Is Affiliate Marketing a Legitimate Marketing Tactic?

Digital Marketing / August 21, 2024

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where businesses reward affiliates (partners) through commission for generating traffic or sales. Think of review sites, blogs, coupon codes, etc. 

And, although it is a very popular marketing tactic that has been around for years. Sometimes, it feels like affiliate marketing gets a bad rep.

Just look at the increase in “is affiliate marketing legit” Google searches.

Why are people and marketers so wary of affiliate marketing? Good question. 

I think users have become more savvy about digital marketing and may have had negative experiences in the past, such as falling for clickbait offers or encountering ineffective coupon codes. This can lead to a general mistrust between affiliates and consumers, making them more cautious about engaging with affiliate marketing.

Marketers also hold misconceptions about affiliate marketing, which leads them to treat it as an afterthought in their overall strategy. 

However, having experienced the effectiveness of affiliate marketing firsthand, I am here to debunk these misconceptions and shed light on its true potential.

Misconception 1: Affiliate marketing is going to affect my brand image

As a business, you may worry that you’ll receive a bad reputation for using affiliate marketing. 

You should know that large and established (and even luxurious) brands have affiliate programs. Get inspired by Jimmy Choo, SSENSE, The Real Real, and Saks Fifth Avenue. 

The key is to carefully select brand-safe publishers that fit your affiliate goals and your brand image. You should also create clear guidelines and policies when setting up your program and inform publishers that they will be terminated if they violate them.

Misconception 2: Affiliate marketing will cannibalize my other marketing channels and won’t be profitable.

Brands often bring up these misconceptions when discussing affiliate marketing, and it’s a valid concern. 

First off, Affiliate marketing often works best when integrated with other marketing strategies. It can complement rather than replace traditional channels like email marketing, social media, or SEO. Affiliates bring their own audience, which can help expand your reach and drive traffic in ways your other channels might not. 

A fully mature affiliate marketing program can add an additional 5 to 30% contribution to your sales. 

Second off, unlike some traditional marketing channels that require upfront costs like paid ads, affiliate marketing is mostly performance-based (although some publishers focus more on traffic and reach). In most cases, you only pay when a sale is made or a specific action is completed. This makes it a lower-risk investment and can be highly cost-effective if managed well.

That said, for a profitable affiliate marketing program, you need to carefully analyze your profit margins before selecting commissions and promotions. 

If you are concerned about profitability, maybe start with more performance-based publishers in the beginning to ensure a faster return on investment. 

Misconception 3: A legit affiliate marketing program is too complex to set up.

The gift and nuisance of affiliate marketing is its extreme flexibility. 

There are different ways to set up commissions and promotions, which gives you room to meet your specific needs. 

As an affiliate marketing agency, we partner with publishers who have built-in audiences, including websites, emails, social media, and even physical locations like restaurants and boutiques.

We recommend starting small and testing new formats, promos and commissions as the program evolves. 

Misconception 4: I won’t have control over my brand image and messaging.

Asking other marketers to push your brand can be tricky and scary. So, you should have policies in place to ensure no issues are made. 

At Bloom, we have a strict approval process where we manually review each publisher that applied to our program. We do not have any auto approvals put in place. Additionally, we set up strict policies and guidelines for our partners to follow and we check out publisher’s websites and channels regularly to ensure that old promotions are not running. 

Misconception 5: Only big and established brands can benefit from affiliate marketing

Although having a larger brand can help to grow an affiliate program much faster, as long as your brand has a strong product, website and strategy, affiliate marketing can work wonders. 

There are many verticals (big or small) that would benefit from affiliate marketing’s access to both broad and niche audiences. We’ve seen affiliate marketing work for beauty, fashion, home goods, technologies, SAAS, and more.  

Misconception 6: Affiliates will promote anything

There was a time when that might have been true, but not anymore.

With the large boom of products available to sell online, top publishers are selective on which brands to work with. They will ensure that your products are high quality and fill a need for consumers. 

For legitimate affiliates, their relationship with their audience is everything. Ninety-nine percent of the time, they will only promote trusted and valuable products.

So, is affiliate marketing legit? Does it really work?  

Yes, 100%. 

If you have a strong program in place, your brand will reap the benefits of affiliate marketing.

Our affiliate marketing agency works with various brands, of various sizes, in various industries and we deliver awesome results for them. 

Look at Kyi Kyi, this winter apparel brand that reached 5-figure sales through affiliate marketing and a few months only. 

Or this footwear company experienced a 47% increase in affiliate marketing sales after our agency optimized its affiliate program. 

Having the right partner to help you navigate affiliate marketing will not only enhance your brand’s credibility but also ensure your program is seen as legitimate and effective. Bloom’s affiliate marketers would be happy to help! Contact us.

Read on to learn our best practices for growing your affiliate program effectively and legitimately. 

Affiliate Marketing Best Practices 

Here are our best tips to create a legit affiliate marketing program for your business.

1. Don’t treat it as easy money

You think affiliate marketing is a quick and effortless way to generate extra revenue? 

Sorry to break it to you, but a legit affiliate program can take up to a year to fully mature and requires a lot of work – building relationships and testing different partnerships and promotions. 

And then, once it’s set up, a lot of work goes into finding new publishers to test and growing existing partnerships. 

Successful affiliate marketing takes time and effort. If you’re going to invest in this cost-effective tactic, do it the right way. 

2. Don’t focus just on commission

Although offering high commissions can be an attractive incentive for publishers, it’s important to recognize that this is not the sole factor they consider.

Publishers look at several key elements beyond just commission rates when deciding whether to promote a product or service. One crucial metric is Earned Per Click (EPC), which measures the average amount a publisher earns for each click they drive to your site. A higher EPC indicates that your affiliate program is performing well and can be more appealing to publishers because it reflects the potential profitability of promoting your products.

Additionally, consider the overall affiliate experience. This includes providing publishers with strong marketing materials, clear communication, and reliable tracking systems. A seamless and supportive affiliate experience can make your program more attractive and foster long-term relationships with top publishers.

3. Affiliate marketing isn’t set it and forget it

Once a program is set up, a lot of work goes into building new relationships and growing existing partnerships. This is a recurring optimization that needs to be tended to daily if not weekly. It’s important to keep your publisher up to date on any business or program changes and to keep them engaged. 

Neglecting a program can cause issues with performance and may cause account issues if the payments are not paid to the platform and publishers, which may harm your affiliate program’s reputation. 

4. Avoid promoting the same offers over and over again

Some brands assume that the same promotions can be used across all marketing platforms. While this approach might work during major sales periods like Black Friday/Cyber Monday or general holidays, it’s often more effective to tailor unique and compelling promotions specifically for affiliate marketing.

Additionally, leveraging various ad formats can be highly beneficial for your affiliate program. Affiliates often use diverse platforms and ad placements, so providing them with high-quality, versatile creatives ensures that your promotions look professional and engaging wherever they appear.

It’s also important to keep your promotional materials fresh and relevant. Updating your creatives and promotions at least every quarter helps maintain interest and enthusiasm among both publishers and their audiences.