Affiliate Marketing for Influencers vs. Traditional Influencer Partnerships: What’s More Effective?

Influencer partnerships have become the go-to strategy for many ecommerce brands to boost visibility and drive sales.

However, traditional influencer collaborations—where brands pay flat fees or per-post rates—often fall short of expectations, leaving brands questioning their effectiveness and ROI.

That's where affiliate marketing for influencers comes in.

By providing performance-based incentives and building long-term partnerships, this model addresses the shortcomings of conventional influencer marketing while amplifying its benefits. 

In this post, we'll explore how affiliate marketing for influencers can outperform traditional methods and guide you through setting up your own affiliate-based campaign.

Affiliate partnerships vs traditional influencer partnerships

When it comes to influencer marketing, ecommerce brands have two main options: traditional influencer partnerships and affiliate-based influencer partnerships.

While both tap into influencers' reach and credibility, they differ in approach, risk, and potential returns.

Let's break down the key differences:

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As we can see, affiliate-based partnerships bring several benefits to ecommerce stores. Such as:

• You only pay when a sale is made, minimizing financial risk.
• You can easily track which influencers drive sales through their unique links.
• It ties influencers' earnings with their performance, so they are motivated to promote your products consistently for ongoing commissions.

To illustrate these benefits, let's consider two hypothetical ecommerce stores: Store A and Store B.

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Store A chooses traditional influencer partnerships. They pay $5,000 upfront to an influencer with 100,000 followers for a series of social media posts. This campaign generates 400 sales at $50 each, generating $20,000 in revenue. After deducting the influencer fee ($5,000) and product costs ($5,000), their profit is $10,000, with an ROI of 100%.

Store B opts for an affiliate-based approach. They partner with 10 micro-influencers (each with 10,000 followers), offering a 10% commission on sales instead of upfront payments. This strategy generates 700 sales at $50 each, generating $35,000 in revenue. They pay $3,500 in commissions (10% of $35,000), and have $5,000 in product costs, leaving a profit of $26,500. Their ROI is approximately 311%.

Let’s tabulate the results for better understanding: 

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Store B earned more profit and built ongoing relationships with multiple influencers who are motivated to keep promoting their products. They took on less risk and achieved better results. 

This clearly shows why affiliate-based influencer partnerships often outperform traditional methods for ecommerce brands. They offer a more sustainable, scalable, and results-driven approach to influencer marketing.

How to launch an affiliate-based influencer marketing campaign:

Follow this step-by-step process to set up a successful and scalable affiliate-based influencer marketing campaign.

Step 1: Define your business goals

Before launching your affiliate-based influencer marketing campaign, it's important to establish clear business goals.

Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. They will guide your campaign and help you evaluate its success. 

Here’s a breakdown of SMART goals:

• Specific: Clearly define what you want to accomplish, such as increasing sales or growing your email list.
• Measurable: Establish criteria to track progress, like aiming for 500 sales or 1,000 new subscribers.
• Achievable: Set realistic goals that can be accomplished within your resources and timeframe.
• Relevant: Make sure your goals align with your overall business objectives and marketing strategy.
• Time-bound: Set a deadline for achieving your goals, such as within three months.

By defining your goals upfront, you can tailor your affiliate strategy, select the right influencers, and measure performance effectively. This leads to more focused efforts and better results for your ecommerce brand.

Step 2: Decide your budget

Setting up your budget can make or break your affiliate program's success. Why? Because It determines:

• The rewards you can offer to your affiliates
• The discounts you can give to new customers
• And the overall scale of your affiliate program

When setting your budget, consider factors such as:

• Profit margins: Make sure you have room to offer competitive commissions and discounts without cutting too deeply into your profits.
• Customer acquisition costs: Affiliate marketing can be cost-effective but you'll need to factor in the cost of rewards and discounts.
• Growth goals: Remember the goals you set in step 1? Your budget should align with those goals. 

Once you've got your budget sorted, you can decide what kind of rewards to offer affiliates.

With Social Snowball, you can offer diverse rewards like cash, gift cards, or store credit, giving affiliates over 700+ options to choose from.

Plus, Social Snowball's bulk payout feature streamlines the process, saving you time and resources.

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By carefully planning your budget, you can create a sustainable and scalable affiliate program that drives exceptional results for your ecommerce brand.

Step 3: Choose your influencers

While it might be tempting to aim for big-name influencers, affiliate partnerships often work best with micro or nano influencers.

Why? Larger influencers typically prefer upfront payments and may lack a genuine connection with your brand. 

Some big influencers may even ask for both an upfront fee and a commission on sales, significantly increasing costs for your brand. 

However, partnering with micro-influencers (10,000 to 100,000 followers) and nano-influencers (1,000 to 10,000 followers) offers several benefits:

• Higher engagement rates with niche, responsive audiences
• Greater authenticity and stronger relationships with followers
• Cost-effectiveness with lower fees or commission-based structures
• Niche expertise that aligns well with specific products

When choosing influencers, look for those whose values align with your brand and who have an audience that matches your target audience. Also, analyze their engagement rates, content quality, and previous brand collaborations.

Remember, an influencer with 10,000 highly engaged followers can often drive more sales than one with 100,000 passive followers.

Step 4: Negotiate and finalize partnerships

Alright, you've found some potential influencers—now it's time to negotiate and seal the deal!

This step is crucial to set the ground rules and build a strong, mutually beneficial relationship. 

Key points to discuss and agree upon:

• Commission rates or reward structure
• Performance expectations (e.g., number of posts, sales targets)
• Content guidelines and approval process
• Exclusivity terms (if any)
• Duration of the partnership

Be open to hearing their ideas and be ready to find a middle ground. After all, the best partnerships are win-win!

Once terms are agreed upon, formalize the partnership with a clear, written agreement to avoid misunderstandings and protect both parties.

With clear terms in place, you're ready to move forward to the next step.

Step 5: Share product information and materials

Once you've finalized partnerships, equip your influencers with the right tools and information to effectively promote your products. 

This allows them to create authentic, informed content about your products.

So, what should you provide your influencers with? Here's a handy list:

• Detailed product descriptions and key features
• High-quality product images and videos
• Brand guidelines and messaging
• Unique affiliate links or discount codes
• Performance tracking information

When it comes to sharing resources with your influencers, Social Snowball's Klaviyo integration makes the process seamless and efficient. You can easily send out product details, media, brand guidelines, and unique affiliate links. Plus, you can set up email flows on Klaviyo by importing performance stats of your campaigns from Social Snowball, making personalization effortless.

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Tabs Chocolate, a sexually enhancing chocolate brand, organized a team of 100 micro-influencers in a Discord group and gave them access to their top-performing videos for creative inspiration.

By giving your influencers these resources and the freedom to be creative, you help them create authentic, engaging content that resonates with their audience while showing your brand in the best light. It’s a win-win!

Step 6: Launch your campaign

Your affiliate-based influencer marketing campaign is ready to take off.

For a successful launch, focus on these key actions:

1. Pick a launch date with your influencers to create buzz. 
2. Stay alert for your campaign's early wins (or any hiccups).
3. Be available to answer questions from influencers or their audience.
4. Like, comment, and share your influencers' posts to boost visibility and show appreciation.
5. Use your analytics tools to see how your campaign is driving traffic, boosting sales, etc.

☃️Bonus tip: Implement safe links in your campaign to prevent affiliate code leaks and coupon abuse. 

What’s a safe link? It’s an affiliate link that generates unique, single-use codes for each customer click. Social Snowball offers safe link functionality to safeguard the integrity of your campaign. Here's how a Safelink looks:

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Remember, the launch is just the beginning—successful campaigns require ongoing management and optimization.

So, stay flexible, communicate regularly with your influencers, and be ready to adjust your ecommerce influencer marketing strategy based on performance data.

Best ecommerce influencer affiliate programs in 2024

Let’s take a look at some top affiliate-based influencer programs: 

1. Amazon Associates

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Amazon Associates is the affiliate marketing program of Amazon. It stands out for its vast product selection and user-friendly interface.

Affiliate marketers can create their own storefronts on Amazon, curating products they love and sharing them with their audience. 

The program offers:

• Custom URLs for easy sharing
• Real-time analytics to track performance
• Video product reviews for additional earning potential
• Integration with Amazon Live for live streaming capabilities

What they do best: Amazon provides a comprehensive affiliate marketing platform that allows influencers to monetize their recommendations across various niches. Plus, the ability to create a personalized storefront helps influencers showcase their favorite products to their audience.

2. LTK (formerly RewardStyle)

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LTK is a pioneer in influencer marketing, focusing primarily on fashion, beauty, and lifestyle niches. 

The platform offers:

• A user-friendly app for both influencers and shoppers
• Integration with multiple social media platforms
• Advanced analytics and reporting tools
• Exclusive brand partnerships and campaigns

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What they do best: LTK shines in its ability to seamlessly connect influencers with various brands and consumers. Their mobile app allows influencers to easily create shoppable content, while consumers can discover and purchase products directly through the app.

3. Shopify’s affiliate program

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Shopify's affiliate program is a global initiative that allows content creators, educators, social media influencers, and review sites to earn commissions by referring new merchants to Shopify plans or Shopify Point of Sale (POS) Pro.

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The program offers:

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• Access to a library of global creative assets
• Ready-made education and lead magnets
• Detailed performance insights through a personal dashboard
• Support for content development and conversion rate optimization

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What they do best: Shopify provides a platform for affiliates to monetize their audience while supporting entrepreneurship. Their program is designed to cater to a wide range of content creators and offers resources to help affiliates succeed.

4. Sephora’s affiliate program

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Sephora's affiliate program allows content creators, beauty enthusiasts, and website owners to earn commissions by promoting Sephora's extensive range of beauty products.

The program offers:

• Access to over 200 coveted brands and more than 13,000 top-quality products
• Exclusive newsletters and product sneak peeks
• Exciting promotions, banners, and creative assets
• Affiliate-only special offers and promotions

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What they do best: Sephora excels in offering a diverse selection of beauty products, from luxury brands to niche items, making it attractive for affiliates to promote. Their program is designed to be user-friendly and provides affiliates with exclusive benefits and promotional materials to support their marketing efforts.

5. Wayfair’s affiliate program

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Wayfair's affiliate program is a partnership opportunity that allows content creators, home decor enthusiasts, and website owners to earn commissions by promoting Wayfair and its sister brands' extensive range of furniture and home decor products.

The program offers:

• Access to over 10 million products from Wayfair and its sister brands (Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane, and Perigold)
• Up to 7% commission on sales with average order sizes of $300
• Promotion of products for every style and budget
• Opportunity to showcase free two-day shipping and daily deals

What they do best: Wayfair shines by offering an extensive array of home furnishings and decor that suits every style and budget. The program is enticing for affiliates, thanks to its generous commission rates and impressive average order values, making it a lucrative opportunity for those in the home and lifestyle sectors.

Conclusion

In summary, affiliate marketing for influencers offers a powerful alternative to traditional influencer partnerships, providing lower risk, higher engagement, and more sales. 

By following our step-by-step guide, you can launch a successful affiliate-based influencer marketing campaign that drives exceptional results for your ecommerce brand.

Ready to elevate your affiliate marketing strategy? Discover how Social Snowball can streamline your efforts with its robust features. 

‍Book a demo today!

FAQs

1. How can micro and nano influencers drive better results than bigger influencers?

Though micro and nano influencers have a lower follower count, they often have higher engagement rates compared to bigger influencers. This is because they maintain closer, more personal connections with their audiences, which builds trust and authenticity. Their followers see them as relatable and trustworthy, making their recommendations more impactful. Plus, they are cost-effective, allowing brands to collaborate with multiple influencers for broader reach and targeted messaging.

2. What budget considerations should ecommerce brands make when starting an influencer affiliate program?

When setting a budget for an influencer affiliate program, ecommerce brands should consider:

• Commission rates: Determine competitive commission rates that align with industry standards and your profit margins.
• Influencer tier: Decide whether to work with micro, nano, or larger influencers based on your goals and budget.
• Content creation costs: Allocate funds for high-quality content creation if needed.
• Platform fees: Account for any fees associated with the affiliate-based influencer marketing platforms you choose.
• Performance bonuses: Consider offering bonuses for top-performing influencers to incentivize better results.

Balancing these factors will help you create a sustainable program that aligns with your business objectives.

3. What are the best practices for launching a successful influencer affiliate marketing campaign?

The following are the best practices to launch a successful influencer affiliate marketing campaign:

• Set SMART goals: Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals.
• Select the right influencers: Choose influencers who are a good fit for your brand.
• Provide resources: Equip influencers with detailed product information and creative assets.
• Track performance: Use analytics tools to monitor sales, traffic, and engagement.
• Maintain communication: Keep open lines of communication with your influencers for feedback and adjustments.

Implementing these practices will help you launch a well-organized and effective campaign.