Category: Network News

Updates from Affiliate Networks

Use gift guides to generate affiliate sales during the holidays

Especially during 2020, Q4 is a great time for publishers to use gift guides to increase affiliate commissions.

Last year on Awin and ShareASale, we tracked over $8.4 million publisher commissions across Cyber Weekend, with a 22% increase YoY. With lots of changes due to the global pandemic, consumers will be turning online for their holiday shopping needs more than ever before. This reinforces the importance of preparing ahead and finding new ways to provide value to your readers, making the holiday shopping and gift giving process as smooth for them as possible. The easier you make the process, the more your affiliate efforts will succeed throughout the entire quarter.

A great way to do this is by creating a gift guide. Essentially a gift guide removes the need to scour the internet to find the perfect gift for someone’s mom, dad, grandparent, friend, child’s teacher, new coworker…. because you’ve already done that and rounded up the best of the best for your readers to choose from.   

Unsure of where to start? We’ve outlined creating a gift guide in five easy steps.

Step 1: Choose the recipient

Before hunting for products, first you’ll have to know what type of consumer or theme you’re going to focus on. From there, you’ll be able to determine the type of gift guide you’re looking to create. Is budget fashion your readers’ passion? Try ‘Gift Guide for the Fashion Forward Under $50.’ Are you a lifestyle blogger? Consider ‘Gift Guide for the Ultimate Host.’ 

Step 2: Select the relevant products 

Once you have determined who your gift guide is for, you can start selecting the products and retailers to include. We recommend featuring six to 12 products in your gift guide, each picked specifically for the recipient. For example, ‘Gift Guide for the Ultimate Host‘ could showcase candles, serving platters, napkin holders, a cheeseboard, wine glasses, and a fun board game for the perfect night in with family. 

While finding products can sometimes be a challenge, don’t let that stop you. One easy way to identify the latest and greatest for the holidays is by browsing our 2020 Gift Guide or by looking at emails from various advertisers. If the highlighted products in the email newsletter aren’t exactly what you were looking for, you may discover inspiration to search for other ideas. Odds are most of the types of products and brands you want to feature have an affiliate program on Awin or ShareASale, if not both. 

Another great tip is to reach out to any merchants already converting on your site and ask for recommendations about popular seasonal products, anything that seems to be a popular gifting item, and upcoming new launches for the holidays.  It is important to note that some retailers won’t reveal any pertinent information until very close to Black Friday, so prepare for potential last-minute additions and edits.

Step 3: Build your blog post

After finalizing your theme and products and brands to be featured, it’s time to write your gift guide. When building your post, make sure to tell your audience a little bit about the brands and products and why you chose them. Share the honest pros and cons of each and summarize your experience and opinion. It’s okay if you don’t have personal experience for each item or retailer – these gift guides are suggestions, not necessarily recommendations. 

Lastly, it’s no secret that high-quality images and videos can make a big difference in a post’s engagement and boost SEO, so ensure you’re including a visual aid for each item, whether that be a product shot, lifestyle image, or video tutorial – just confirm you have permission from the retailer to include.

Step 4: Add in affiliate tracking links

You’ve put in a lot of time and effort to build your gift guide, make certain your hard work is rewarded and you receive a commission for every sale you drive by adding in affiliate tracking links. As with any affiliate post on your blog, confirm you’re following the disclosure guidelines outlined by the FTC.  

Once you’ve completed the above steps, you can be confident you’re putting your best gift guide foot forward for Q4 success. Don’t stop at just one! We recommend creating multiple guides, catered to your audience – perhaps one for your friends, one for kids, one for co-workers, one for pets… you get the idea. 

Step 5: Schedule an ongoing social campaign

To maximize your efforts, leverage your social platforms to continuously bring attention to your gift guides throughout the shopping season. Create an ongoing schedule of posts to go out on your social accounts, directing your followers to these posts. Use a variety of imagery and specific merchant callouts to vary your feed and increase traffic to those pages in the hopes of ultimately increasing your affiliate income.

Continue to visit the Awin and ShareASale blogs for additional resources to support your affiliate efforts during the holidays, including Q4 checklists, trend forecasts, seasonal newsletters, webinars and more.

The post Use gift guides to generate affiliate sales during the holidays appeared first on ShareASale Blog.

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How European affiliates can be the launchpad for your international expansion

Discover five reasons why promoting your brand in Europe via Awin Access can take your SME business to the next level.

America and Europe have long had a healthy trading relationship, and it’s one that has continued to improve over the years. During the last decade alone, US exports of goods and services to Europe have increased by over 80%, amounting to more than $273bn in 2019.

For micro-businesses and SMEs seeking to grow, Europe represents a huge opportunity; a continent packed with wealthy shoppers that are familiar with US brands and eager to try new products online.

Affiliate partners in European markets provide a ready-made launchpad from which you can extend your digital footprint and connect with these international audiences. On top of that, they’re all available to promote you to these shoppers on a performance basis, meaning you’re only paying for the sales they generate.

If you need more convincing as to why using affiliates to promote your brand in Europe is a savvy business move right now, consider these five points:

1. Europe offers a huge audience of online shoppers, many of whom speak English

Around 60% of Europe’s population (about 750m people) currently shop online, but there can be big disparities between individual markets; the UK is the most advanced with almost 90% of the population familiar with e-commerce, while other nations such as those in Eastern Europe are still growing from a relatively smaller percentage.

However, the pandemic has, as in many regions around the world, rapidly increased that penetration rate. Local lockdowns across Europe during the last few months have been a massive e-commerce accelerant, improving adoption rates across the continent and bringing millions of new customers online for the first time.

While the thought of marketing to this diverse audience which features some 24 different official languages (and 200 unofficial ones) might seem a bewildering prospect, the fact is around 40% of Europe’s population speaks English to a conversational level, making it hugely accessible to US businesses.  

2. European consumers are well versed in buying from non-domestic brands

Cross-border shopping is commonplace throughout Europe, with almost a quarter of online sales occurring across international borders according to recent research. That’s a trend that is expected to continue to grow as more of Europe’s shoppers come online and become familiar with buying from non-domestic brands.

Again, as with e-commerce penetration, there are big variations in how popular cross-border shopping is with different markets, and it’s an angle worth considering before targeting specific markets.

All of this cross-border activity is great news for international businesses marketing to Europe, though. Knowing that shoppers are already receptive to buying from non-domestic brands opens up the playing field substantially and means that local consumers are more likely to be interested in buying from your website.

3. Sales events like Black Friday are a great opportunity to get in front of new customers

Of all the American exports to Europe, Black Friday has to be one of the biggest and most successful. Q4 in Europe is dominated by the big sales event in much the same way as it is back home, with retailers and shoppers all seeking to capitalize on the increased activity that makes its way online.

For smaller US businesses seeking to get a foothold into a new international market, Black Friday provides the perfect window of opportunity.

Last year, Awin tracked over $400m in sales over the Cyber Weekend in Europe as millions of shoppers flocked online to buy a wide range of products and goods.

While Black Friday’s legacy as an in-store event in the US means that retailers here have only more recently adapted to it online, for Europeans Black Friday has been considered primarily as an e-commerce phenomenon ever since its introduction there.

As shoppers are due to shun locked down high streets and malls across Europe for this year’s event, we can expect the online opportunity over Black Friday to be bigger than ever in 2020.

If ever there was a moment to attempt to break into Europe, Black Friday is it.

4. Affiliates offer a great way of targeting niche audiences in Europe

One of the great strength of affiliates is their natural diversity. Regardless of how niche your product or service is, you’ll be able find an authoritative local expert publisher whose advice and guidance shoppers will seek before making their big purchase.

These partners can be found in every local market and across a range of different media.

From YouTube product reviewers to influential Instagram personalities, from big national news publishers to small, independent bloggers. These partners come in every shape and size, and they can play a pivotal role in the fortunes of advertisers entering a new market.

Matching up and collaborating with such affiliates can give you immediate access to the most relevant local shoppers in a market for your business and boost your profile in online spaces where it really counts.   

The variety of different media they cover will mean that you’re also able to feature in every phase of the purchase cycle, from inspiration and awareness for brand-building, to comparison and incentive spaces where you can confidently close sales and drive leads.

5. It’s never been simpler for SMEs to set up an affiliate program and start working with European partners

The launch of Awin Access’s entry-level solution makes tapping into the European consumer market with affiliate partnerships simpler than ever for SMEs. With zero setup costs and a slick, simple integration process, Awin Access makes starting an affiliate program as quick and easy as setting up a Google Adwords campaign.

The availability of Awin Access plugins across a wide variety of the most popular e-commerce platforms (including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop and Shopware) means you can be up and running in just a few clicks.

As the biggest network in Europe with access to thousands of affiliate partners across the continent, Awin offers a user-friendly interface that allows you to find the most relevant ones for your niche, so you can quickly choose the right partners for promoting your brand internationally.

In the current climate, with most big retailers stalling international expansion, nimbler online competitors can make the most of and capitalize on e-commerce’s natural lack of borders. Online shoppers across Europe can buy from brands operating anywhere in the world.

All it takes is the right set of partnerships to connect you with those new customers.

Take advantage today and let Awin Access take your SME business to the next level.

Or, if you’re interested in more specialized support for your international expansion,  please contact our team.  

The post How European affiliates can be the launchpad for your international expansion appeared first on ShareASale Blog.

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