If all your information about the affiliate marketing industry comes from social media content creators who promise they earn $100,000 a month while working only two hours a day… you can be confident that’s probably too good to be true.
*Updated 9/9/2024
What you really want to know is:
- Is affiliate marketing a strategy worth investing your time into (read: would you really have to pay affiliates that much money from the get-go?)?
- What trends should you look out for (either as a brand or as someone who wants to get into affiliate marketing)?
- What’s all the hype about?
If you’re interested in learning more about affiliate marketing and what it has in store for 2024, this article is for you.
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Here, we’re discussing all the need-to-know information about affiliate marketing, with a special focus on the trends to watch in 2024 as an affiliate marketer. Let’s dive right in.
What is an Affiliate Marketing Strategy?
Think of it this way — you run a perfume shop and have a signature scent that you want to promote (oh, and imagine you already have some loyal customers who love your product).
One fine day, one of your loyal customers comes into your store and tells you their friends often ask about the scent, but they don’t share your brand name with them because they don’t see this as a win-win situation.
So you make them a promise that for every sale you get through them, you’ll pay them a 10% commission.
True to your promise, every month end, you transfer the money into the bank account of this customer through which all these sales were possible.
That’s exactly what affiliate marketing is — it’s the practice of brands collaborating with loyal customers and influencers and paying them a commission for every sale they get through them.
Is there a possibility to make $100,000 through affiliate marketing?
According to Influencer Marketing Hub’s data, a majority (57%) of those who invest their time in affiliate marketing end up earning $10k annually.
However, 11.72% of those interviewed also said they earned more than $100k yearly.
Having said this, investing in affiliates is an excellent strategy for any business, regardless of whichever industry you belong to — so even if it takes a pretty penny to hire and retain the top affiliates, the investment is well worth the ROI (return on investment) they produce.
And just to lay out the importance of just how impactful affiliate marketing can be, here are a few points to consider:
- Spending through affiliate marketing sales is reported to be $15.7 billion in 2024 alone (and the number has consistently been rising through the years, so there’s a strong possibility the trend will continue).
- 54% of brands said affiliate marketing was one of their top customer acquisition sources (even ranking above paid social, word-of-mouth marketing, organic search, and ads).
Top 7 Affiliate Marketing Trends You Should Look Out For
- Rise of influencer marketing
- Evolution of affiliate marketing programs & networks
- Shift towards video content
- Further importance of mobile optimization
- Growth of niche markets
- Increased role of AI and automation
- Emphasis on transparency and authenticity
Let’s peel back the curtain on these top 7 trends that will drive this industry now and in the years to come.
1. Rise of influencer marketing
In the past, most companies relied on their loyal customers to undertake the task of affiliate marketing. However, a growing number of companies are now shifting their focus toward influencers across social media platforms.
Why? Primarily due to their wider audience reach, thus meaning more sales in a limited period of time.
This strategy is one that’s been working in the favor of brands (consider Exhibit A below):
And here’s some more data, just to drive our point home:
While on that topic, if you’re wondering which social media influencers to partner up with, our recommendation would be to look out for micro-influencers.
This is mainly because almost 8 out of 10 customers are more likely to be influenced by micro-influencers, as opposed to mega-popular influencers. These influencers also have 22.2x buying conversions.
Having said this, different types of influencers bring different kinds of benefits to the table (e.g., mega influencers are excellent for improving product goodwill, which can ultimately impact your affiliate marketing campaigns as well).
2. Evolution of affiliate marketing programs and networks
Let’s face it. You and I aren’t the only ones keeping up with the importance of affiliate marketing. It’s clear that affiliate marketing is a lucrative strategy to boost sales and build brand awareness.
Many folks online have been keeping a close eye on this industry and have invested time and energy into creating investment marketing programs and networks.
But this isn’t news — while these programs/networks have existed for a long time, they’ve only now become more strategic with the technology they offer — including:
- Handling payments (and creating a system that offers incentives and rewards).
- Reporting insights and tracking and analyzing data.
- Updating deals and affiliate links.
- Matching leads with affiliates.
For all the reasons above, it now makes sense to invest in affiliate marketing programs and networks.
3. Shift towards video content
Video marketing has been on the rise in the past few years, with more than 87% of brands agreeing that videos have returned positive ROI for their marketing efforts.
So, it comes as no surprise that affiliates are leaning towards video content, too, to increase sales.
For example, if you look at Instagram, you’ll realize that many content creators are now using Reels to promote their affiliate products. The same can be true for other platforms like TikTok, which also relies on video content.
Businesses need videos to effectively explain their products or services, showcase their unique value propositions, and engage their target audience.
You can use full-service video production to create compelling visual narratives that resonate with viewers and drive conversions.
Not just that, many affiliates have also started using video content on their websites and are integrating affiliate links within these content pieces (e.g., consider this travel blog by Dan Flying Solo).
4. Further importance of mobile optimization
Okay, so maybe this is a trend that’s been looming for a while.
Still, mobile optimization is necessary — regardless of whether you’re a brand that’s investing in affiliate marketing or if you’re someone who does affiliate marketing themselves.
Why do we say this? Well, because an estimated more than 50% of all ecommerce sales happen through mobile phones. Even still, almost 24% of the top million websites in the world aren’t mobile-friendly.
If your website falls under the same category, this can eventually lead to customers leaving your site, not converting, or having a terrible experience, which would cause them to either:
- Not recommend your website to anyone
- Not return to your website
Side Note: Being mobile-friendly also translates to reaching a wider target audience, but if you niche down, there’s a high possibility your conversion rates and engagement rates will likely increase. You can also score traffic if you write content for voice search and smart speakers.
5. Growth of niche markets
We know we just discussed the importance of niching down, but this point is important to mention again.
While you might want to allow yourself the opportunity to a realm of possibilities, you really might end up a jack of all trades, master of none.
If you’re a company, you can look into promoting your affiliate marketing programs for a few key products so you are specifically renowned for those products.
Alternatively, if you’re an affiliate marketer yourself, you can look into building an audience through your content that specifically focuses on a few niche topics (e.g., under the umbrella of “traveling,” you can create a niche for “Camping in North America” as seen by popular used RV company Cruise America).
6. Increased role of AI and automation
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has been on the rise for multiple industries, and affiliate marketing is no different.
In the coming years, multiple experts predict AI will take over tasks like:
- Fraud detection (a huge issue)
- Relationship management
- Content creation.
In the same vein, automation will help streamline your campaigns to produce valuable content that converts.
For example, tools like Jasper will be helpful in creating video scripts and blogs. SurferSEO will help you integrate the necessary keywords into your copy to optimize for search engines and voice searches.
And other tools might assist with targeting, analytics, and optimization of your campaigns.
These are just some examples — other professional agencies might use AI-enabled technologies for affiliates like PartnerStack, UpPromote, and AffiliateFP.
7. Emphasis on transparency and authenticity
Last but not least, transparency has become a big requirement in the industry.
Aside from it just being a legal requirement, it’s also considered a best practice to stay as transparent with your audience as possible to not lead them to wrong decisions.
Experts also recommend taking the time to have authentic relationships with your audience before trying to sell them products through affiliate marketing to make these campaigns more impactful.
Oh, and, as another best practice, be keen to inform your affiliate traffic that you’re tracking consumer behavior and using their information through third-party cookies and cross-device tracking, just so they’re on the same page.
Next Steps
If you wish to convert potential customers through your affiliate marketing campaigns, you also need to engage with them and provide them with value.
POWR can help you on both of those fronts. How, you ask? Well, you can use our features, such as:
- Live chat, FAQ sections, and website navigation capabilities to provide them with value
- Pop-ups, maps, hit counters, and multi-slider banners to engage visitors
And if you wish to access both of these benefits for free, sign up for POWR now! The future of affiliate marketing is bright. How will you capitalize on it?
Author Bio
Jeremy is co-founder & CEO at uSERP, a digital PR and SEO agency working with brands like Monday, ActiveCampaign, Hotjar, and more. He also buys and builds SaaS companies like Wordable.io and writes for publications like Entrepreneur and Search Engine Journal.
