Written by Matt Zavadil
Updated February 29, 2024
If you’re looking for a way to increase sales for your products, you should consider affiliate partnerships.
Affiliate partnerships are when two businesses work together to sell each other’s products.
It can be a great way to sell more products and reach new customers.
In this article, I’ll discuss how to find an affiliate partner that’s the right fit for your business. We’ll also talk about the benefits of affiliate partnerships and how they can help you sell more products.
What is a partner in affiliate marketing?
A partner in affiliate marketing is someone who helps sell your products. They are not employed by your business, but they promote and sell your products in exchange for a commission.
What is the difference between an affiliate and a partnership?
Let’s define each of these areas of marketing.
Affiliate Partners
An affiliate is a blogger, Instagram influencer, YouTube channel, or any other person who wants to share your product with their audience.
You’ll typically give your affiliate a coded link that tracks all the sales made when the affiliate shares the link with their audience.
Affiliate marketing is a subset of partner marketing.
Partner Marketing
A partnership can take the form of several types of activities.
Getting other marketers to take part in your affiliate program is one method you might use.
However, promoting your affiliate marketing program isn’t the only way you partner with others. Here are other ways to use partner marketing.
- Podcast interviews
- Webinars to a partner’s email list
- Facebook Live
- Lead magnet swap via email marketing campaigns
What is an affiliate partnership?
An affiliate partnership is a formal agreement between two or more businesses, such as companies and bloggers.
Partnerships are often used to promote products on social media or other platforms like YouTube.
In a partnership, the affiliate will receive commissions when they share your product with their audience through links in their blog posts, YouTube videos, or on social media.
What makes a good affiliate partner?
A good affiliate partner is someone who can bring you traffic, sales, and new customers.
They should have an engaged audience that trusts them and values their recommendations for products or services.
Look for partners with a similar target audience to your own business so they’ll be able to sell your product effectively to their followers.
How do you find affiliate marketing partners?
The easiest way to find affiliate marketing partners is to use an affiliate network like Commission Junction, ClickBank, ShareASale, or FlexOffers.
You can list your product here for affiliates to find. Bloggers and other influences visit these affiliate networks looking for ways to monetize their traffic.
Another way to find affiliate partners is by looking for bloggers or social media influencers who have a similar audience to your own business.
You can reach out to them directly and ask if they’re interested in promoting your product.
You can also look for joint venture partnerships, which is when you work with another business to promote each other’s products.
This can be a great way to expand your reach and find new customers.
How do I become an affiliate partner?
You need to have a website or social channel that is related to the topic of your affiliate program.
For example, if you partner with a referral program like Amazon and want to sell gardening tools, then it helps if your website or blog is about gardening.
You might have a YouTube channel all about gardening instead. That also works because your viewers will have a genuine interest when you send them off to Amazon’s gardening products.
On the other side of the coin, you’ll become an affiliate partner if you have a product you want dozens of affiliates to sell for you.
In this case, you need to have an affiliate program set up.
You can do this yourself, but it’s easier to use a service like CJ Affiliate or ClickBank that will allow affiliates to sign up and promote your products easily.
How to set up your own affiliate program
Software exists to help companies with product offerings to set up their own custom affiliate programs.
These include Post Affiliate Pro, LeadDyno, and Omnistar. You can also use ShareASale or ClickBank to help with this process.
When you set up your own affiliate program, you need to decide on a commission structure for the partners who promote your product.
Many companies offer 20%-50% commissions depending on the price of the product.
How do you create an affiliate partnership?
The first step is finding a partner who has a similar target audience to your own business.
Next, reach out with details about how they can promote your product and what the benefits are for them if they sign up as an affiliate.
If they’re interested, have them sign up for your affiliate program and provide them with marketing materials like banners, product images, and text links.
Make sure you keep in touch with your affiliates to ensure they’re having success selling your products. Offer help and advice when needed.
The final step is thanking them for their efforts and making sure they’re happy with the partnership.
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Is it better to be a partner or an affiliate?
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to this question. It depends on what you’re looking for and what the other company offers.
Generally speaking, affiliate marketers have it easier because all you need to do is promote the product and get paid a commission based on sales.
As a partner, you are more involved in the entire process and have more responsibility.
How affiliate marketers can find partners
The first step is deciding which products you want to sell as an affiliate marketer.
This can be anything from books, software, and services to electronics or clothing. You should consider what type of audience your website has so that you’re promoting something relevant to them.
Find Affiliate Networks or Programs
The next step is finding companies with the highest-paying affiliate programs.
This can be done by searching for “affiliate program” along with the name of a specific company in Google.
For a beginner affiliate marketer, however, it’s easier to get started in the affiliate industry by finding affiliate network sites like CJ Affiliate, the eBay partner network, or ClickBank.
These networks specialize in matching up businesses with affiliates who want to sell their products.
You can join the best affiliate programs that make sense for your current target audience.
If you’re a website about pets, for example, then consider joining affiliate programs with pet product companies. This way you’ll be promoting products that are relevant to your site’s audience and more likely to convert into sales.
When considering your plan to join affiliate programs, look for these three things:
- The quality of the products
- The commission rate
- The company’s customer service
If you’re not sure whether a program is a good fit, contact the affiliate manager and ask questions. They should be happy to help.
An affiliate partner program is usually beneficial for both companies involved.
When done correctly, partnerships can increase traffic to your site, sell more products, and create a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Final Thoughts
Affiliate and partner marketing include several similarities. Many differences exist as well.
As a company with a product to promote, your best bet is hiring a dedicated affiliate manager to find affiliates interested in making affiliate income.
These people will help you sell online courses, web hosting, membership sites, marketing tools, and all types of other products through influencer marketing and referral marketing.
If you’re an affiliate looking to generate income from your audience, find partner programs, affiliate platforms, and the best affiliate networks to generate revenue with.
These website owners will love the fact that you want to help them drive sales by promoting each affiliate link they provide to you.
Related Reading: Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It? CPA Marketing Why Start an Affiliate Marketing Business?
