Affiliate marketing is a recent innovation that allows people to promote their digital products through partners. In the marketing scope, this tactic enables third-party authors, such as clients, customers, or students in some cases, to earn commission by generating traffic to a publisher’s website to make conversions. In the information products industry, partner marketing is relevant because of the numerous applications of information goods and subscriptions companies in this industry offer.
Vasilii Gamov is the Founder and CEO of the marketing agency PEAKY ADS LLC and is an expert with over 13 years of experience in advertising and generating conversions. He has marketing experience in industries spanning iGaming, eCommerce, health, education, and more. From developing B2B and B2C software applications to launching marketing businesses to help content creators flourish in the competitive landscape, Vasilii demonstrates his authority in sharing his thoughts on how companies in the information products field can leverage the power of affiliate marketing to diversify their demographics and reach outward communities.
The Relevance of Information Products and Applications
The internet thrives on information and the data that individuals feed it daily. Information products come in many forms, including but not limited to:
- Blogs
- Online courses
- Videos
- Tutorials
- Reports
- Electronic books
With many channels for their existence and output, information products are critical in the information space known as the Internet. They are creative outlets for people to share their knowledge about specific subjects with users worldwide. Most of the time, creators publish information products after identifying problems, solving them, and merging them in one bundle to sell to the online community with an attached price or for free.
Other forms of information products are cheat sheets, software, and webinars. Cheat sheets generally apply to students who need nearly instant access to an overview of their subject. A Calculus student may want formulas for taking basic derivatives of various functions.
Software can serve as expansive libraries of information depending on their application. Some marketplaces may have a purchase-only option for access to their programs or code, making them sources of information products on which they can employ affiliate marketing for an extra income.
Webinars can come in the form of presentations, live videos, or audio. These digital seminars give their audience valuable information on a specific subject and may involve user participation.
On the user side of the spectrum, many people are curious about the world around them. They may do whatever is in their best interest to acquire such information, including purchasing access to a virtual course. They may want to advance their studies in a topic or improve their career outlook. For instance, a beginner in programming may wish to purchase the best information products with thousands of certified reviews to begin their journey toward becoming proficient developers.
How Publishers Can Use Affiliate Marketing to Their Advantage
By publishing applicable material on the web, content creators can become a valuable source of information. Still, they must understand their target audience and their goals to achieve if they wish to profit from their content. According to Statista, the online education industry has a predicted value of $185.20 billion in 2024, with an expectation to increase to $279.30 billion by 2029, indicating its prevalence in the digital age. Based on these numbers, information products will continue to have an established reputation, and affiliate marketers can add to their market value.
By analyzing their target demographics, content publishers know who will likely purchase their content and who will relay their data to others. For example, students who enjoy an online course about physics and would recommend the lectures to others may become affiliate partners with the publisher. Not only can this action generate traffic to the publisher’s website, but it can also encourage other students to share their knowledge with others.
Information product users promote these digital sources of knowledge to earn a commission based on their agreement with the publisher. They place advertisements on their websites, social media accounts, or other publicly available sources to convert traffic into leads. Partners can also play the role of affiliate marketers by creating content centered around the brand’s information kit and judiciously placing links to its website.
Affiliate Marketing Techniques
By knowing what information products and services their target audience is demanding, content publishers can leverage this data to build successful campaigns. An engaged demographic is likely to generate leads and convert clicks into purchases or installations.
Personalized Campaigns
Publishers must know how to attract prospective consumers with their products, meaning they must connect their goods and services with individuals by asking some questions:
- Why would a consumer want to buy this information product?
- What value does this product provide to the customer? What value has it given me?
- How can I establish my authority in this domain and encourage customers to click my affiliate link?
- Does my content follow industry trends, or are they irrelevant?
As a competitive market, affiliate marketing rewards those who stay updated with technological innovations and industry trends. For example, the Pascal programming language is not highly in demand because of more flexible, concurrent development languages. As applications are becoming more complex, Pascal’s abilities as a legacy language are rendered unsuitable for many of them.
Multiple Sources
The more locations a content creator publishes an affiliate link, the more likely a consumer will click the link to access the information product. The links should be balanced regarding distribution; spammed links may deter consumers from intentionally clicking on a link, and a publisher’s ranking for their selected link’s keywords may perform poorly in a search result.
In each source, content writers may cover a snippet of the information good or service, using specially selected keywords to invite consumers to engage. The sources could be videos, blog posts, services, or even software depending on the application and the audience.
Build Trust
Consumer trust is critical for producing leads and clicks on an affiliate link. They look to a brand as a valuable source of information, so the brand’s content should be meaningful and not spammy. An affiliate marketer should strive to establish trustworthiness and help their audience, which may eventually expand the audience and solidify the affiliate-consumer relationship.
When publishers prove that information products work, they build credibility, and they can begin performing affiliate marketing for more products. However, each pitch should deliver the following:
- What the experience was like with the information good
- Proof of experience
- User benefits
Conclusion
Information products are part of a competitive and profitable market. With the necessity of knowledge and the community’s hunger for it, information goods and services will grow over the years, and creators can leverage their knowledge comprehension and distribute it through online forums and websites. With affiliate marketing campaigns, publishers can turn their consumers into partners and allow them to earn a commission.
About the Author
Vasilii Gamov is the CEO and founder of PEAKY ADS LLC marketing agency, specializing in optimizing business metrics and full-cycle marketing. He is a proficient marketing and product manager with over 13 years of experience in B2C and B2B software development, emphasizing mobile applications, website development, and launching new businesses from scratch.
Sources:
- TransformationAcademy – “Inforpreneur: Types of Information Products,” https://transformationacademy.com/2019/09/infopreneur-3-types-of-information-products/
- ResearchGate – “Types of Information Products and Services,” https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Types-of-Information-products-and-services-provided-libraries-records-archives_tbl1_312070790
- IDRC Digital Library – “Marketing Information Products and Services,” – https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/bitstream/handle/10625/30944/IDL-30944.pdf
- SPI Media – “Affiliate Marketing – A Simple Step by Step Guide,” – https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/guides/affiliate-marketing-strategies/
- Revelo – “Pascal Programming Language: How and When to Use It,” – https://www.revelo.com/blog/pascal-programming-language