16 august 2024, 10:03
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Affiliate marketing has been here since the 1990s and has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Email is probably the best affiliate marketing medium because most internet users have an email address. But how do you create effective affiliate marketing emails, and what are the best practices that will provide top results? This article will answer these questions.
Read on as we dive into affiliate marketing emails, best practices, and templates you can use to get high conversions.
What are affiliate marketing emails?
Let’s start by defining affiliate marketing. It is an arrangement where you get a commission for referring customers to third parties. You’ll promote a product or service and get paid whenever people purchase or sign up for that service by your lead.
Affiliate marketing emails are the emails you send to promote products and earn commissions. These emails use persuasive language to entice recipients into purchasing a product. The key is promoting relevant products that’ll pique recipients’ interest.
The benefits of affiliate marketing
1. Performance-based
Affiliate marketing is performance-based, empowering publishers and marketers to make money when they generate results. You’ll negotiate a commission or flat fee beforehand. The payments start rolling in as you generate sales, signups, downloads, and other agreed conversions. Affiliate marketing helps marketers capture more value from their efforts than other types of marketing.
2. Easy to start
You don’t need to jump through many hoops to become an affiliate marketer. The key is to find a suitable affiliate marketing network and sign up. After approval, you’ll have a range of offers to promote to your audience. Existing affiliate marketing networks simplify the process of finding relevant offers and earning money by promoting them.
3. Low-cost
You don’t need significant money to start affiliate email marketing, as managing a website and mailing list is more affordable than ever. For instance, UniOne is a cost-effective email service provider (ESP) that offers speed, reliability, and high deliverability. Our platform makes managing large mailing lists and delivering affiliate marketing emails extremely easy.
4. Increased visibility and engagement
Affiliate marketing is not just about promoting products. The underlying task is creating engaging content that will resonate with your audience. This engaging content will compel readers to purchase the products you recommend, helping boost your traffic and engagement in the long run.
How to write affiliate marketing emails
Below are the essential tips that will help you write effective affiliate marketing emails:
1. Choose a suitable affiliate program
There are many affiliate marketing programs to choose from, but you don’t just sign up for the first one you see. Look for a program that delivers high-paying offers in your niche. For example, if you run a fashion blog, consider affiliate marketing networks dedicated to this niche. The same applies to many other niches, such as real estate, technology, fintech, gaming, etc.
Many brands also have individual affiliate programs that you can sign up for. For instance, Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, has an affiliate program that lets publishers promote various products and earn commissions.
Any worthwhile affiliate program must have transparent financial terms, including commissions, payment methods, and payout periods. You should know what to expect before putting effort into creating effective email campaigns.
2. Create your ideal customer profile
Narrow down the type of customer you want to target with your affiliate campaigns. List out the characteristics of your ideal customer, such as age, gender, occupation, income level, and location. You should have a clear picture of the average person interested in your product or service.
Your target profile depends mainly on the product you’re promoting. For example, if you join an affiliate program to promote gaming consoles and accessories, your target audience will be young people aged 18 to 35 and predominantly male. If you join an affiliate program to promote luxury women’s clothing and accessories, your target demographic is high income females, and so on.
Affiliate marketing relies mostly on product relevance, so you should put considerable effort into this step. Without the ideal customer profile, you’ll promote products to the wrong people and get meager results.
3. Personalize your emails
Personalization entails using data you have about recipients to send them targeted messages. For example, addressing the recipient with their name makes the email feel personal and more likely to get a conversion. It can get more complex, such as recommending products to customers based on their browsing history. The idea is to use data obtained publicly or directly from the recipient to send emails they can relate to.
Suppose you run a fashion blog with around 1,000 email subscribers. You observe a subset of customers who often comment on wedding-themed posts, signaling their interest in this topic. You can segment this group and promote wedding-themed accessories to them via email. You’ll earn affiliate commissions when anyone in this segment purchases the recommended product.
4. Use creative subject lines
The subject line is the first thing your email recipient sees, determining whether they’ll open or ignore the email. Hence, you need a creative subject line to nudge the recipient to read your email.
You can personalize the subject line with the recipient’s name or use words that create a sense of urgency, e.g., “Don’t press snooze on this discount”. You can also use numbers to grab their attention, given the human brain’s propensity to respond to numbers. Keep the subject line short so it appears on mobile displays without line breaks.
5. Be compelling
You can’t just tell someone to buy your recommended product and expect them to obey. Instead, you must provide compelling reasons for them to take action. Why should they prefer the product you offer? How has the product helped you, and how can it help the customer? Is there an ongoing discount or promo that could end soon?
Incentives are the best way to encourage people to patronize your recommended product or service. That’s why many affiliate programs rely heavily on discounted products and services. By promoting these discounts you can nudge your audience to take advantage of the time-limited offer.
6. Include a call to action (CTA)
The point of an affiliate marketing email is to entice the recipient to take action. Hence, your email should include a clear call to action. Should they buy the product? Should they download an app? Should they sign up for a free trial? State it clearly, so that the recipient knows the next step to take. No matter how engaging other parts of your affiliate marketing email are, the reader might get confused if there’s no clear CTA at the end.
7. Follow-ups
A recipient might not initially respond to your affiliate marketing email, but that shouldn’t make you immediately give up on them. You can send several follow-up emails with the affiliate link, providing more compelling reasons for the recipient to take action.
Suppose you run a technology blog and email your subscribers promoting a new smartphone. Not every subscriber will click the link and purchase the product. But you can send two or three more emails touting the smartphone’s features and nudging subscribers to buy it. Some subscribers who didn’t respond to the first message might take action on the second or third attempt.
However, control the frequency and volume of your follow-up emails. Send 3 to 5 follow-ups at most; anyone who doesn’t react is likely uninterested in your offer.
8. Pay attention to festive/promotional periods
Every affiliate marketer must pay attention to festive and promotional seasons because they provide opportunities to increase conversions. For example, the popular Black Friday in November is one of the best times to promote affiliate offers. Most retailers give discounts during this period, and buyers are prepared to snag the best deals. It’s one of the best times to promote physical or digital products to your audience and get conversions.
The New Year Holidays period is another great time to increase your marketing efforts. People buy lots of gifts during this festive season, and you can earn commissions by helping them find the best deals.
Affiliate email templates & examples
1. A newsletter with a product recommendation
Suppose you run a tech newsletter and join an affiliate program to promote solar energy systems. You can use the below template to promote the product:
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Dear [Recipient’s Name], Our daily newsletter dives into current topics and technology trends, and today’s focus is clean energy and sustainability. There’s a pressing global need to switch from carbon-emitting energy to renewable, non-polluting sources. That means switching from coal and natural gas plants to solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric plants. But this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Energy infrastructure already consumes massive amounts of money, and migrating to renewable sources will increase the short-term cost. Governments and private bodies are striving to balance rapidly growing energy demand with clean production sources that improve air quality and have less environmental effects. The scientific consensus also shows that carbon emissions cause rapid climate change, and governments see a pressing need to tackle this issue…. … Although the issue falls mainly on governments and energy companies, individuals can also contribute to creating a better environment. Many homes now use solar panels to generate electricity, either grid-tied or coupled with battery storage. A good example of this system is {Product with affiliate link}, which has {these benefits}. …. We hope today’s newsletter provided great value for you. Stay subscribed for more and refer people to this newsletter to stand a chance to win prizes. |
This affiliate email follows the format of a daily newsletter sent to its subscribers. It provides valuable information and includes a product recommendation and affiliate link. Some readers will be curious about this recommendation and follow the link for more information. If they book an appointment, the newsletter publisher collects a fee.
2. Follow-up template
We’ve discussed the need to follow up with several more emails when you don’t succeed on the first try of promoting a product. Below is a suitable follow-up affiliate marketing template:
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Hi [Recipient’s First Name], A few days ago, we introduced you to the benefits of solar energy and how it can reduce your energy bills plus create a better environment, effectively killing two birds with one stone. We wanted to follow up and ensure you have the relevant information about the product: Key Benefits of {Product Name}
Why Act Now? The {product name} is currently discounted for our readers, but the offer expires in a few days. You can take advantage of this great deal while it lasts, and a team of experts will guide you towards making an informed decision. A cost-effective energy solution is right at your fingertips. Click here {product link} to claim this offer. |
3. Bait reward template
Suppose you send an affiliate marketing email but get little conversions. You research the issue and discover that users demand an incentive to sign up for the offer. In this case, you can send a bait reward to encourage readers to participate in the offer. Below is a sample format:
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Hi [Recipient’s Name], You can now get {Custom Reward} for every friend you refer to {product name}. It’s a simple process that comes with significant benefits. Invite your friends now to {product offer with affiliate link} Thank You, [Company Name] |
4. Activity-based emails
You can send targeted emails to customers based on their activity on your app or website. For example, you can segment the subscribers who read a specific article on your website and send them a relevant affiliate email. Below is a sample format:
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Dear [Subscriber’s Name], We noticed you read our post on {blog post topic} yesterday. We hope you enjoyed it. We’re writing to let you know that if you need to {what readers were looking to achieve by reading the post}, there’s a way to do it much faster. That way is {product name}, and here’s why we recommend it to users:
{Insert a case study to illustrate the above mentioned benefits} We suggest learning more about {product name} on this page: {Affiliate link for the product and mentioning any discounts or incentives} Sincerely, [Company Name] |
5. The before-after-bridge template
The before-after-bridge is a copywriting formula that helps you create persuasive marketing emails.
- Before: You state the recipient’s problem.
- After: You state the solution to the recipient’s problem.
- Bridge: You pitch the product (with an affiliate link) as the solution.
Below is an affiliate marketing plan template that follows this formula:
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Hi [Recipient’s Name], We checked your website and noticed that the fonts, images, and other elements aren’t optimized for mobile devices. This issue costs you considerable traffic, given that most internet usage now comes from smartphones. But don't fret. There's a tool that scans your website and identifies how to optimize it for mobile devices. This tool will go a long way in boosting traffic, so don’t be afraid to try it. Check it out below: {Product name with an affiliate link}. There’s a time-limited 20% discount, so don’t hesitate to look at it as soon as possible. We remain committed to helping our subscribers build stellar websites and grow their traffic. If you have further inquiries, please don't hesitate to contact us. Thanks, [Company Name] |
6. Personalized email template
Personalization is crucial to getting conversions from your affiliate marketing emails. Below is a personalized affiliate marketing business plan template:
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Hello [Name], I stumbled upon your blog post on {platform name} and thought you made insightful points. You clearly outlined your problems and their potential solutions, which I agree with. Your post compelled me to reach out to you with a proven solution. This {software product} solves the issue of supply chain management, making it easier to keep track of your inventory and sales. It offers many benefits, including:
{Product name} will go a long way in solving the issues you outlined in your blog post, and I’m happy to point you towards this solution. You can follow the below link for more information: {Affiliate link} Cheers, [Your name] |
7. Holiday email template
We mentioned paying attention to festive seasons to promote your offers. Below is a sample format you can follow. It’s from a tech blog sending a newsletter during Black Friday, which includes an affiliate link for a new smartphone.
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Hello [Recipient’s Name], It’s Black Friday, and you’re likely shopping for good deals. We recently reviewed the {Product name} on our blog, and you’re one of the readers who posted a positive comment on the review. You might be interested in this smartphone, and we’re happy to introduce you to one of the best deals. Amazon is running a Black Friday promo for electronics products, and the {Product name} has been discounted by 30%. This deal won’t last long, so don’t hesitate to snag it. Follow the link below if you’re interested: {Affiliate link to the Amazon product page} We’re committed to providing honest product reviews to our customers, so stay tuned to our website and emails. Thanks, [Website Name] |
Conclusion
You can promote affiliate offers via email and earn significant income. This article provides tips for writing an effective affiliate email and templates illustrating these tips. With them, you are on the road to getting excellent results from your efforts.
Above all tips, ensure you choose an excellent email service provider (ESP) to deliver your marketing emails to the intended audience. No matter how well-crafted your email is, an unreliable ESP can make your efforts futile.
You don’t need to look far for an excellent ESP. UniOne offers near-perfect deliverability, speed, and performance for an affordable price. With our platform, managing your mailing list and sending affiliate emails becomes as easy as ever.
