Affiliate marketing How to Build an Affiliate Network …
Success in affiliate marketing is ensured, among other things, by a good affiliate strategy and a properly selected affiliate network. On the web, publishers have access to hundreds of affiliate programs, and advertisers have access to thousands of publishers who are interested in working with them. Is it possible to have your own affiliate network? How do you build an affiliate network? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the network?
What is an affiliate network?
An affiliate network acts as an intermediary between a company that wants to advertise its products or services (an advertiser) and the owner (publisher) of a website, blog or social media channel that has free space in its online space and wants to make money by placing special affiliate links on its website leading to the advertiser’s website. The intermediary pays salaries and provides the IT infrastructure that keeps track of users’ activities. It also charges for its activities, but by bringing together many advertisers and publishers in one place, it makes cooperation between them much easier and faster. It can be concluded that an affiliate network is the primary tool on which affiliate marketing is based.
It is worth knowing that affiliate networks are made up of 4 main entities:
- Affilate Service Provider (provider) i.e. the owner of the affiliate network. The company has its own online platform and system that counts impressions, clicks on an advertisement or actions taken by partners and advertisers.
- Advertiser/Service Provider – a company that provides products/services in the affiliate network to partners. The advertiser determines the remuneration and the method of settlement, i.e. for which action the commission is granted. The advertiser provides the affiliate network with its graphics (banners, boxes) or text links at the disposal of future publishers.
- An affiliate is the owner of a website, blog or social media channel who wants to present the advertiser’s products on their website and receive a commission for advertising activities (affiliate campaign).
- A customer, which is a website user or a partner’s followers. It is he who performs the action on the affiliate materials from the advertiser and placed on the publisher’s (partner’s) website. The action consists of clicking on an advertisement, displaying an advertisement, filling out an application form, purchasing a product or service.
What are the advantages of an affiliate network?
Affiliate networks are part of an affiliate strategy and offer many benefits for publishers and advertisers. However, the effectiveness of activities undertaken within an affiliate network depends on many factors, for example: the quality of the products and services offered, the attractiveness of the affiliate program for publishers, as well as the ability to build relationships with partners.
Benefits for advertisers
- Publisher base: The advertiser gets access to an extensive database of publishers registered in the affiliate network.
- Affiliate Tools for Publishers: Affiliate networks offer various tools to help publishers promote the advertiser’s products or services.
- Bulk Publisher Billing: With affiliate networks, advertisers easily and efficiently bill multiple publishers.
- Helping Affiliate Managers Grow Their Program: Affiliate managers help advertisers grow their affiliate programs, which increases the efficiency of their operations.
- Reaching new target audiences: Affiliate networks help advertisers reach new target groups.
- Dissemination of products/services and increase in sales: With affiliate networks, advertisers can increase the recognition of their products or services and increase sales and thus profits.
- Gain lead data: Affiliate networks provide advertisers with valuable data about potential customers, resulting in effective affiliate strategies and campaigns.
- Increase brand awareness and create a positive image: Activities carried out through affiliate networks contribute to increasing brand recognition and creating a positive image.
Affiliate networks also offer many benefits for owners of websites, blogs or social media. Here are some of them:
- Selection of many products and services to promote in one place.
- Earnings on commission – monitoring specific results.
- Access to promotional and advertising tools.
- Extension of the offer for website visitors – increasing the attractiveness of websites or social media channels.
- The ability to earn money without having your own website, e.g. some affiliate networks offer mini sites to promote products.
How and Who Can Build an Affiliate Network?
Can an affiliate agency own an affiliate network? Is it just the publisher or maybe another entity? Who Can Build an Affiliate Network?
Affiliate networks can be created by a variety of entities. In practice, anyone who conducts any activity on the Internet can become a publisher and build their own affiliate network. This means that not only website owners, but also bloggers and social media users can create affiliate networks. An affiliate agency, such as Onaffiliate, for example , usually acts as an intermediary between advertisers and publishers and helps them manage their affiliate programs. However, it is not excluded that an affiliate agency may also own an affiliate network. It all depends on the specific business model,” explains Onaffiliate.
However, the entity must have its own online platform and its own system in which impressions, clicks on the advertisement or actions made are counted. The system must contain a database of individual partners and advertisers.
How do I start my own affiliate network? Onaffiliate explains how to do this step by step. Setting up your own affiliate network is a process that requires knowledge and skills in the field of online marketing and business. The most important steps when setting up an affiliate network:
- Defining business goals – choosing the products or services that the chain will promote and individual selection of the billing model.
- Choosing affiliate network management software – there are many affiliate network management software on the market. It’s a good idea to conduct market research and choose the best solution for your business.
- Recruiting advertisers and publishers – it’s a good idea to start by recruiting advertisers and publishers who are interested in working with an affiliate network. You can send them invitations and requests to join the network.
- Creating offers and marketing campaigns – the next step is to create offers and marketing campaigns for advertisers and publishers. You need to attract their attention and encourage them to cooperate.
- Analysis of the results – the last but very important step is the analysis of the results. You should regularly review the results of your campaigns and adjust them to your business needs.
Onaffiliate Agenci – Affiliate is a popular way to make money online. Although anyone can potentially have their own affiliate network, there is unfortunately a long way to go to earn money in this way, the success of which depends on the platform you have, dedicated marketing tools, the method of settlement, and an effective campaign. Onaffiliate will answer all your questions in this regard.
