“Yesterday, without much effort, I had 1,300 PLN in my account” – nothing like this sentence is so quickly associated with affiliate marketing. It has been an integral part of the online space for several decades, but still few people know what it actually is. What’s more, its use is still gaining in importance and turns out to be a bull’s eye for many online businesses. Affiliation is the true art of internet marketing.

What is affiliate marketing?

The origins of affiliate marketing date back to the 90s of the twentieth century. Its most famous advocate is Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. The very word affiliation from the Latin language means exactly us synonyms, inclusion in the family. In practice, affiliate marketing is based on establishing cooperation of one or more individuals seeking mutual benefits. The concept of affiliate marketing is about the relationship of two business parties. One of them is the advertiser offering the product, the other – the publisher responsible for its promotion. The relationships of the two business parties are most often regulated by an affiliate network.

How does the publisher and advertiser work together?

The publisher uses their online visibility and authority developed in a given field to increase the conversion of the website and the level of sales of the advertiser. It is important that the niche in which the publisher operates is closely related to the type of advertiser’s product. After joining a selected campaign, the publisher receives an affiliate link, thanks to which recipients can find the promoted product. It allows you to measure the effectiveness of the campaign. On the basis of the postback, i.e. detailed information about the generated leads, the publisher receives remuneration.

How to get started in affiliate marketing?

The adventure with affiliation begins when you join the selected affiliate network. For this purpose, it is necessary to fill in the registration form and receive a positive consideration by the network administrator. If you are taking your first steps in affiliate marketing, it is extremely important to fully understand the laws that govern it. Usually, a properly selected affiliate network watches over it - regardless of whether you plan to play the role of an advertiser or publisher.

Media buying models

The advertiser has the right to decide on the basis of the settlement with the publisher. The preferred media purchasing models may differ slightly by industry. There are several basic models in the computer games industry. The most common are:

• CPA (Cost Per Action) - remuneration will be awarded to the publisher if the user of the computer game performs the activity specified in the partner program. It is a model that provides a high caloric conversion, but the commission intended for the publisher is also relatively high.
• CPL (Cost Per Lead) - this model resembles CPA, but in the affiliate program in this case. Winning a potential customer usually means filling out a registration form using an e-mail address (SOI) without or with confirmation (DOI).
• CPI (Cost Per Install) - conversion is completed when the user installs the application/mobile game.

The popular models also include:

• CPP (Cost Per Play) - the end-user should plays the game, may mean registering, downloading or starting a game.
• CPS (Cost Per Sale) - conversion is completed when the end-user makes a purchase within the promoted website. The publisher receives commission from the sum of money spent by the user, or receives a fixed amount previously agreed with the advertiser.

Affiliate marketing in the computer games industry

By 2025, the computer games industry is expected to be worth $ 300 billion. Computer games are sold not only for computers, but also for consoles and smartphones. The passion of gamer lovers is extremely fierce and contagious. Moreover, many researchers believe the gaming industry reaches both frugal consumers and those with greater financial possibilities. This is one of the reasons why affiliate marketing is so profitable in this industry.

How to choose the right affiliate network?

If you are just starting your career in affiliate marketing, make sure that the selected affiliate network provides you with the appropriate implementation process and substantive support. In affiliation of computer games, such a network is, inter alia, Adtogame.com. We offer not only high flexibility of cooperation and support of affiliate managers, but also an extensive base of educational materials. Remember that the level of knowledge about affiliate marketing translates into the amount of generated income.

6 essential benefits of affiliate marketing

• Remote work - the ability to earn money from anywhere in the world is a recognizable feature of affiliate marketing. This fact is synonymous with comfort and saves time and money.
• Passive income - this means combining passion with the possibility of earning. If you would recommend selected products to others, even for free, why not pay for it?
• Measurability of results - the ability to accurately analyze the effects of an affiliate marketing campaign allows you to optimize it. This is one of the reasons why affiliate marketing is one of the most effective forms of product promotion.
• Low market entry threshold - entering the affiliate market does not require specialist knowledge. The most important thing is successively gaining experience.
• No investment to start - joining the affiliate network and starting the promotion of the advertiser's products costs nothing at all. You only pay for internet and electronic equipment.
• Unlimited development opportunities - the affiliate marketing strategy can be continuously optimized and achieve better and better results. There is actually no upper ceiling in this case.

Affiliate marketing for advertisers

The advertiser saves time and money by ordering the promotion of the affiliate network's products. Reaching selected target groups on his own is usually much more expensive, and sometimes even impossible. The benefits of joining the affiliate network by the advertiser include:

• access to verified and dedicated groups of publishers,
• technical facilities that ensure transparency of cooperation with the publisher and accurate measurement of the results generated by them,
• no need to contact the publisher directly,
• support for affiliate managers in case of doubts or the need to solve problems,
• continuous optimization of the campaign based on detailed statistics.

Affiliate marketing in the context of the publisher

The primary task of the publisher is to promote the product or group of products offered by the advertiser. On the basis of the generated conversion, he receives a commission in the form of a commission. Measurement of results is possible thanks to affiliate links that lead recipients to the advertiser's domain or subdomain. The publisher belonging to the affiliate network can choose the affiliate program and the product to be promoted. It is very important that the specificity of the product corresponds to the subject of the medium through which it contacts the recipients. The publisher should be defined by three basic words: passion, credibility, commitment.

The future of affiliate marketing

Currently, affiliate marketing is at its peak of popularity. What's more, everything also indicates that he has no intention of leaving it. According to David Vogelpohl, Vice President of WP Engine's Internet Strategy, the current image of affiliate marketing has undoubtedly been influenced by the coronavirus pandemic and the associated retail crisis. Affiliate marketing will be an increasingly important element of marketing strategies in the next 5 years, inter alia, by gradually reducing the entry threshold. The United States is a prime example of this. The king of affiliation has so far generated approximately $ 6.8 billion annually in the affiliate market. It is estimated that by the end of 2022 this value will increase to the level of 8.2 billion. Affiliate marketing is the primary source of revenue for the publisher, right after Google AdSense. In the following years, it may even take 1st place in this context. The results of Google Trends also indicate a growing interest in affiliate marketing. In June 2021, affiliate marketing reached its peak of popularity (100). For comparison, in January 2017 its value was only 24.

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

• What is affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing is a relationship of two or more business parties that seek mutual benefit. One of them is the advertiser offering the product, the other is the publisher responsible for its promotion. Settlement between affiliate parties is based on the efficiency model.
• Can you make money from affiliate marketing? Yes, but you need to know how to do it. Well-known affiliate networks offer guides and knowledge on this topic. Higher income can also be generated on the basis of personal experience.
• How to choose a good affiliate network? A good affiliate network offers its publishers a variety of affiliate program categories, an excellent support system and help in achieving better and better results. Advertisers can count on extensive publisher databases, tools for monitoring the effects of the campaign and supervising settlements with publishers. In the computer games industry, Adtogame.com is such a network.
• What is worth remembering when conducting affiliate marketing, and what is often forgotten? An important issue that is often forgotten by both publishers and advertisers is the optimization of the website in terms of search engine algorithms. However, it is a great way to effectively generate leads in an organic way. It is worth paying attention to the technical optimization of the advertiser's website and the correct selection of keywords in the communication carried out by publishers.
• Is internet marketing a form of passive income? Yes, if the publisher promoting the product has a well-developed and stable group of recipients. It happens, however, that publishers build their communities from the moment they start promoting a product. Then his communication is much more involved and demanding work.
• What are the latest trends in affiliate marketing? The development of affiliate marketing was undoubtedly influenced by the coronavirus pandemic and the growing importance of Tik Toka, video content, influencer marketing and multichannel. What's more, there will be a noticeable increase in voice searches, an increase in the importance of website mobility and responsiveness.
• Which country is best for affiliate marketing and brings the most revenue? USA, Japan and Germany. The United States has an affiliate marketing industry worth $ 6.8 billion.
• What should an affiliate marketing strategy include? The affiliate marketing strategy should take into account the current trends in this area, the potential of social media and influencers, e-mail marketing, live webinars, advertising about discounts.
• What are the benefits of affiliate marketing? In affiliate marketing, commission is only paid for sales. This means that there is minimal risk of no return on investment (ROI). Affiliate marketing also means multi-channel communication thanks to publishers at relatively low cost. Transparency and measurability of affiliate activities enable continuous optimization of the strategy and increase in costs. The possibility of joining the affiliate group supports the comprehensive customer service.
• What's the difference between affiliate and performance marketing? Affiliate marketing is one type of performance marketing. In his case, the remuneration is paid only for the results achieved.