Affiliation… Here’s a magic word that rings in the ears of many a merchant looking to develop their business. Behind this clever word, however, lies something very simple: the transposition to the Internet of the good old commercial relationship based on bringing in business: you bring me a sale/customer, and I pay you a percentage of the transaction.
When we talk about affiliate marketing, we always talk about “performance”. The reason is simple: the seller only pays when he sells. It’s the ideal way for an advertiser to have an identifiable, controllable ROI.
While affiliation is used to sell more, it can also meet other objectives such as generating leads, customer data, brand awareness, appointments, quotation requests, etc. Depending on the objectives, several business models are possible.
Affiliation business models
Although there are variations, you’ll mainly hear about these 3 models: CPA, CPL and CPC. Here’s what’s behind the acronyms:
CPA, the most widespread and, above all, the most envied, stands for Cost Per Purchase. In this business model, the advertiser pays a portion of the sales to the partner who has generated a sale via an advertising medium.
CPL, or Cost Per Lead. A lead is a (new) contact. With this business model, the aim is to attract new prospects: a web surfer fills in a form and the partner is remunerated according to the complexity of the form. Who hasn’t dreamed of having millions of subscribers to their newsletter, so they can discover their products exclusively?
CPC, Cost per Click, the ultimate weapon for getting your name out there. A single goal: to bring hordes of visitors to your site!
With which partners?
There are many different types of partner, and each one plays a role in the conversion path. Once again, it all depends on your objectives! The most important thing is to understand their respective strengths, so you can make the most of them.
To mention just a few, but the list is far from exhaustive (other blog posts are dedicated to publishers, so don’t hesitate to check them out!), you’ll be able to work with couponers, cashback, programmatic and advertising network players, shopping guides, price comparison sites, emaileurs, co-registration players, portals, thematic sites, etc.
(Parenthesis)
We’d like to take the liberty of digressing for a moment to talk about coupon sites, as they often get (too) bad press. It’s entirely possible to control their involvement and work in harmony by establishing a strong partnership with these players! Don’t hesitate to discuss this with our teams – our role is to help you make the right choices 😉
(End of parenthesis)
With all these partners, your affiliate program is constantly evolving, and the activation of new partners never stops – that’s what we do every day. Once you’ve launched your program and the main players are effectively connected, the hard work begins to constantly seek out new opportunities. We optimize your program by working on remuneration and evaluating individual performance to strengthen existing partnerships.
And what about blogs and influencers? The holy grail of all e-commerce, marketing and communications departments! For these players, the last-click model is out of the question, which is why we suggest you take a look at our special influencer offer. A must-have.
What type of advertiser is eligible for affiliation?
There are few, if any, limits. The vital minimum before embarking on the affiliation adventure is to generate traffic on your site, at least 20,000 UV/month and sales (150,000 euros/year). The reason is simple: without this minimum, partners won’t relay your offer, and it’s from your average basket that, among other things, partner remuneration is calculated.
Our mission? To offer you the right solution, because we can’t apply the same formula and support everyone in the same way. You’ve just launched your e-commerce site, and you’re looking for leads in the travel or B2B sector? Depending on your objectives, we can offer you different solutions! (Editor’s note: Effinity can meet almost any requirement!)
What results can you expect from affiliation?
What’s in it for me? You must ask yourself this question about 20 times a day 😉 There’s no magic formula for answering this. But on the whole, an affiliation program can bring you an average of 15% to 20% additional sales (I did say average). This figure will depend above all on the levers we can manage for you.
Above all, we mustn’t forget that affiliation needs you, and the actions you take on your side. Because all this feeds into the web surfer’s experience, ultimately capturing the attention of new customers and leading them to make a purchase on your site.
Affiliation, but not only…
Since the beginnings of affiliation over 15 years ago in France, things have changed a lot, both in terms of models and affiliates. Today, affiliate marketing should be seen as partnership management. We look for the best partners to develop your sales and, of course, have precise reporting on the actions we take.
Need more information? Don’t hesitate to contact us?
