The role of affiliate marketing in selling digital products

Need to sell more?

There are countless strategies that can increase an online business's sales. Internal sales, funnels, launches… and, on top of that, affiliate marketing.

This strategy, one of the most profitable for marketplaces and online businesses, is still frowned upon by some digital product creators. But there's no reason for that. In this article, the team of experts at Cademí, Brazil's first Member Hub, will show you the role of affiliate marketing in selling digital products and help you understand:

• What affiliate marketing is
• Why invest in affiliate marketing
• How much to pay affiliates
• How to choose the best affiliates
• Other strategies to sell more

What is affiliate marketing

To start, it's important to understand what affiliate marketing is.

In short, it's a digital marketing strategy that started in the '90s at Amazon. Today, it's widely used by marketplaces and online businesses as a way to expand their reach and, as a result, their authority and sales.

That's because when you open your business to affiliates, you multiply the number of voices promoting and selling your products. In return, you offer a commission on every sale made.

If there are no sales, you don't pay the affiliate anything.

Why invest in affiliate marketing

Although it started in e-commerce, affiliate marketing became popular in the digital product market. That happened because of shared interests. On one side, digital product creators who wanted to amplify their message and, on the other, affiliates looking for products in demand.

The digital product sector has seen substantial growth for years. It's been driven both by advances in technology and by the COVID-19 pandemic, which increased demand for online education in Brazil.

In this scenario, having more salespeople is a great choice, because it will help you:

• Have even more specialized content;
• Increase the reach of your content;
• Lower your customer acquisition cost (CAC), by a lot;
• Boost your credibility;
• Reach new audiences faster and with controlled costs;

Even if affiliates don't sell, or sell only a little, your business will benefit. It's similar to traditional word of mouth or handing out flyers, but more targeted and efficient.

+ ROAS vs. ROI: what's the difference between these metrics?

For that, it's important to choose your affiliates and, whenever possible, prepare them. You can do this with manuals explaining your product and also guides on what can and can't be done when promoting it.

How much to pay affiliates

For marketplaces, the commission is usually around 15%.

But for digital product creators, there's no set amount. On the platforms, you can choose whether or not to work with affiliates and also the percentage you'll pay.

You can also decide who can or can't be your affiliate through segmentation. For example, you can choose affiliates who are experts in your niche or who have already reached a certain revenue. But it's important to understand that the more conditions you set, the higher the commission you'll need to pay, since these will be more specialized affiliates.

How to choose the best affiliates

As explained, you can open your product to all affiliates or restrict it based on criteria and approve them manually.

That's the option Cademí's experts recommend, because it gives you full control over the affiliates' credibility and the quality of the content they'll create about your product.

Choosing the right affiliates to promote a digital product is essential to get good sales results and strengthen your brand. Here are some criteria to consider when selecting affiliates:

• Relevance and alignment with your target audience;
• Authority;
• Engagement;
• Experience;
• Ethics;

In general, it's important to check their track record to make sure the person has a good reputation. After all, partnering with someone who does poor work can bring the opposite of the results you expect.

Once you've chosen your affiliates, it's also important to prepare them to talk about your digital product clearly. At this point, it's worth providing materials like a good product description (which can even be an e-book), usage and persona guides, and even examples of ad creatives you like and that convert.

Other strategies to sell more

As you've probably noticed, the role of affiliate marketing in selling digital products is to help you expand your online presence and sell more.

But it's not the only way to increase your revenue.

It's also important for your business to have its own sales strategies. So remember to invest in tools like Google and Meta Ads, as well as SEO, inbound marketing, and social media content. And finally, to have the right tools for internal sales.

For the latter, Cademí can help you with its exclusive diamond funnel. Schedule a strategy call to learn about the feature behind the skyrocketing sales of the market's biggest experts.