There’s a few reasons why affiliate marketing is important. It’s an important way for businesses to promote their products at low cost; they only pay third party referrers when a sale is generated. Affiliates take on the burden of marketing for many products and services online. In exchange they are paid for referring sales on a performance related basis. This is important for affiliates themselves. It can give them a means to generate an independent income from the internet.
Why Affiliate Marketing Is Important – Job Dissatisfaction
For those struggling in 9 to 5 jobs, affiliate marketing is a means to escape. Affiliates can build an income which can completely replace their existing salary from employment. This is pretty important for those who are miserable at their work, or feel trapped working with no interest in what they do.
A recent Gallop poll showed than many workers were not engaged at their jobs. Although many workers still show up for work, putting time in, they are not passionate about work or psychologically engaged with it.
Job Losses & Automation
For the people disengaged in what they do, affiliate marketing offers an alternative way to work. It can give people an opportunity to not only create a new income, but also work flexibly around existing commitments and ties.
Jobs lost since 2020 have been replaced by robots at an alarming rate, according to Time magazine. “..the drive to replace humans with machinery is accelerating as companies struggle to avoid workplace infections of COVID-19 and to keep operating costs low.”
Just where will people be able to earn an income once they lose their livelihoods? Affiliate marketing is an answer. Although affiliate marketing is different to a job, more people are discovering it and earning from it.
For Businesses
Businesses use affiliate marketers because it’s much cheaper than paying for advertising. When a business runs an advert, they take a risk that they’ll pay out more in advertising costs than they’ll make in revenue from that particular advert. Advertising can be expensive and risky.
But if a business uses affiliate marketing to promote their efforts, they take no risk because they only pay the affiliate when they refer a sale. So the advertising risk is taken solely by the affiliate. While this isn’t so good for affiliates, (or at least for those who aren’t making sales), it works for businesses.
So businesses will continue to use affiliate marketing to promote themselves online. It’s cheap and effective and they don’t pay unless they acquire a customer! So basically businesses pay affiliates a percentage of the sale price to acquire a customer, or close a sale.
Can Affiliate Marketing Replace Your Income?
Affiliate marketing, is it profitable? Affiliate marketing is a performance related business model in which the affiliate gets paid for referrals. Make a sale and you earn a commission. But without consistent sales, it’s hard to make a living from affiliate marketing. So learning how to make sales online should be a priority for any affiliate. Once they learn this skill, they have the ability to make many more, and replace their income. But this takes some time and dedication to do.
For those who are dedicated, affiliate marketing can give them a very good income. But not only that; building an independent income online also gives you a lot of freedom and flexibility. You can live anywhere, choose your own working hours and there’s no income cap on what you can earn. For many, affiliate marketing offers an opportunity which can never be matched with a regular employment salary.
Affiliate marketing can replace your income. But it’s not an easy thing to learn and you’ll need to stick at it for some time before you can make it work. Access a free video series here to learn more.
Purpose & Meaning
Not everyone cares about working by the beach on their laptops and building a millionaire lifestyle. Most people simply want enough to manage, pay their bills and live without fear. This, I think, is one of the main reasons why affiliate marketing is important. It offers everyone an opportunity to better themselves and earn an income which relates to their efforts.
For those disengaged in their jobs, working meaningless careers which they have long since lost interest in, working online gives them hope and purpose. Even in the event of a universal basic income being commonplace, this doesn’t replace meaning and purpose.
Will job losses continue to be replaced by automation in the future? Things look bleak if you’re unable to earn an income independently. It places your interests with those who support you. This can worsen matters in the long run, especially considering the state of play at the moment.
Summary
Affiliate marketing is important for business owners who use affiliates to help sell their products. They have less risk with using affiliates to promote their products and services than they would using advertising. So affiliate marketing will continue to be used by businesses into the long distance future.
For the affiliates themselves, the ability to earn independently from a job or a boss allows a lot of freedom: time freedom, work flexibility and financial freedom. For those trapped in a job they hate, affiliate marketing can give them hope and a way out of meaningless activity and low wages.
Moving towards greater automation in business means many more jobs will be replaced in the coming years. Even with a universal basic income, if it comes about, there will likely be a lot of mental health issues because people need purpose not just money! Affiliate marketing can fill this need for those who pursue it.
Learn more about affiliate marketing: access a free video series here.