Small businesses can use it either way.
Side one: earn by recommending
If your audience trusts your opinion, affiliate links can turn helpful recommendations into a small revenue stream. A woodworking shop might link to the tools it uses. A wedding venue might recommend books or decor.
The best-known program is Amazon Associates. Commission rates depend on the product category and run from 0% to 10%. Most programs work the same basic way: you apply, get approved, and use your own links.
Be realistic. Unless you have a lot of traffic, affiliate income is usually a nice bonus, not a business plan. Only recommend products you'd recommend anyway.
Side two: let others sell for you
If you have an online store, you can run your own affiliate program. Bloggers, partners and happy customers get a unique link, and you pay them a commission on sales they send your way. You only pay when a sale happens.
Tools for running a program
- WordPress with WooCommerce: several WordPress affiliate plugins handle tracking, commissions and payouts right in your store.
- Joomla stores: Joomla e-commerce extensions such as HikaShop and J2Commerce support affiliates directly or through add-on extensions.
- Affiliate networks: larger networks find affiliates for you and handle tracking and payouts, in exchange for fees.
Set clear terms: commission rate, cookie length, payout schedule and what counts as a valid sale. Watch for fraud too, like coupon sites grabbing credit for sales that would have happened anyway.
The rules: disclose every time
In the U.S., the FTC's Endorsement Guides require that any "material connection" between you and a product you promote be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. A commission counts. Online, the disclosure has to be hard to miss: next to the link, not buried in the footer or on a separate page.
The FTC's guidance also gets specific about wording:
- Just saying "affiliate link" isn't enough. Many people don't know what it means.
- "Buy now" isn't a disclosure.
- Something plain like "paid link," or "I earn a commission if you buy through this link," placed next to the link, works.
If you run your own program, the responsibility doesn't end there. Tell your affiliates they have to disclose too, and keep an eye on how they promote you.
Make it part of the plan
Affiliate marketing works best as one piece of a larger plan for your store. If you're still picking a platform, start with Choosing an e-commerce platform. If you're on WooCommerce, WooCommerce basics covers the essentials before you add affiliate tools.
Track what's working
Whichever side you're on, measure it. Use tagged links or your affiliate tool's reports to see which partners and pages actually lead to sales, not just clicks. Drop the links and partners that don't perform, and put more effort into the ones that do. Check your disclosures every time you add a new page or partner.
Thinking about adding an affiliate program to your store? Call 678-379-9321 or email sales@3by400.com.