5 Tips on How to Increase Your Affiliate Marketing Revenue

May 19, 2021
Amazon Associates Program: Increased commissions in May 2022

Affiliate marketing is relatively easy to implement and is a potentially very profitable source of online income. You can read here about how to optimizeyour affiliate marketing revenue!

The Main Roles in Affiliate Marketing

There are countless options for making money online. One of the most popular and comparatively easiest ways is affiliate marketing. In simple terms, it is a commission system. In this, there are essentially three important players which we would like to briefly explain to you below. These are:

  • the Merchant,
  • the Affiliate and
  • the Network.

Merchant & Affiliate

The merchant wants to bring his products or services to his (potential) customers as purposefully as possible and with optimal reach. He is the operator of the affiliate or partner program.

You yourself act as an affiliate who promotes/sells the merchant’s services online within the framework of this program. If you are successful, you will receive a previously stipulated commission from the operator. This usually applies when an interested party actually becomes a customer of the merchant through your marketing.

Due to his obvious interest in finding the best partner for the target group, the merchant first checks whether the website/blog on which you want to carry out the applicable affiliate marketing has the potential to truly effectively boost the sales of the respective products or services.

The Network

This verification task as well as payment, provision of specific “promotional materials” and other tasks are often handled by an affiliate network. Such networks essentially represent the intermediary between the affiliate and the merchant. Here, as a possible partner, you can look around among a multiplicity of affiliate programs and apply immediately through a very simple process.

Becoming an affiliate through a network offers two distinct advantages:

For one thing, you can research there to find the right program much more efficiently than via a conventional search engine. On the other hand, networks are a certain security factor. Among other things, owing to the mostly automated processes, you will not usually have to worry about unpaid services.

Once you have convinced a merchant that you are a good partner to promote or sell their services, the next step is to successfully present them in the right light. Because, of course, you want to earn maximum profit through the partnership. Nonetheless, your merchant or network will also keep a close eye on your successes or failures. If the sales prove to be insufficient – perhaps the result does not correspond to the previously set target – the merchant can revoke your eligibility to participate in his affiliate program. In the worst case, all your efforts will have been in vain.

The most well-known example of an affiliate network is the Amazon affiliate program.

How to increase affiliate marketing revenue - Amazon Associates
Source: Screenshot https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/

Do you want to learn more about the basics of affiliate marketing? Then be sure to check out our Ultimate Basic Guide for Beginners.

But how can you optimize your affiliate marketing revenue so that you satisfy yourself and your merchant (in the long run)? Five answers to this question are given below!

5 Ways to Increase Your Affiliate Marketing Revenue

1. Basic Requirement to Increase Affiliate Marketing Revenue: The Proper Alignment With the Target Group

As a basic premise for good sales in affiliate marketing, the selection of the affiliate program as well as the orientation of the following measures must be made with absolute consideration of the respective target group. This means that before applying to participate in an affiliate program, you should first carefully consider whether you can sensibly integrate, in general, the corresponding products or services into your web activities.

Orientation of the Website

For example, if you run a blog about fashion, the promotion of technical products is hardly promising since such items are usually not of interest to your target group. On the other hand, the merchant or the mediating network may also take a close look at the orientation of your website as well as your previous content.

If it is concluded that you do not sufficiently address the target group in question or are unlikely to be able to meet the merchant’s objectives, you may be given less than ideal terms or will not accepted at all.

Know Your Target Group and Customer Journey

In addition, especially if you are running an affiliate-only web presence, perhaps promoting only one type of product, you should know your readers/target audience as well as possible. Ultimately, you want to convince viewers of your content to actually use the services of one or perhaps more of your merchants. Your website/blog is therefore an important factor in the Customer Journey of (possible) customers for your partner.

Within the customer journey, (potential) buyers first identify a problem or need that must be addressed or fulfilled. They then usually use Google to search for information that will bring them closer to an appropriate solution. In the beginning, i.e. shortly after identifying the challenge or need, different information is naturally desired here rather than at a point when interested parties have already considered specific products or services in more detail. In the former case, the focus is more on basic information, while, in the latter, it is necessary to go into more detail.

It is important that an actual added value is conveyed – today, potential buyers can hardly be convinced by relatively flat advertising messages!

As an affiliate, you should therefore comply with this request for information as comprehensively as possible. This is the only way to give your readers effective incentives to actually use the services you advertise. This means that you should not only analyze your target group or the target group of your merchant but their customer journey as well. In this way, you can display information that precisely addresses the problems or needs of the respective target group and also deliver it in an appropriate format at exactly the right time. Thereby, you will, as a rule, increase your success enormously.

The maximum target group-specific coordination of information and, not least, content types and channels with which you finally transmit this should be used for and adapted to all measures of your affiliate marketing.

2. Use Top (Ten) Lists

Now that the basis for increasing affiliate marketing revenue has (hopefully) been adequately clarified, let’s move on to specific potentially highly promising content formats.

One of the most popular content formats (with almost every target group) is the so-called top list. This often describes ten products, errors, tips, etc. If you promote several similar products or services for one or more merchants, it naturally makes sense to rate them with their specific characteristics in ascending or descending order. In this, your top merchant occupies the most prominent spot.

By the way, the specific number is of less importance here – instead of ten, a list can be set up with fewer or greater points. In fact, numerous studies have confirmed that top lists are particularly favorably viewed and thus have great potential to generate exceedingly effective backlinks regarding SEO. Top lists can be used effectively at the beginning of the customer journey as well as in advanced stages.

Tip: With AAWP, you can easily and clearly integrate Amazon products into your lists – so they are always up-to-date and your visitors can get all the important information they need about the product quickly and clearly.

Just use the AAWP product boxes. They look like this:

HP 2021 Newest 15 Business Laptop, 15.6' HD Touchscreen, 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 Processor, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, Windows 10 Home, Backlit Keyboard, Silver, KKE Mousepad (16GB RAM | 1TB SSD)
23 Reviews
HP 2021 Newest 15 Business Laptop, 15.6" HD Touchscreen, 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 Processor, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, Windows 10 Home, Backlit Keyboard, Silver, KKE Mousepad (16GB RAM | 1TB SSD)*
  • 【Upgraded】RAM is upgraded to 16GB high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run multiple applications and browser tabs all at once. Hard Drive is upgraded to 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive to allow fast bootup and data transfer. Original Seal is opened for upgrade ONLY, 1-years warranty on Upgraded RAM/SSD from PConline365, and original 1-Year Manufacture warranty on remaining components
  • 【Processor】11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 Quad-Core Processor (8MB Intel Smart Cache, up to 4.20GHz)
  • 【Display】15.6" diagonal HD, touch, micro-edge, BrightView, 250 nits. Touchscreen
  • 【Ports and Operating System】1 x SuperSpeed USB Type-C 5Gbps signaling rate, 2 x SuperSpeed USB Type-A 5Gbps signaling rate, 1 x HDMI 1.4b, 1 x Combination audio jack, 1 x Multi-format SD media card reader, 1 x RJ-45; Windows 10 Home 64-bit
  • 【Included in the Package】Mousepad from PConline365

Last update on 2024-03-18 // Source: Amazon Affiliates

3. Carry Out Product Comparisons

At best, product comparisons offer the target group all the main information on products or services at a glance. People who look at such setups are frequently no longer at the beginning of their customer journey. In a product comparison, more details on the range of functions and services are desired here than the basic information on the area of application.

The decisive factor for success here is always objectivity. Criticism should also be introduced. If you are biased or not critical enough when presenting a product comparison, your readers will quickly identify it as an advertisement, which means that the actual benefit of the content becomes irrelevant to them. Well-implemented product comparisons, on the other hand, convey a high added value due to, among other things, the very compact provision of information and are therefore readily used and shared.

Tip: With meaningful comparison tables, your affiliate marketing revenue can increase significantly. With AAWP, you can automatically have comparison tables for multiple Amazon products displayed. This way your readers find all the important information in a well-organized format that is always up-to-date.

For example, it could look like this:

Preview
Best Choice
Apple iPhone 11 Pro, 64GB, Space Gray - Unlocked (Renewed)*
SAMSUNG Galaxy S20 FE 5G Cell Phone, Factory Unlocked Android Smartphone, 128GB, Pro Grade Camera, 30X Space Zoom, Night Mode, US Version, Cloud Navy*
Best Price
Google Pixel 4 XL - Clearly White - 64GB - Unlocked*
Display
5.8" Super Retina XDR Display
6.5" FHD Infinity-O Display
6,3" QHD+ flexible OLED
Camera
12 Megapixel
12 Megapixel
12,2 Megapixel
Storage Capacity
64 GB
128 GB
64 GB
External Memory Card Slot
Operating System
iOS
Android
Android
Customer Rating
Prime Benefits
-
Amazon Prime
-
Price
$269.00
$449.00
$279.00
Best Choice
Preview
Apple iPhone 11 Pro, 64GB, Space Gray - Unlocked (Renewed)*
Display
5.8" Super Retina XDR Display
Camera
12 Megapixel
Storage Capacity
64 GB
External Memory Card Slot
Operating System
iOS
Customer Rating
Prime Benefits
-
Price
$269.00
More information
Preview
SAMSUNG Galaxy S20 FE 5G Cell Phone, Factory Unlocked Android Smartphone, 128GB, Pro Grade Camera, 30X Space Zoom, Night Mode, US Version, Cloud Navy*
Display
6.5" FHD Infinity-O Display
Camera
12 Megapixel
Storage Capacity
128 GB
External Memory Card Slot
Operating System
Android
Customer Rating
Prime Benefits
Amazon Prime
Price
$449.00
More information
Best Price
Preview
Google Pixel 4 XL - Clearly White - 64GB - Unlocked*
Display
6,3" QHD+ flexible OLED
Camera
12,2 Megapixel
Storage Capacity
64 GB
External Memory Card Slot
Operating System
Android
Customer Rating
Prime Benefits
-
Price
$279.00
More information

Last update on 2024-03-18 // Source: Amazon Affiliates

4. Use Your Own Experience to Conduct Affiliate Marketing Even More Effectively

Describing one’s own experiences and, at best,  demonstrating this with comprehensive tests that have obviously been personally conducted, is top-rate affiliate marketing. Of course, such measures are associated with an increased effort, but their reception nevertheless pays off in most cases. Because, as already mentioned, simple advertising (at least alone) can scarcely boost sales effectively today. Increasingly importance is being placed on convincing (potential) customers rather than persuading them – and this, in fact, only works by providing unique, target group-specific, value-added and, last but not least, authentic content.

If you don’t come across as authentic in your affiliate marketing content, you’ll quickly be put in the “advertisement box.” On the other hand, obviously genuine experiences, comparisons, tests, etc. are particularly well received, which, in turn, usually have a very positive effect on your earnings. Appropriate content offers enormous potential at every point of the customer journey.

5. Set Deep Links

Links are essential for affiliate marketing. Through these, (potential) customers can, for example, find your merchant’s offer through your blog. In most cases, an individual link ID then establishes that you have convinced the interested party who will, in turn, reward you.

Many programs allow you to set these links relatively freely. If a company is promoted in its entirety, it is sometimes a good opportunity to link to the home page. However, most of the time, the focus is on specific products, services or even special promotions, coupons, etc. If this is the case, you should refer to these elements as accurately as possible in your affiliate marketing and accordingly create proper links leading to them, so-called deep links.

It is important to keep the barriers not only to clicking on an affiliate link as low as possible, but also on the clicks that may follow. If you have been able to convince a (potential) customer of a service to such an extent that he/she uses the corresponding link, there is an increased likelihood of closing the deal and consequently receiving a commission if the product or service is attained directly. If, however, the interested party has to click on the link to get to the corresponding position on his/her own – for example, from the home page – your chances decrease significantly.

This point is, in fact, not relevant for every affiliate program because some merchants give you specific links or you will already be paid for the click itself. However, if the option of a “free link choice” exists, it is usually appropriate to primarily use deep links.

Conclusion

Practicing affiliate marketing online as a source of income undoubtedly involves far less effort than many other methods. Nevertheless, there is also some work to be done here – affiliate marketing will by no means lead to immediate success! If you want to achieve maximum success or effectively push your earnings, you must always keep both your and your merchant’s target audience in mind. Then rely on content that is as value-added, easy to consume and authentic as possible and use deep links.

What methods are you already using to optimize your affiliate marketing revenue? Feel free to tell us about your experience in the comments!

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