IS AFFILIATE MARKETING DEAD… AGAIN?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions in our industry, and if we’re being honest, it gets old!

But not a year goes by without affiliate marketing being declared dead. Yet, here we are and affiliate marketing is still going strong.

Things have changed, of course.

In the “old” days marketers would create hundreds, even thousands, of low-effort sites purely for plastering affiliate ads and banners. Or they would run paid traffic straight to their affiliate links.

This kind of affiliate marketing is mostly dead and rarely profitable… But affiliate marketing as a whole is alive, kicking and growing.

The key to being a successful affiliate in 2022 is to build an internal audience and make sure the offers you promote match their interest.

As an affiliate marketer, you are primary in the people business. You need to build your email list, a social media following and an active readership.

Your product recommendations just happen to be the way you monetize your audience building.

In the same vein, people don’t follow you in order to receive promotions… They follow you because they want to hear what you have to say. That doesn’t mean you can’t sell to them… you should, we’re here to make money after all.

Worth noting is that one of the biggest trends right now is companies seeking out popular content creators and offering them sponsorships for product mentions. As affiliate markets, we need to take a cue from influencers and YouTubers.

The most successful affiliate marketers in 2023 will be content creators and relationship builders first and foremost.The extra effort creating valuable content, engaging videos and funny emails should pay off…

When it comes to “quick success” there has never been a substitution for “hard work”.

So no affiliate marketing is not dead… it has simply changed, just like it’s done before and will again.

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