How Affiliate Marketing Can Boost Your Tech Startup’s Revenue – Forbes

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Entrepreneurs running a thriving tech startup business know there’s always more they can do to make the business grow. One way is by finding or creating new revenue streams that complement and expand the startup business you have by offering more value to your customers.

That’s where affiliate marketing comes in. Affiliate marketers can generate revenue for referring new customers to other businesses through tracked links in online content. And it’s not just small and medium-sized businesses that can earn money from it. Startups can use affiliate marketing to create alternate revenue streams to grow their business without investing in new product development, production or logistics.

No matter your size, if you’re a tech startup looking to add a new revenue stream, it’s time to consider taking advantage of affiliate marketing.

Save Time And Effort

When you participate in affiliate marketing, you’ll save time and effort because you won’t have to invest anything to create the products or services you’ll be marketing; they already exist. If you join an affiliate platform that gives you access to a variety of programs, you’ll increase your ROI and savings even more because they handle the program administration, product vetting and technical management of all the advertisers they promote.

You only have to invest time upfront to research the products and services to make sure they align with your startup’s vision and product line, which is a lot less than if you ran your own affiliate program. You’ll also need fewer employees to do the work since the bulk of it is managed by the affiliate platform or program you’re participating in. Your hard-working employees will be free to concentrate on your core tech business while you generate additional revenue by participating in someone else’s affiliate marketing program.

Earn More Money, Faster

You’ll be able to start generating revenue faster than most affiliate marketers because you’ve already built a relationship with your audience. That’s the part of the process that holds back others from making money through affiliate marketing, but you’ll be ahead of the curve. You’ve already built a solid, ongoing relationship with your customers and audience.

No Cap On Earnings

Not only that, but there’s no limit on how much your startup can earn as an affiliate marketer because the product owners want to make as much as they can, too. Digital products and services typically offer higher payout rates because of the low cost of production and delivery, but it depends on the program.

Once you start earning, you’ll want to track your stats and revenues to see which ones work best for you. Make sure to track how you’re promoting the programs, too, and discover which channels work best for your audience. For example, an affiliate link in a blog post may work fine, but a webinar demoing how to integrate the affiliate product with your startup service may earn more. It depends on your marketing channels, your customers and audience, and how you align the affiliate program with your efforts. Run a few tests to see what works best, and then change tactics accordingly.

Fast Payouts 

The most significant benefit might be that many affiliate programs pay out quickly and regularly, so your startup won’t have to wait long for the revenue stream to start earning. That said, programs do typically have a minimum amount you have to make before they pay out, which may impact your bottom line if you’re counting on a set amount every month.

Deepen Relationships

Your startup will become a more trusted resource for your customers and audience because you’ll be recommending products and services that will help them, too. You’re giving them more value by seeking out, reviewing, and recommending these additional products or services. Research the products thoroughly first to make sure they’re complementary to your startup and will add value to your customers’ experience with your own products.

For example, you could recommend your web host, any SaaS or cloud tools you use to make your workday easier, your technology supplier’s products (if they have an affiliate program) or anything else you think would complement your own products.

Conclusion

Affiliate marketing can be an easy way for tech startups to generate passive revenue and maintain cash flow without much risk. All it’ll cost you is your time because you already have the audience and relationships built with your customers. With a little time invested upfront and minimal hours to maintain it, affiliate marketing can be a lucrative way to generate revenue for your startup.