Affiliate marketing programs have increased in the recent past. More companies have established an online presence, most of whom have invested in affiliate marketing programs to increase online sales. These companies either work with affiliates directly or through digital marketing agencies following a structured affiliate marketing program. Essentially, an affiliate creates marketing content and attaches affiliate links that will lead potential clients to the product being promoted. If the affiliate sells the product or service as a result of their marketing efforts, he or she is rewarded a percentage of the sales, depending on the terms stipulated in the terms and conditions.
How Affiliate Marketing Works and How to Get Started
Businesses need customers and clients to make profits. Affiliate marketing is a form of online advertising in which the affiliate marketer introduces the product or service to his or her online following. He or she is then awarded a commission based on sales made following the affiliate marketing process. This process can be a referral or sale. Referrals earn pay per click or commission on sales. The commissions paid out to affiliates range between 2% to 50%. In addition, the commission on some products is paid regularly as opposed to a single payout. As such, you (the affiliate) will be paid each time your referred customer makes another purchase.
To get started, you need to identify an affiliate program you qualify for and sign up as an affiliate marketer. But before this, you have to identify your area of specialization or niche. Settling on a niche will allow you to build a name for yourself, resulting in a consistent following for your profile and audience for your posts. This is more so for influencers as opposed to website owners. Over time, you will have a reputation that precedes you and become an authority in your niche. An authority recommends products in specific niches to their following. Create high-quality content that’ll ensure you close as many deals as possible. You also need to evaluate market demand and assess the competition. Doing this will help you position yourself well in the market. It’ll also allow you to choose products and services that are likely to sell. As a consequence, you need to choose an affiliate program and select your preferred affiliate marketing strategy or method.
Affiliate Marketing Programs in SA
Now that you know what affiliate marketing is and how to get started, the next step is to find an affiliate program that is best for you. Here is a curated list of the top affiliate marketing programs in South Africa that you can choose from.
Fiverr Affiliate Program
Fiverr offers one of the most flexible affiliate programs in South Africa today. It offers multiple products for affiliates to promote at good commissions. Essentially, Fiverr is a reputable freelance site that links freelancers to clients or buyers. Buyers can find numerous freelance services starting from copywriting, film making to web design and coding. Therefore, when you sign up for the Fiverr affiliate program, you’ll be able to promote the platform by referring clients to the site for educational courses and freelance services. The commission offered to affiliates on this program is generous. You can earn as much as R2,000 on one conversion.
Wealthy Affiliate
Wealthy affiliate provides the resources and training needed for you to start and succeed at affiliate marketing. On this platform, newbies and pro affiliate marketers have the same chance of succeeding. Essentially, a wealthy affiliate will help you identify your niche and equip you with the resources needed to excel. You can easily create a profit-ready website in less than half a minute. The site will be fast, mobile-friendly, and ready to make you cash. In addition to this, wealthy affiliate offers reliable and safe web hosting that will make it easy for you to run and scale your online business with ease.
Wealthy affiliate trains their members by equipping them with the necessary skills needed to exploit opportunities in the market and attract lots of traffic to their website. These lessons cover recent traffic techniques and strategies for getting new high-quality customers.
The site offers both free and premium membership. When you sign up for the free membership, you’ll earn an R120 commission for every sale deal you close. The premium membership, on the other hand, pays better at R320 for every sale you close.
Kaspersky
Cybersecurity is becoming an ever-present concern in this world of growing internet connectivity. Kaspersky is focused on providing internet security as well as protection against localized threats. They tackle the growing threats from phishing attacks to ransomware attacks. Pcmag rates the internet security from Kaspersky at 4.5/5. If your niche has cybersecurity within it or is remotely related to it, you can benefit from Kasperky’s affiliate program. They use a tier earning system. Thus, your earnings will increase when you exceed their high sales volume threshold.
PureVPN
Like Kaspersky, pure VPN focuses on cybersecurity. According to techradar.com, “PureVPN has speedy WireGuard connections, some appealing features, and is fairly priced for what you get.” PureVPN affiliate program offers some of the best commissions and quick payouts in South Africa today. The site’s monthly plans give you a 100% flat commission. Other plans give 40% and an additional 35% recurring income or commission for life. The rewards are also generous. If you perform well, you will be rewarded handsomely as an appreciation by the site.
PureVPN has quick payouts and two-tier earnings. Unlike other programs, you won’t have to wait for long for your earnings to be processed. Instead, the amount you’ve earned is processed and sent in a short time. To increase your earnings and payouts, you can use the two-tier program offered by the site to create additional revenue streams. This system allows you to invite affiliates to the site’s affiliate program and earn a commission for every successful invite.
The site also makes it easy for you to increase conversion by providing dedicated managers to affiliates. These managers will offer you attractive coupons and deals that you can use for better conversions. You’ll also get real-time tracking through a smart dashboard. This allows you to keep tabs on all your sales, active affiliate links, and referral traffic in real-time.
To qualify for this affiliate program, you need to have a significant following on online platforms. Influencers from Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch can also join the program. Crypto communities and Telegram users can also join the affiliate program.
BidorBuy
As an authority, people will want to buy what you recommend in your niche. It would be wise to take advantage of this and partner with a formidable online retail store like BidorBuy. All sales by your recommendations can make you a small earning if you use your affiliate link to your advantage. Having it available on your profile, website, or posts and publications will increase your chances of making sales.
BidorBuy affiliate program pays threefold. They pay for clicks that end up in successful bids, for those that lead to confirmed registered users, and for every person they lead to sign up for their BidorBuy Selling Seminar. They pay between R 40 and R 100 monthly for every confirmed registered user you recommend them to. A confirmed registered user is one who signs up and makes a bid within 60 days. Clicks, on the other hand, get you between R 0.4 and R 1 each, aggregated monthly. These payouts use a tier system. Consequently, you earn more for a larger group of conversions. BidorBuy affiliate program is open to all registered users.
Ever Beauty
Ever Beauty is a store that sells high-quality cosmetics at an affordable price. Bloggers, publishers, and influencers with a following who have an interest in beauty products can benefit from their affiliate program. Ever Beauty pays 10% as either cash or online store credits for all completed sales from your referral link. These are aggregated monthly. In addition, they will provide you with marketing materials to link to your created marketing content. Lastly, affiliates get a discount of 10% on all online purchases made at Ever Beauty.
4aKid
4aKid is a retailer that sells products for babies and children. It won Best Baby Products & Toys Wholesale Retailer in 2019 in South Africa and the African Excellence Customer Services Satisfaction Award 2019 by AI Publishing and MEA Markets. It was also awarded the Best Online Baby Product Wholesaler for 2020 in South Africa in the 2020 African Excellence Awards. It pays affiliates commissions for every direct purchase from the affiliate link. The commission paid is 20% exclusive of VAT. To join their affiliate program, visit their affiliate portal.
Faithful to Nature
Faithful to Nature is a retailer that focuses on selling products to improve health. It sells organic alternatives to foodstuff, nutrient supplements, and skin care products. The South African retailer was the first African retailer to achieve the B Corporation certification for their contribution to solving social and environmental problems. If you have an audience or a following who are into health and fitness, the Faithful to Nature affiliate program can help you generate considerable income. Their default commission on sales is 7%, while their maximum commission is 15%. They also pay referral clicks. Influencers, bloggers, and publishers can benefit from an affiliate program with this retailer.
USN Affiliate program
Another health and fitness business that has a decent referral program is Ultimate Sports Nutrition (USN). USN is a leading supplement supplier in the country. Just like Faithful to Nature, USN is a South African-born company. It has built an international reputation by providing high-quality supplements. USN products are readily available in most South African retailers and online through the USN sites. The USN online stores have a tiered referral program that allows affiliates to earn more cash with every unit sale increase they make. The company’s referral commission begins at 5% and increases progressively to a maximum of 10%. To use this referral program, affiliates can create high-quality blog posts reviewing the USN products such as protein supplements and attach affiliate links to the blog posts.
Bluehost
Bluehost is among the three web hosting service providers recommended by WordPress for its quality WordPress web hosting plans and competitive pricing. It is a good choice for clients looking for long-term web hosting plans. For this reason, it is easy to recommend. No matter the niche, almost every business needs a website these days. If you use Bluehost, you can pitch its top-of-the-class web hosting services to your audience or following. Through their impact radius affiliate program, you’ll earn $65 for every referral who purchases the 12, 24, or 36-month plans.
In Summary
Affiliate marketing programs are some of the best ways to make a significant fortune online. Content creators typically get a following online as they advance in their careers, creating the opportunity for new revenue in marketing. Everyone needs something at some time. Making sales from products or services is not rocket science. In fact, the best way to make sales is to focus on the people who watch or read the content you create. This is what a niche is. Popular niches include entertainment, health and wellbeing, lifestyle, beauty and fashion, internet and technology, personal finance, and even e-commerce.
A person with a large following in any of these niches is known in affiliate marketing as an authority. An authority is a highly sought-after marketer by businesses in specific niches. Businesses can seek out partnerships on posts to your profile if you are an authority. These partnerships usually mean more revenue for you because they are sponsored by the businesses.
Although, before you get enough recognition to attract sponsorships, you will have to put up with a long period of zero earning. These are marked by a high investment of time and money. In this case, more money means less time because you are a step ahead in terms of equipment, personnel, and infrastructure. If you can buy established websites or profiles, it gives you a head start. With the help of the programs in this article, you should be able to make a career out of affiliate marketing.
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