Updated on September 26, 2023
Affiliate marketing is all the rage. In fact, the topic has been rising in popularity since the early 2000s. Brands and businesses have been partnering with influencers to gain more traction for their products.
In this blog post, we are going to teach you the basics of affiliate marketing.
We will also tell you a bit about the difference between SaaS affiliate marketing and traditional affiliate marketing. Lastly, we will teach you how to earn a whopping 30% commission on your sales.
Ready? Let’s go.
What is Affiliate Marketing:
Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing where businesses partner with individuals or other businesses (known as affiliates) to promote their products or services.
Affiliates get a commission for each sale, lead, or other desired action that they generate for the business.
Affiliate marketing is a great way for businesses to reach a wider audience and increase sales, and it’s also a great way for affiliates to earn money online. Most affiliate programs have no Joining fees and all you need is just a marketing channel to promote other businesses.
How does Affiliate Marketing Work?
Affiliate programmes work by enabling people (affiliate partner) to market and sell goods and services offered by a business in return for a cut of each sale.
Every time a user buys a product using the affiliate link, the transaction’s tracking happes at the backend of the selling site. This leads to the creation of a tracking ID.
The commission is reflected in the account of the partner which is linked to that tracking ID.
On their website, blog, or social network, an affiliate places an advertisement or a link for Store XYZ.
- A client selects the special affiliate link.
- In Store XYZ, the customer makes a purchase.
- The transaction recorded in their backend by the affiliate network.
- Store XYZ confirms the transaction.
- The affiliate gets a financial commission.
The firm and the offer all affect the commission rates for affiliate sales. Instead than offering a portion of the transaction, some affiliate marketing programmes offer a flat fee.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing
Advantages
- Can Start From Zero Setup Cost:
To get started you don’t need to invest directly in business. You can use free platforms like Social media – insta, fb, twitter etc. Also one can create free blogs on WordPress, Wix and more.
- Sky’s the limit:
You can earn as much as you want with marketing programs in the right way and choosing the right products or industries. Also you should be able to identify the programs with high commissions.
- Be Your Own Boss:
If you are a person who does not like to work for someone else then this is similar to being a freelancer and having your own business. It also gives you freedom to be anywhere anytime and still keep earning without taking any leaves or brakes. It is a money engine that runs like a heartbeat.
- Rocket That Goes Endless:
Affiliate business is a highly scalable business which keeps increasing as you keep adding to your properties.
- Peaceful Debt Free Sleep:
You have to not work on anything else other than just giving a referral. No User management, No Delivery pr Returns Updates, No Inventory to keep or check.
Disadvantages
- Too Many Players in Market:
There is high competition in affiliate marketing, so it gets tricky to stand out from the crowd.
- Patience is The Key:
It takes time to build a successful affiliate marketing business. You need to create content, promote your links, and build relationships with your audience.
- Unethical Affiliates:
There is some fraud in affiliate marketing, so it’s important to be careful about the programs you join and the products or services you promote.
- Monetary Risks:
Your income from affiliate marketing is not guaranteed. Your earnings are completely dependent on users who click on your affiliate link, if they make a purchase via that link then only you earn.
- Handcuffed:
You don’t have control over the products or services you promote, or the prices that merchants charge.
Overall, affiliate marketing is a great way to make money online, but it’s important to be aware of the potential drawbacks before you get started.
How is SaaS Affiliate Marketing Different?
We have seen how affiliate marketing can help you expand your business, without significant investment in resources. So how is SaaS Affiliate marketing different from traditional affiliate marketing?
Here are a few differences:
- Longer Sales Cycles: The SaaS Sales cycle is longer, with more complex processes than traditional products. What this translates to the affiliate is that they need to be more patient and persistent if they wish to close sales.
- Recurring commissions: SaaS products generate recurring revenue, which is great if you are an affiliate marketer. This is because affiliates can earn recurring commissions on their referrals, which is different from traditional affiliate programs. In traditional affiliate marketing, there is a one-time commission on each sale, but with SaaS, there is revenue coming into the affiliate every month.
- Longer CLTV: SaaS customers typically have a longer Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) than your traditional customers. This gives affiliates more potential to earn from each referral over the long term.
- Higher price points: With higher price points, affiliates who sell SaaS products can earn higher commissions compared to traditional products.
To make things easier, here are the major differences between traditional software sales and affiliate software sales:
| Feature | SaaS affiliate marketing | Traditional Affiliate marketing |
| Sales cycle | Longer | Shorter |
| Target audience | More Business-To-Business (B2B) | More customer to customer (C2C) |
| Commission structure | Recurring commission | One-time commission |
| Marketing strategies | Focus on Affiliate networks, content marketing and social media marketing | Focus on email marketing and content marketing. |
How do Affiliate Marketers Make money?
Just like traditional marketers, affiliate SaaS marketers also make money out of commissions through sales of a company’s SaaS products.
Here is the concept of affiliate marketing:
- Sign-up for a SaaS company’s affiliate program and receive a unique referral link or code.
- Promote the SaaS product through various channels such as websites, blogs, email marketing and social media.
- Once someone signs up for the SaaS product through the link, the affiliate earns a reward or a commission.
It is a win-win situation for both parties. SaaS companies get a cost-effective way to expand their customer base. Affiliates can tap into their existing network to earn passive income. Additionally, affiliates can also recommend valuable SaaS products to their network, improving the quality of their content and their overall authority.
Talking about passive income, how does 30% commission on every sale you make for a SaaS product sound? With an average plan price of $200, this means you get $60 for every sale you make.That is why you should consider signing up for Kommunicate’s Affiliate Marketing program.
A note on improving your affiliate earnings:
Improving your affiliate earnings takes some careful planning and taking concrete steps in the right direction. Here are some of the common ways people improve their affiliate earnings:
- Promote content through videos.
- Start an online course.
- Use Reddit, Quora and other communities to actively promote your content.
- Be active on X, Insta and Facebook, among other social media platforms.
- Create a tutorial and publish it.
The key is to organically plugin your offering and make sure that customers are not feeling too “pushed.” Gently nudge them towards the SaaS product that you are promoting, and be genuinely interested in helping your target audience.
We hope you like this little piece. If you want to be part of Kommunicate’s affiliate marketing program, feel free to contact us. Let’s get this show on the road.
