Understanding the basics of affiliate marketing
Before embarking on this exciting adventure, it’s important to understand exactly what you’re getting into. You’ve probably heard of influencer campaigns that rely on one-off publications. With affiliate marketing, the emphasis is on long-term relationships with content creators. And long-term means profit!
One of the main reasons why long-term contracts are created with affiliate marketing is because of the motivation this strategy generates among affiliates. Affiliates are motivated by the commissions they can earn on every sale they make. As a result, not only promotions, but above all sales, increase. As an added bonus, your e-commerce business gains visibility and notoriety among an ever-growing and diversifying audience.
In other words, affiliate marketing, which is based on pay-for-performance, can enable you to maximize your return on investment and generate ongoing income. It’s a strategy that offers great long-term promise. But, like any marketing strategy, it needs to be well prepared.
Casaneo will guide you step-by-step through the launch of your first affiliate campaign. Contact us today and seize the opportunity.
How to launch an affiliation campaign in 5 steps?
Step 1: Evaluate your affiliate program
The first step is to determine whether an affiliate campaign with influencers is right for your online store. You’ll need to assess a number of factors to ensure that your marketing strategy delivers the desired results.
Clarify your promotional objectives
The first step in any marketing strategy is to determine the goals you want to achieve by 2025. Do you want to become better known? Want to boost your sales? Looking to win new customers? Affiliate marketing can help you achieve these goals.
Knowing these goals will help you determine :
- Publishers to work with
- The communication tools you’ll use
- The remuneration method (CPC, CPL, CPA, etc.) that guarantees the best return on investment.
Make sure you have the necessary resources
Managing an affiliate program requires significant resources. This includes the logistics of sending products, creating promotional codes, tracking links and managing payments. A dedicated team or specialized tools are essential to effectively manage these aspects. Without a solid organization, you run the risk of encountering difficulties that can undermine the performance of your affiliate program with influencers.
Offer attractive incentives
Affiliates need to be motivated to promote your products. So you need to look at setting up commission-based incentives. These can be cash payments or credits to their account. Affiliates are more likely to invest time and effort if the rewards are clear and attractive. Be sure to structure your incentives to encourage performance and build loyalty.
Invest time in relationships
The success of an affiliate program with influencers in 2025 often hinges on the quality of your relationship with your affiliates. Affiliates perform best when they feel connected to your brand and receive ongoing support from you. So take the time to strengthen these relationships through regular communication, advice and proactive support. An engaged, well-informed affiliate is a valuable asset to your program.
Analyze your competitors’ strategies
Observing your competitors can provide valuable insights into the viability of affiliate programs in your sector. Are your direct competitors running successful affiliate campaigns with influencers? This may mean that this strategy works well in your field. This comparative analysis also enables you to understand current trends and adjust your approach to stay competitive.
Having trouble getting to grips with affiliate marketing? Make an appointment with our experts. Together, we’ll make your business grow.
Step 2: Choose the right influential partners
Surely you already know what we mean by influencers? It’s a growing group of individuals who have mastered all the tricks of the trade when it comes to creating compelling content that engages their community. Well, now! It’s time you started collaborating with them when you launch your marketing campaign in 2025.
Each creator has his or her own style, content type, target audience and reputation. So you need to choose the right one for your brand. To get started, we recommend inviting a wide range of creators to join the campaign. Then adjust your strategy according to their responses.
For the first three months, target 75 to 100 micro-influencers and mid-level influential customers. You can also start with 15 to 20 content creators with a common audience. A potential customer who sees your brand repeatedly will be more inclined to engage.
Who to choose?
There are three categories of effective influencers for e-tailers:
- Customers: your most engaged customers are your best ambassadors for 2025. Although their audience remains limited, their influence is powerful. Remember that over 50% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family.
- Nano and micro-influencers: with a subscriber base generally under 100,000, these creators have a highly engaged audience that’s very likely to buy. Offer them free products and an attractive commission structure to attract them.
- Macro-influencers: these include celebrities and creators with large followings. They offer considerable reach due to their large audience. Although their partnerships are costly in terms of commissions, their vast audience minimizes risk and maximizes visibility.
How do you find these influencers?
Manual searches
Start with a manual search to find the right influencers. Scour your social networks to identify existing customers who follow relevant influencers. Also check tagged photos and inboxes. This method allows you to identify genuine influencers who are already engaged with your brand.
Search engines
Influencer search engines are powerful tools for marketers. They prevent you from coming across influencers involved in fraudulent activities such as buying fake subscribers or comments. These search engines, like Google, make it easy to identify legitimate, committed influencers. So you can find profiles that are genuine and relevant to your campaign.
Integrate with e-commerce stores
By integrating with e-commerce stores like Shopify, you can identify your most influential customers. These platforms provide important information such as your customers’ spend, number of subscribers and frequency of mentions. This means you can more quickly and easily identify potential brand ambassadors directly among your existing customers.
Brand landing pages
Branded landing pages offer influencers, your loyal customers and brand advocates the opportunity to become affiliates. This method allows you to collect applications and evaluate them before accepting them into your program. It’s an effective way of ensuring that only the most suitable candidates join your ranks. In this way, you can expand your network of influencers in a controlled and efficient way.
Affiliation platforms
Working alone on the quest for new partnerships can quickly become a daunting task. That’s why we strongly recommend that you work with a trusted partner, such as an affiliate marketing platform, to optimize your marketing campaign in 2025.
Platforms like Casaneo are specialized solutions that put brands and advertisers in touch with affiliates who match their desired profiles. Focusing on authenticity and engagement, this type of platform gives you access to quality influencers. They also facilitate the selection and engagement process, and guarantee a fruitful collaboration.
Have you opened an online boutique dedicated to fashion or homeware? No need to look for influencers! Register directly on the Casaneo platform to easily manage your affiliate program.
