grasp the customers’ requirements, respective competition in the market, and ergonomics of a product in order to build a better product suitable to extend the customer base. The brand’s establishment is followed by marketing strategies where affiliate marketing plays a crucial role in increasing business boundaries beyond its nativity. It is the core responsibility of the Affiliate marketing team to distribute the products to the right clients and bring the necessary feedback to the merchants. Relationship building has been the backbone of affiliate marketing ever since its inception. Affiliate Marketers stand out as the face of the corporate or somewhat like a subsidiary company which the customer sees as the front face of the company.
With the rate at which affiliate marketing is expanding, we can assess that it has a gleaming future in India. Today, organisations of all scales leverage the power of affiliate marketing to expand their businesses. They spend zillions of rupees on marketing their products and services through their affiliates. It is a fruitful time for anyone to start with affiliate marketing as that would help one establish oneself as an authority in one’s niche in a short period.
Affiliate marketing is impactful in driving online sales. Today, it fuels approximately 15% to 20% of total online sales. Recently, IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India) reported that the affiliate marketing industry in India would cross the $835 million mark by the year 2025. In addition, NASSCOM (The National Association of Software and Service Companies) found in a study conducted in 2019 that India happens to be the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. The recent spurt in the number of online businesses promises tons of things concerning the scope of affiliate marketing in India. People are moving to online platforms to purchase a range of products and services. To ignite the attraction of products among the customers, businesses are paying more attention to affiliate marketing than ever before.
It is no secret that E-commerce is the most popular and sought-after niche for affiliate marketers in India and the rest of the world. Hence, we witness that people are moving online to purchase educational courses, holiday packages movie tickets, medicines, groceries, cosmetics, electronic appliances, insurance, software, furniture, jewelry, etc. For an affiliate marketer, this opens up a whole new world of making money. One can make an effective start since there are many categories to choose from.
Affiliate marketing is a new frontier in the marketing arena that is just waiting to be utilized in full swing.