It’s time to update your affiliate marketing knowledge. If you’re reading this, you already know that with any technology-based industry, it’s important to keep up with the emerging trends and changing techniques. Refreshing your affiliate marketing strategy is a smart way to make the most of your partnerships.
If you’re new to this, and interested in advertising, content writing, or influencing, know that affiliate programs are free to join. There are no start-up costs and it’s a great way to fund another business, like your own ecommerce store.
Without further ado, let’s check out some fresh affiliate marketing tips to try in 2024.
Affiliate marketing recap
Affiliate marketing is a way to generate traffic and leads for profit. It’s a powerful revenue-sharing method to master.
An affiliate company (also known as a merchant, advertiser, retailer, or brand) is any company or product owner willing to pay commissions to affiliates who promote their products.
You, as their product marketer, are an affiliate. You earn a commission for affiliate products that you convince others to buy.
Here’s how:
The affiliate searches for a product they like, then promotes that product on their own website or platform.
If the affiliate’s marketing efforts are successful and they generate sales, the affiliate earns a piece of the profit from each purchase made. But it’s not always about selling. Some affiliate programs are focused on generating leads or referrals to the advertiser’s website, or getting a user to download an app.
When a customer clicks the link that the affiliate promotes and lands on the brand’s website, the affiliate’s unique ID within the URL link is stored in a customer’s internet cookies. If the customer makes a purchase using this link, the affiliate is awarded a commission from the sale.
The industry is now valued at over $12 billion globally, yet many content creators still struggle to grow their affiliate income. Whether it’s a lack of copywriting skills, SEO (search engine optimization) expertise, solid email techniques, or social media knowledge, many are missing out on opportunities to make money.
While the concept of affiliate marketing has stayed the same, affiliate marketing itself has modernized over the last 3 decades. To maintain a foothold in this multibillion-dollar market, affiliates need to keep up.
Is affiliate marketing still profitable in 2024?
It’s clear the industry is booming, but if you need more proof, let’s take a look at the facts.
Below is a Google Trends graph showcasing global search interest for the keyword “affiliate marketing” since 2017. There’s an upward trend overall and it continues to rise year by year.
Because the industry is growing, there’s heightened competition, which can be discouraging for new and even experienced marketers. An increasing number of people are drawn to the field, dulling some of the effectiveness of popular affiliate marketing techniques and saturating broader niches.
To adapt to these changes, it’s important to understand some affiliate marketing trends that can help you build an effective strategy. You’re in complete control over how much time and effort you want to spend managing this online business venture. But, the more dedicated you are, the more you’ll earn.
Here’s what you can do this year to boost your revenue.
1. Show your product expertise with blog posts
Bloggers can make a lot of money with affiliate marketing.
When it comes to monetizing your blog, showing expertise in affiliate products is one of the best ways to turn traffic into cash. You can do this by familiarizing your audience with product reviews, tutorials, and product comparisons.
“Affiliate-written product reviews are in-depth articles that highlight the pros and cons of your chosen industry’s products. They give value to your readers and convert natural leads into sales.”
Chances are, like most online shoppers, you check what other people think about the product you’re interested in. Reviews help customers make the final decision about whether or not the product is something they want to spend money on.
On the whole, review articles are natural, non-salesy pieces of content that are a key social proof metric. In addition, you’ll have a chance to prove yourself as an expert in your niche.
Find quality products that you’ll be proud to recommend to your blog visitors.
See if your affiliate partner can send the products to you for free. You’ll write a more informed article if you can try it out first.
Focus on getting your articles right for your audience (remember to add value for your regular visitors) and optimize posts with SEO.
Product comparisons
Your audience might also find your affiliate product by Googling “What is the best ________?” Comparison articles are a huge time saver and help the customer in their buying decision thought process. Typically, product comparison articles include the pros and cons of several options and include the prices.
If the product isn’t completely unique, there are likely several competitors already contending for your audience’s attention. Make sure you do your research and write better, more detailed comparisons than your competitors.
Tutorials
Tutorials go hand in hand with reviews. If you can find a way to show how your affiliate product works, go for it. Plaudits if your product is not as obvious to figure out. Start from A and end with Z. Break the article into simple steps, add images, be as clear as possible, and don’t forget the important details.
2. Join the Printful affiliate program
We’d love to work with you. If you already have a Printful store or you’re just interested in ecommerce, have a look at our affiliate marketing program.
When you collaborate with Printful, you’re rewarded for any orders customers place and fulfill through your affiliate link. You earn a 10% commission for each referred customer for a period of 12 months.
As your partner, we’ll also provide you with dedicated account managers, versatile digital marketing materials, reporting tools, and various other perks that will help you grow your affiliate business.
Here are some tips from our affiliate project manager Evija Skaceka:
Use our content and blog materials to promote Printful
Use special Affiliate campaigns on the Printful Dashboard (every new month there’s a new campaign)
Analyze what works for your audience (social media posts, blogs, videos, or other traffic sources)
Keep up with new product releases and create hype
Be the first to inform your audience about special offers like Black Friday Cyber Monday, Back-To-School promos, Mother’s Day, etc.
Always read the Printful Affiliate Newsletter to know about the latest market trends and campaigns
With 1 billion users, TikTok has nearly reached Instagram’s level of fame, and yet most marketers are overlooking the potential of TikTok, so the affiliate market here is far from saturated.
It’s worth mentioning that TikTok is not just for the younger generation. Millennials and Gen X also make up a big portion of the user demographics.
However, you still want to check who your content is attracting. If most people who follow you are in their twenties, work with products that appeal to this demographic.
TikTok content is genuine, funny, and ultra-creative. Its users are interested in entertainment and information, and they love to interact with intriguing content.
When it comes to promoting, brands and affiliate marketers tend to hop on the most popular trends and put their own twist on them. Get inspired by creators who have become popular on TikTok by advertising similar products.
The most straightforward way to push organic traffic from your TikTok videos to the brand’s product website is to add an affiliate link to your bio. TikTok also allows users to add links in their bios to other social media platforms, so you can promote not just affiliate products but also direct traffic to your other profiles.
To do this, you’ll need to switch to a Business Account (note that you also need at least 1000 followers).
In TikTok, tap the Profile tab
Tap the Menu button in the top-right corner
Tap Manage Account > Switch to Business Account > Next
Select what category your business falls under and hit Next to finish
If you haven’t yet reached such a large following, you can paste a non-clickable link instead.
Instagram has been a favorite social media platform for affiliates from all different niches, and this hasn’t changed in 2024.
Similar to TikTok, on Instagram, the goal is to become an influencer for your target market. The most effective way to do this (besides creating a winning hashtag strategy) is to post beautifully crafted content.
In June of 2021, Instagram rolled out an affiliate marketing program that has made it a breeze for creators to monetize their top-notch content.
The best Instagram affiliate content is typically in the form of recommendations and real-life product applications, not sales pitches.
Hector Ruiz, founder of BBQ Grill Academy
Now Instagram affiliate creators earn a commission on sales made from product tags in feed posts and Stories, and from products in their shops. To run an affiliate marketing program on Instagram, you’ll need to switch to a Creator account. Here’s how:
Open your Instagram account
Select Settings
Go to Account
Tap Switch to a professional account and choose Creator
Choose the category that best describes your affiliate niche
You can find out how to create an affiliate Instagram storefront on Instagram’s help page. You’ll need to meet Instagram’s affiliate eligibility requirements and set up an Affiliate on the professional dashboard.
5. Use Facebook ads for a more targeted audience
Facebook is still the biggest social network worldwide. With billions of people scrolling through each month, it’s really worth learning about Facebook ads. As an affiliate, you can use Facebook ads to target specific audiences that are probably interested in the product you’re promoting.
There are four main Facebook ad types:
Single image
Single video
Slideshow
Carousel
Within the single image category falls Facebook dark posts—a particularly effective way of reaching customers who may be interested in your affiliate products. A Facebook dark post is a targeted paid ad. It offers a middle ground between paid advertising and organic content because the post acts as an organic post. Meaning, this type of ad doesn’t appear on the affiliate’s Business Page or feed right after publishing, it only appears on the feeds of targeted customers.
You can create dark posts in Ad Manager, and choose how to distribute them. The cool thing about dark posts is that you can include a call-to-action button (text with a link to the product e.g. Get yours today). Plus, dark posts give you space for text and large visuals.
6. Build trust by disclosing affiliate relationships
Disclosing relationships with affiliated brands is a strategy that’ll earn you trust from followers no matter what platform or website you use. Your reputation is just as important as your social media following, YouTube views, or monthly blog visits. This doesn’t mean that you have to talk about your income, which would probably get you a chorus of eye-rolls, but you can share what’s in it for you.
Right at the top of the article, Real Homes is notifying their readers of the presence of affiliate links.
“Real Homes is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s why you can trust us”
In this way, you can be transparent, increase reader trust, and follow The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines. To sum up, it reflects the basic truth-in-advertising principle: all endorsements must be honest and not misleading.
Following the release of this guide, Instagram launched a feature designed to help affiliate marketers meet the FTC endorsement requirements—the paid partnerships label. Shown in this Instagram post by Kendall Jenner, it states that she, as an affiliate marketer, is promoting Tiffany & Co. products.
These policies benefit both sellers and buyers. Disclosures also ensure a level playing field for marketers because it offers everyone the opportunity to compete fairly.
7. Collect emails with lead magnets
A lead magnet is something you offer on your affiliate marketing website for free in exchange for visitor email addresses. People don’t usually share their information unless they’re getting something in return. There needs to be an incentive that makes them do it.
What do you think your audience would want to pay for?
It can be any content that drives awareness but also provides enough information so the reader wants to learn more about the product. Make sure your content is relevant and has this perceived value.
Depending on the product you’re promoting, you could offer:
Ebooks and whitepapers
Free courses
Assessments or tests
Free coupons
Free shipping
Templates
Gifts with the first order
Bonus tip: Once you have an email audience, use email sequences and offer some kind of bonus regarding the product you’re trying to promote. For example, if you promote Printful and printed phone cases as an affiliate, you can send email discount codes for these products.
8. Create a learning course on Youtube
If you’re not camera-shy, sharing your affiliate marketing knowledge on the most popular video platform could be a powerful new venture. It’s a pretty clever way to provide extra value to your audience while earning revenue.
You can go all out and create a comprehensive affiliate marketing guide like YouTuber Miles Beckler did, and add more tips and guides along the way. Alternatively, you could create videos with content about your business niche, whether it’s an ecommerce business or something else. Share useful information about how you’ve achieved successful results, and motivate your viewers to try it out themselves. See what other YouTubers talk about and create content from your experience with titles like:
“How to earn money with affiliate marketing in 2024”
“Step-by-step guide to start an online business in 2024”
“Start your dropshipping business in 2024”
“A beginner’s guide to affiliate marketing”
“Earn your first $X with affiliate marketing today”
Using promo codes for your marketing purposes can earn you a profit from the sales while your customers get the promised product discounts.
But be careful of over-using promo codes as that can diminish the initial product value over time. The best times to run promo campaigns are when a product has just been launched or it’s a special occasion, like the winter holidays or the onset of a big shopping season. When you’re offering promo codes, always make sure to:
Make it clear to your audience what the conditions are for usage
Mention promo code expiry dates or have them set up for purchases that exceed a minimum set value
Concentrating your efforts on one affiliate program is good when you first start. You need to take some time to get to know the products and the company. But you shouldn’t get attached. Companies can slash their commissions, deny payouts, or even shut down their affiliate programs (but that’s rare).
A good rule of thumb: don’t let one affiliate program make up more than half of your revenue. We suggest joining three affiliate programs because it provides good earning potential but is still fairly manageable.
You can use your own website/platform for different advertisers, but never have ads for directly competing advertisers on the same page. That would detract from your content.
Don’t forget to check each advertiser’s specific terms and conditions about how you should use their content and links.
We hope that you found these affiliate marketing tips useful. Our advice to all of you affiliates is to have patience. This is a long-term investment strategy, and with time, it’ll pay off.
Good luck! Let me know how it goes in the comments.
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