Reasons affiliate marketing is the future are:
- Affiliate marketing is low-risk.
- Affiliate marketing can deliver a high reward and a scalable income.
- Affiliate marketing helps businesses build brand awareness and drive traffic.
- Affiliate marketers profit from maximizing influencer and video marketing.
- Affiliate marketing has a flexible schedule.
The affiliate marketing industry’s investment hit $71 billion in 2021, according to the Performance Marketing Association’s 2022 Performance Marketing Industry Study. This shows how fast the affiliate marketing industry is growing. Because of high e-commerce sales, businesses are switching to affiliate marketing as their main channel for online advertising.
Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money online because of the rise of digitalization and local businesses. In fact, the forecasted compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of affiliate marketing is 7.7% from 2022 to 2030, as per Astute Analytica’s 2022 Market Research Report. This is why potential affiliates and businesses worldwide have a bright future in affiliate marketing. However, knowing the factors that make affiliate marketing profitable in the years to come is pivotal.
In this article, we’ll cover the 5 undeniable reasons affiliate marketing is the future, why this business model is booming in the 21st century, and the pros and cons of affiliate marketing in 2024. Getting the latest updates on the affiliate marketing industry’s performance is key to succeeding as an affiliate marketer.
5 Undeniable Reasons Why Affiliate Marketing is the Future
1. Affiliate Marketing is Low-Risk.
Affiliate marketing is low-risk since joining affiliate programs is completely free. This is the main reason online marketers venture into this business model. You don’t need to invest a significant amount of capital to build your affiliate marketing business. You can join affiliate networks like Amazon Associates, CJ Affiliate, or Awin to simplify the process of finding affiliate products. This lets you choose affiliate partners or programs that you want. However, be vigilant about potential affiliate scams and fraud like pay-to-join program schemes.
Remember to research the affiliate network or program first and ensure they are reputable and trustworthy. This business model has a low risk because you don’t need money to start your affiliate marketing journey, but has massive monetary rewards.
2. Affiliate Marketing Can Deliver a High Reward and a Scalable Income.
Affiliate marketers earn an average of $1,000-$10,000 monthly, according to an article by Niall Roche in Authority Hacker. This amount is scalable, depending on your affiliate marketing strategy, content creation skills, and customer handling capabilities. Every year, a marketer’s potential affiliate income increases because of the uptrend in affiliate programs and potential customers in the market.
Statista unveiled that affiliate marketing spending by U.S. retailers reached $5.4 billion in 2017. And, data from Influencer Marketing Hub forecasts the affiliate marketing spending to be at $15.7 billion in 2024. This means affiliate marketers can get higher rewards and increased income potential in 2024 and in the years to come, especially with the growing trend in flexible work arrangements and businesses creating affiliate programs.
3. Affiliate Marketing Helps Businesses Build Brand Awareness and Drive Traffic.
Datanyze’s latest Affiliate Networks Market Share Report validates the fact that 112,113 companies are using affiliate marketing. Big and small businesses leverage affiliate marketers to drive traffic, improve brand awareness, and expand their market reach. This allows them to build trust and credibility for their potential customers. Because of this, about 80% of brands globally have created an affiliate marketing program and increased their sales. And, this upsurge isn’t stopping anytime soon.
Alternatively, affiliate marketers benefit from the rise in businesses venturing into affiliate marketing. This leads to more potential affiliate partners and affiliate products. Thus, you can join more affiliate marketing programs. By utilizing social media, influencer, and video marketing, you can also bump up your monthly sales and revenue.
4. Affiliate Marketers Profit From Maximizing Influencer and Video Marketing.
According to BloggingX, 67% of affiliate marketers attribute their main traffic source to social media. Another study by the University of Connecticut revealed that 70% of individuals increased their social media use in 2020 during the pandemic, which rose to 89% in 2021. Because of this, affiliate marketers saw an opportunity to utilize social media platforms and influencer marketing to boost their affiliate marketing strategies.
Most affiliates turned to social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to capture their target audience’s interest. It helped them increase website traffic, online conversions, and affiliate revenue. This affiliate marketing trend led to the rise of written and video content, which made influencer marketing (like blogging and vlogging) a critical aspect of the affiliate marketing industry. Compared to traditional advertising, modern content marketing is easier to set up, launch, and monitor. Affiliate marketers use online platforms like WordPress, Wix, and Tumblr for building websites, while apps like YouTube and TikTok help vloggers gain a solid following online. These online marketing approaches allow content creators to advertise their affiliate partner’s products and services creatively and grow their reach.
Besides organic marketing campaigns, advertisers use paid ads like Google Ads to grab their potential customers’ interest. According to Semrush, 92% of content marketers use blogs to strengthen their digital marketing strategy. Correspondingly, Wyzowl’s 2024 Video Marketing Statistics study showed that 91% of marketers saw a significant increase in traffic because of video marketing. Video, social media, and influencer marketing help you grow your affiliate partnerships by building online traction for the brands you promote.
5. Affiliate Marketing Has a Flexible Schedule.
Affiliate marketing offers work schedule flexibility because you can do it anytime and anywhere. As per Gitnux’s Flexible Work Statistics and Trends in 2024, 80% of job seekers consider this factor crucial in choosing a job. That’s why potential affiliates choose this business model. You can do it while working part-time or full-time, or even as a student.
Individuals nowadays prefer working from home or anywhere. In fact, researchers from Ladders have predicted this trend in their December 2021 article. They stated that about 25% of professional jobs in the Northern U.S. will be remote by the end of 2022. This motivated potential affiliates to consider affiliate marketing. Besides having low startup costs to worry about, this flexibility allows online entrepreneurs to still do their hobbies, run a business, or get an extra job.
Why is Affiliate Marketing Booming in the 21st Century and Beyond?
Affiliate marketing is booming in the 21st century and beyond because of the significant increase in online shoppers. Maryia Fokina’s article about Online Shopping Statistics: Ecommerce Trends for 2024 on Tidio states that there are over 2.14 billion online shoppers globally, and the number of digital shoppers grew by 40% in the last 5 years. This massive growth pushed affiliate marketers to triple their efforts, potential affiliates to join, and businesses to develop enticing affiliate marketing programs. This is also the reason why the affiliate marketing business model will continue to thrive beyond the 21st century.
Correspondingly, social media marketing, influencer marketing, and SEO became the top three most effective channels for driving traffic, engagement, and conversions in the 21st century. These affiliate marketing trends are transforming the industry year after year. And, they will continue to do so in 2024 and beyond.
What is the Future of Affiliate Marketing 2024?
Increased online transactions, AI and social media use, influencer marketing, and affiliate marketing programs is the future of affiliate marketing 2024. According to Daniel Ruby’s article in Demand Sage, the affiliate marketing industry has a market value of $17 billion as of 2024. This value is expected to shoot up to $40 billion in 2030. Additionally, global affiliate marketing spend is forecasted to reach $14.3 billion this year, as per Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2024 Benchmark Report.
While some potential affiliates and customers ask “Is affiliate marketing dead?”, this industry is performing better than ever. Online marketers can achieve affiliate marketing success by observing the current trends, market movements, and buyer behavior.
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing in 2024?
Learning resource availability, low startup costs, and increased social media use are the advantages of affiliate marketing, while market saturation, consistent content generation, and competitive traffic generation are the disadvantages of affiliate marketing in 2024. These advantages help marketers choose the right affiliate programs that are profitable and established. Moreover, the power of social media marketing nowadays simplifies how you can promote your affiliate products.
Alternatively, these disadvantages can thwart your affiliate marketing business’s growth and success. That’s why most affiliate marketers join reputable affiliate networks or the best affiliate marketing courses. This allows them to pick high-quality programs or learn proven techniques that create more sales opportunities.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a performance marketing business model that generates money through affiliate programs created by big brands or small businesses. Affiliate marketers promote products or services and earn a specific percentage of commission for every sale made through their affiliate link. The affiliate commission they earn depends on the confirmed successful online purchases the consumers make.
Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It?
Yes, affiliate marketing is worth it, given that you make a passive income of around $12,000 to $120,000 annually. Its schedule flexibility, income scalability, and program availability make it an ideal business model. In fact, famous affiliate marketers like Pat Flynn, Matt Diggity, and Doug Cunnington have a net worth of over $1.5 million. While potential affiliates can be as successful as them, earning significant monthly income takes a lot of hard work. You need to consider affiliate marketing campaign strategies, digital and email marketing tactics, and affiliate marketing pros and cons.
Affiliates who are influencers, online entrepreneurs, or content creators must develop engaging and effective online content and affiliate campaigns to increase their potential sales and revenue. They can join a digital marketing course, a success roadmap workshop, or an affiliate marketing coaching program to expand their knowledge and level up their skills. For those affiliates that want to remain anonymous online, affiliate marketing is also one of the best ways to make money online without showing your face.
Affiliate Marketing Related Articles
Local Lead Generation Will Still Offer the Best Passive Income Even in the Future
Affiliate marketing is a growing business model that will surely attract more potential affiliates, customers, and businesses in the future. According to Demand Sage, the industry’s overall revenue increases by 10% yearly. This means more and more businesses will adopt this marketing strategy. Besides providing a sizable monthly income, it helps expand your online presence and business exposure. However, succeeding in affiliate marketing requires constant learning, upskilling, and online marketing efforts.
It’s also necessary to consider other online business models to widen your income generation opportunities. Local lead generation is like affiliate marketing in some ways. It also offers scalable passive income, a work-from-anywhere arrangement, and low startup costs. However, this business model is more profitable and easy to set up. You don’t need a massive social media following or expensive paid ads to capture your target audience. All you need is to create local service sites and rank them organically on search engines to gain a steady source of local leads. You can sell these free leads to local business owners and earn over $50,000 monthly.
Take a step to financial independence and start your local lead gen business now.
