In this current climate, everybody is bombarded with so much advertising and so much competition. It’s the very reason why business owners & entrepreneurs need to focus on the importance of referral marketing.
Revenue Streams through Business Affiliates, Influencers, and Referrals
It’s always really more effective when a referral comes through from someone that they know and they trust. And so, people that you know they trust and kind of fall into the categories of an affiliate or influencer.
This webinar covers:
- What is an affiliate for business?
- What is an influencer for business?
- What is a business referral?
- What does it mean to be an affiliate marketer/influencer marketer to drive business?
- At what stage can a business owner begin affiliate, influencer, and referral marketing?
- What is the difference between affiliate marketing and referral marketing?
- How do you price an affiliate program?
- How do I collaborate with influencers for my business?
- What tools & processes does a business have to have in place when they are putting up an influencer + affiliate marketing?
About Arlen
Arlen Robinson is a seasoned business owner and co-founder of Omnistar Affiliate Software which gives businesses the opportunity to set up and manage their own affiliate and customer referral programs.
With over 20 years of experience managing and running various aspects of the company, Arlen has a wealth of information that he can share. His current responsibilities involve leading all business development activities for the company as well as hosting a weekly podcast known as the eCommerce Marketing Podcast in which he interviews various marketing experts about successful eCommerce marketing strategies.
OSI Affiliate Software allows virtually any business to put up affiliates in their system. They can create their own affiliate program/code and track it using the software.
They create a signup page for customers with an embed code for the signup page that can be added to their existing site to handle affiliates coming in.
Find influencers in social platforms and get them to use affiliate marketing properly and drive revenue!
What does it mean to be an affiliate marketer/influencer marketer to drive business?
At what stage can a business owner begin affiliate, influencer, and referral marketing?
Stage? Start right away, even if you’re a start-up! You hardly have enough customers, so you can easily get your name out and get more. THEN, you start a referral program when you have a customer base
Immediate exposure can jump-start your affiliate marketing!
What is the difference between affiliate marketing and referral marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a form of referral marketing. Affiliates are getting money for the act of referring your customers to you, and they provide value to their referrals. A good affiliate marketer will be able to convert that customer into something new.
If you’re looking for a one-sentence definition, though: affiliate marketing is just referral marketing with money involved. But of course, there’s more to it than that.
The one thing that separates affiliate marketing from referral marketing is the price tag. When you’re working with an affiliate, there’s usually a commission that goes to them for bringing in new customers.
On the other hand, referral marketing is more personal. It doesn’t have that specific price tag associated with it.
A good affiliate marketer will be able to convert that customer into something new. For example, an affiliate might take a customer that has bought one product and then turn them into someone who buys three more products.
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Affiliate Marketing vs Referral Marketing
With a referral program, companies will get customer’s network for an incentive (free product, discounts, etc)
Referral programs can help produce customer loyalty. Oftentimes in this type of program, referring a friend gets you a discount or extra incentives.
Affiliate programs are for people who are not part of your customer base and have their own audience, such as social media for influencers. They have followers and they can attract and promote your business or service.
They have not used your product or services, but they can promote you — they’ll get a percent or a fixed amount of monetary compensation
In short, influencers have a large level of followers, a large network, and a great audience reach.
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How do you price an affiliate program?
To price an affiliate program, you’ll need an incentive formula. For a service business or a business with a recurring subscription fee, like MyOutDesk (MOD offers a one-time fee), you would want to come up with a higher number, such as a $40-per-month subscription. You can try pricing at 10-percent-per-month or $10-per-month — whichever works better, but usually what is higher!
In general, 10% is a good starting point. You can check out competitors and compare how much they’re giving away. Can you afford to offer something higher? You’d want to be competitive.
Recurring Fees / Subscriptions
You can offer a recurring commission for the life of the customer or for a set amount of time (such as for one year, or so). Define this in your affiliation TOS (terms of service).
OSI implements a 20% commission across the board for a fixed amount of time per successful sale of the customer life. Their plans start at $47 a month.
For influencers, prepare to pay higher based on the larger network or presence. Be prepared to do customization based on what the influencer or affiliate can bring.
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What tools & processes does a business have to have in place when they are putting up an influencer + affiliate marketing?
#1
Once your influencer + affiliate marketing is launched, you’ll require proper exposure to the program.
If no one knows you have it, you can’t attract the right influencer/affiliate (recruiting). Allow the program to be prominent on your site. Describe what you can offer. Influencers will usually do keyword searches “affiliate program for PRODUCT/SERVICE”.
#2
Search and reach out to find affiliates and influencers in your network.
Search on Instagram. Search for hashtags, for example, #chicagofashionblogger. You’ll be able to get a shortlist of influencers that you can gauge for followers. Use this same strategy on different social networks.
#3
Offering the proper incentive.
If your offer is too low, they’re going to walk out and pass. Be competitive with your competitor’s affiliate programs!
#4
Sure that you have the right tech, tools, and systems to manage your affiliate program.
Spreadsheets and manually tracking are OK, but not efficient. The software can make it more effective from the signup to the tracking to the dashboard. As you grow your base of affiliates and influencers, you won’t be able to follow through and track everyone.
OSI can track successful affiliate links that have successful sales. Most software has integration to a payment provider (OSI pays through PayPal).
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How do I collaborate with influencers for my business?
On a case-by-case basis, you can figure out the high-hitting influencers who can work better with co-branding. Visualize the influencer face or brand along with your product or service to give yourself some reassurance and to make the right decision.
There are local influencers in your network that have a good amount of followers, smaller audience, not as glamorous, but they have better credibility and engagement with their smaller audience > remember, Tighter level of relationship with their followers > followers trust them MORE!
More info with OSI Affiliate www.getosi.com
More info on Arlen https://www.arlenrobinson.com/
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