If you scrolled social media or read a blog post or Substack essay today, chances are, you engaged with affiliate marketing. You may have liked a post with a shopping collage, visited the link of something that caught your eye, or even made a purchase. Unsurprisingly, affiliate marketing accounts for about 16 percent of e-commerce sales in the United States, with over 80 percent of brands now using affiliate marketing programs. Even better, businesses often see a high return on investment (ROI): On average, affiliates deliver about $6.50 in revenue for every $1.00 spent.
If you’re still not convinced, consider this question. When you’re deciding what to buy, whose recommendation matters more: a faceless ad or someone you already follow and trust? That’s the magic of affiliate marketing. It bridges the gap between connection and conversion.
An Overview of Affiliate Marketing
Before we dive in, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page when it comes to this topic. Affiliate marketing is a strategy where affiliates (brands or creators) promote products or services online and earn a commission for each sale or action through their referral links. This model offers a cost-effective form of advertising for merchants and an additional income stream for affiliates. The commission rate varies from platform to platform and brand to brand, often ranging between 5 and 20 percent.
Affiliate marketing also serves to improve customer relationships. When affiliates share their genuine experiences with products, they build both trust and loyalty within their audience. Plus, merchants can offer affiliates personalized discount codes or even free products as a way to further promote their items. Affiliates must maintain their credibility by only recommending items they truly love and enjoy!
Next, let’s look at a quick overview of the process. First, the merchant works with a platform like LTK or ShopMy to provide a commission on their products. Affiliates, then, build out their profile and create commissionable links to promote across their social media channels and websites. The affiliate platform’s tracking system monitors sales and offers payouts on a monthly basis.
How Carlisle & Co. Engages with Affiliate Marketing
At Carlisle & Co., we’ve been exploring the affiliate marketing space as a way to expand both our reach and our revenue streams. We started with Amazon, but quickly realized that without a high enough volume of sales, it wasn’t the right fit for our goals. From there, we looked into platforms like LTK and ShopMy. Ultimately, ShopMy felt like the better fit for our brand and our audience. We’re still in the growing stages of this journey, but we’re already seeing encouraging signs of success. We’re excited to keep building on the momentum!
When it comes to our affiliate marketing services, we don’t just set up accounts. We help our clients curate and share their links in ways that actually drive results. From brainstorming creative shelf and post ideas to building out the links and graphics, we make sure everything feels cohesive and on-brand. We then weave those links into a larger content map—whether that’s for social media, blog posts (like our What We… monthly series!), or Substack—so affiliate marketing becomes a seamless part of their overall digital presence. Most importantly, we work closely with each client to meet them where they are, ensuring the process feels impactful and true to their brand at every step.
Want to show us your support? Check out our handpicked and carefully-curated recommendations on ShopMy!
This post contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission from the things you buy at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting our work and trusting our recommendations!
If you’re looking to develop a digital marketing strategy and expand your online reach, please reach out to our team today.
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