Affiliate marketing works, there is no denying that. By 2022, it is expected to be a $8.2B industry. There are still brands, however, that are hesitant to give their brand’s integrity to a third party despite the many regulations and safeguards that have been put into place that protect
it. Some brands do not think about affiliate as a critical component of their overall marketing mix: due in large to not having in-house resources and expertise to tell them how to interpret it. They may also fail to see the value because they haven’t invested enough time into learning the channel. They’re often taxed with doing more with less, and unless affiliate marketing can prove its efficiency and automation, it becomes a drain on resources, and ultimately deprioritized.

Brands need the ability to track their dollars. They need to see where specific publishers contributed during the nonlinear customer journey and to analyze reports to make sense of what’s happening. This is where affiliate marketing actualizes itself as a manageable channel with real value and real metrics to back up that value. In other words, it’s time to bring affiliate marketing into the 21st century so it can be a modern, viable component of your overall marketing mix.

Because of the pay-for-performance model of pricing, affiliate still offers value that no other channel can. For that reason, it is a powerful channel both on its own, and when used to leverage other digital channels. Affiliate marketing should no longer be on its own, operating on the side with a spread-it-thin-everywhere strategy that hopes for the best outcome. Instead, brands should be able to incorporate affiliate marketing into a full cross-channel strategy where the right publishers are matched with the right advertisers to get intentional results, and every incremental touchpoint that influenced the customer should be rewarded for their contribution to the sale.

Download our eBook: The Rise and Fall of Affiliate Networks to learn exactly how this soon to be $8.2B industry fits into your digital marketing mix and why working with the right affiliate solution provider can make all the difference.