How to Use Email Marketing to Boost Your Affiliate Program Income

With everybody going social these days, email marketing can seem a bit old hat. Is there really still a place for it if you’re looking to make a living through joining an affiliate program?

In a word, yes.

The real question you should be asking is this: how can you make email marketing work to increase your affiliate program earnings? In this blog we’re going to show you how to do just that.

Ensure that your chosen format is visible

Let’s start with the blindingly obvious. If you want a potential customer to respond to your email, it doesn’t matter how amazing the content is, if they can’t read it. Many browser-based email providers struggle to display heavy HTML content. This means that your recipients will just receive a blank. It is frustrating and will impact on your conversion rates. So, if you want the product or service offered by your affiliate partnership program seen, make your emails eye-catching, but not too data-heavy.

Work on the power of attraction

So, this is probably your next question: if emails shouldn’t be too data heavy, should we just stick to plain text? Not necessarily. If you can strike the HTLM balance and make sure that your emails are seen, then go for it. However, don’t underestimate the power of the written word.

Plain emails are often taken more seriously than those peppered with pictures. Why? Because the SPAM-bots don’t pick them up, and recipients think that you have something important to say. Just make sure that your text is well written, cleverly drawing your readers towards the links provided by your affiliate network.

Encourage interactivity

In 2017, 27% of email marketers favoured interactivity, finding that it increased sales conversion rates by 73%. What do we mean by interactivity? Well, anything that encourages your recipient to get involved with the brand, so quizzes, competitions, surveys, image galleries, take your pick.

Be mobile friendly

You don’t need us to tell you that many people now use their phones to check their email. If content is slow to load or doesn’t comfortably fit a mobile/tablet screen, you’ll miss out on around half of your intended audience.

Make it personal

The best way to gain traffic for your online affiliate program is to make your readers think that you’re talking to them. You can use AI (artificial intelligence) to personalise and find the right times to send according to your reader’s habits. Or tailor your content to suit different sectors of your audience – men/women/older/younger. You can make sure that recipient’s names are used. Or, ideally, do all three. If you can make people think, at some level, that this email is especially for them – here’s your exclusive discount code! – they’re more likely to engage with your promotions, and you’re more likely to gain from your affiliate program.

Internet marketing affiliate programs are only a good source of income if you make them work for you. Some people have literally made millions through working with affiliate programs. And you can too. It’s just a case of using the tools that are available to you. Email marketing is one of them.