Part 9. How to Get Started with Affiliate Marketing in 2024

Today, I have decided to focus on one of the most powerful strategies for scaling your online business without breaking the bank: Affiliate marketing.

If you haven’t already tapped into this incredible opportunity, 2024 is the perfect year to get started.

So, what is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing allows you to grow your business by leveraging the power of others to promote your products or services. And what is the best of all? You only pay for actual results—whether that’s a sale, a lead, or a specific action.

In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know to get you started with affiliate marketing, from finding the right affiliates to creating a program that benefits both you & your partners.

Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on this!

But What Is Affiliate Marketing ?

Let’s start with the basics: What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where individuals or companies (known as ‘affiliates’) promote your products or services in exchange for a commission. The reverse is also true—if you choose to promote others' products or services, you become an affiliate yourself.

Think of it as building a team of salespeople who get paid when they bring you results. Sounds interesting? Let’s proceed then.

Here’s how it works:

1. You create an affiliate program & set a commission structure (e.g., 10% per sale).

2. Affiliates join your program & receive a unique link to promote your products (known as hoplink)

3. When someone makes a purchase through that link, the affiliate earns a commission, & you gain a customer.

It’s a win-win!

Your brand gains global exposure & sales without any upfront advertising costs, while the affiliate gets paid for their efforts based on a commission rate that you determine.

Here’s an example of HighLevel's affiliate program, which you can join as soon as you become an active HighLevel member. The best way to start? Become our affiliate & gain access to over $2,000 worth of pre-built content detailed in our Ultimate Guidebook on Digital Marketing by claiming it here, plus start your extended free 30-day trial here!

Why Affiliate Marketing is Perfect for 2024

If you have never about it before, affiliate marketing has actually been around for a while, but in 2024, it has become more relevant than ever!

Here are the main reasons why:

1. Low-Risk, High-Reward: Unlike traditional advertising, where you pay upfront for clicks or impressions, affiliate marketing is performance-based. As already mentioned, you only pay when a sale or desired action occurs, which makes it low-risk.

2. Scalability: Once you set up your affiliate program, it can grow exponentially. The more affiliates you recruit, the more sales you can generate, without increasing your workload.

3. Leverage Existing Audiences: Affiliates often have established audiences that trust them. By partnering with the right affiliates, you can tap into new markets and reach customers who might not have heard of your brand otherwise. One possible strategy for you to consider is to form strategic partnerships with well-known influencers, offering them exclusive affiliate terms.…

At THE 9 KEYS, the core of our business revolves around partnering with & promoting innovative tech brands that have established affiliate programs. By partnering with industry experts in their field & global brands with high growth potential, we’ve been able to rapidly and significantly expand our reach & grow our business globally without having to increase our marketing budget!

Here’s an example of one of the most lucrative affiliate programs for online CRM tools - HighLevel’s Affiliate Program. You can join as soon as you become an active HighLevel member through our affiliate link. For every new affiliate or HighLevel customer you refer, you can earn a recurring monthly commission of 40%, with the potential to reach up to 45%, creating a reliable source of passive income for your business and family! Amazing, right?

How to Find the Right Affiliates

Now that you know why affiliate marketing is so powerful, let’s talk about how to find the right affiliates.

This is one of the most critical steps in building a successful affiliate program.

Start by looking for affiliates who align with your brand values & target audience, which might require you to do some research first.

Here are a few ways to find them:

1. Influencers: An obvious choice but not always the best one. Reach out to carefully picked influencers in your industry who have a loyal following. These individuals already have the trust of their audience, which can quickly translate into sales for your business.

2. Bloggers & Content Creators: Many bloggers, YouTubers, & podcasters rely on affiliate marketing to monetize their content. Find creators who are already talking about products or services similar to yours & invite them to join your affiliate program.

3. Affiliate Networks: If you’re looking to scale quickly, consider joining a global affiliate network like ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, Digistore24, ClickBank or Rakuten. These platforms connect you with tens of thousands of affiliates who are more than eager to promote your products, as long as the commission you offer is attractive enough of course!

Connecting with the right influencer(s) can potentially turn your brand into a gold mine, so make sure to do your research before engaging with any!

Creating a High-Converting Affiliate Program

Once you’ve found the right affiliates, the next step is to create an affiliate program that encourages them to promote your products.

Here are a few tips for setting up a high-converting program:

1. Offer Competitive Commissions: Make sure your commission rates are competitive within your industry. If you want to attract high-quality affiliates, you need to offer an incentive that makes it worth their time & efforts. Depending on your product and industry, commissions can range from 10% to 90%, with an average of around 40% across industries..

2. Provide Marketing Materials: Help your affiliates succeed by providing them with the tools they need. This typically includes banners, email templates, social media posts, and even product videos. The easier you make it for affiliates to promote your product, the better.

3. Track Performance: Use an affiliate tracking platform like HighLevel to monitor your affiliates’ performance. This will help you identify which affiliates are driving the most sales and highlight areas for improvement, including those affiliates who may need more active support than others.

Give Before You Get

Actively supporting your affiliates is how you repay the trust they’ve placed in you.

Engaging and Motivating Your Affiliates

One of the biggest challenges with affiliate marketing is keeping your affiliates engaged and motivated over time.

Here below are a few effective strategies on how to achieve it:

1. Regular Communication: Stay connected with your affiliates. Send them personalized updates, share success stories, & offer tips to boost conversions. Also, ask for their personal feedback to identify any pain points where they might need assistance with. Regular communication will naturally keep your affiliates engaged & encourages them to keep promoting your products.

2. Offer Bonuses & incentives: Running contests or offering bonuses for affiliates who exceed certain sales targets can be a great way to enhance your brand’s appeal to both existing & potential affiliates. This should add an extra layer of motivation & can lead to a significant boost in sales.

3. Recognize Top Performers: A little recognition goes a long way. Publicly acknowledging your top affiliates (e.g., through email newsletters or social media) can create a sense of community & encourage others to step up their efforts.

At THE 9 KEYS, even though we don’t yet have our own affiliate program, we actively participate in others, such as the ever-growing HighLevel program. It’s a perfect way to learn the basics, and who knows—maybe one day we’ll create our own!

Here’s an example of a monthly newsletter sent to all HighLevel affiliates (ourselves included). Take a look at the impressive commission payouts listed at the top to appreciate the potential of joining this program - all for just the cost of a basic $97 monthly subscription!

TAKE-AWAY

If there is one thing you need to remember from this lesson, here it is:

Affiliate marketing is a powerful strategy that can help you grow your online business in 2024.

By leveraging the audiences or marketing expertise of others, you can drive sales, increase brand awareness, and scale your business without a large marketing budget. And, of course, don’t forget to factor this into your balance sheet forecast!

So now, if you haven’t already started an affiliate program, 2024 might be the best time for it.

Start small, do your research to understand how affiliate programs work, then find the right partners and create a program that’s mutually beneficial.

You believe that you will be amazed at the results…