Influencer marketing is big business. From Oprah’s Favorite Things to Kylie Jenner’s Instagram account, influencer marketing grew to an estimated $9.7 billion in 2020, and it is expected to reach nearly $14 billion this year. amazon affiliate program affiliate marketing 2020 amazon affil affiliate marketing is cpa marketing affiliate links amazon affiliate link peerfly shopify affiliate target affiliate program ebay affiliate program walmart affiliate program clickfunnels affiliate program amazon affiliate website amazon associates affiliate program clickbank affiliate program clickbank for beginners affiliate marketing for bloggers clickbank success making money with clickbank

2. Influencer marketing is big business. From Oprah’s
Favorite Things to Kylie Jenner’s Instagram account,
influencer marketing grew to an estimated $9.7 billion in
2020, and it is expected to reach nearly $14 billion this
year.
Working in the industry as the founder of an influencer
monetization platform, I find that many of today’s savvy
brands understand the power of influencers and are
rewarding them with a percentage of every sale generated
from their online promotional efforts. This is affiliate
marketing, and it is helping to drive e-commerce sales
globally — it also provides a source of significant income
for individuals who can successfully tap into this industry.
Of course, fortune doesn’t happen overnight. To be a
successful affiliate marketer, you must build your
influence, drive traffic to the affiliate links you share and
convert these clicks into sales.

3. 1. Focus on quality leads, not quantity.
If you see a future as an influencer and want to monetize
your influence, here are six ways to ensure affiliate
marketing success.
One of the biggest mistakes that aspiring affiliate
marketers make is ignoring the quality of the clicks or
“leads” they receive in favor of quantity. In a bid to
generate thousands of clicks and a potential commission,
one tactic I often see is the use of automated bots (available
from traffic-buying services) to inflate the number of clicks
to their links.
2. Put your audience first.
Remember, brands pay affiliates based on conversions
(the percentage of traffic a brand receives that converts to a
sale). A bot will never make you money because it doesn’t
purchase anything. Instead, concentrate on getting quality,
targeted clicks. This leads to my next point.
If you’re starting out in affiliate marketing, focus on
targeted outreach among communities that are most likely
to convert. Engage with audiences that have similar
interests to you or have problems that can be solved by
your expertise.

4. Pay attention to discussions on Twitter, Facebook, Quora,
Nextdoor, Reddit and other social media platforms and
forums. What are people asking about and responding to?
When you’re ready to respond, share your viewpoint and
post an affiliate link that points to a solution that can save
them time and money.
For instance, if you’re passionate about the outdoors, you
probably hang out online with fellow outdoorsy types,
sharing experiences and answering questions. People pay
attention to you — you’re an influencer! When someone’s
looking for a recommendation for new camping gear, you
can monetize that status by sharing what worked for you
and including an affiliate link to an Orvis or Cabela’s deal
page with the brand’s current coupon codes and deals.
3. It’s about conversion rates, not commissions.
Think of your action as word-of-mouth marketing: “You
have a problem. Here’s what worked for me!”
The most successful affiliate marketers don’t chase high
commission rates; they focus on promoting brands with

5. strong conversion rates. For instance, an affiliate program
that pays $1,000 per sale may sound appealing, but if the
conversion rate is a mere 0.02%, it would require a huge
number of clicks to make any money.
4. Build a subscriber list.
You’re more likely to generate a steady revenue stream by
choosing an affiliate program that pays $1 per conversion
but converts at 20%. Couple this approach with consistent
efforts to grow your circle of followers, and you have the
potential for big payouts.
5. Track your efforts.
Once you begin to gain traction, look for ways to build your
own brand and loyal following. Create a website and/or
blog where you can share deals (in a 2018 report, affiliate
sites with content and bloggers ranked highest in terms of
ad spend by affiliate type, at 39%). Stay connected with
followers and grow your revenues further by issuing a
weekly or daily newsletter. Give people an incentive to opt
in. For example, send out “deal of the day” emails, and add
value with tips on how you or others are using the products
you promote.

6. Like any marketing program, to be successful, you need to
know what’s working and what isn’t.
6. Follow the rules.
To understand the performance of your affiliate links,
use the tools offered by your affiliate network or influencer
monetization platform to see what your followers are
responding to. As you get more sophisticated, your
website, email marketing platform, social media
channels and site analytics can also provide insights into
how effective your other influencer activities are.
Be sure to play by the rules. The companies you promote
have worked hard to build their brands and are sensitive to
how their affiliates promote them online. Don’t make
claims about a brand that are untrue and don’t register
domain names or build social media landing pages using
their trademark names. Another red flag is the use of paid
search advertising to promote your affiliate links. Unless
you have a direct relationship with a brand and permission
to run ads in its name, this is a traffic-generating tactic to
avoid.

7. Commit to the long haul — it’s worth it.
You must also respect a forum or website’s guidelines
when posting affiliate links. If you work through
an affiliate network or influencer monetization
platform, stick to the established terms and conditions.
Affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes
commitment and consistency to earn trust and build
an affiliate business. The beauty of becoming an affiliate
is that the rewards are incremental. Once shared, an
affiliate link can continue to perform and earn
commissions over time. As search engines index your
content and your links are shared, their value will also
grow, especially if the link doesn’t expire.
The key is to start small. As you get to know your audience
and bring value to the conversation, you’ll earn trust and
add to your circle of followers — and your ability to
generate revenue will grow.