SaaS Affiliate Program: Why Small Businesses Should Use Affiliate Marketing?

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies stand to reap significant rewards by launching a SaaS affiliate program. In this article we will delve into the advantages they can derive by explaining why small companies should use affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing, whether for SaaS products or any other industry, is anticipated to witness a surge in growth in the years ahead. Take a moment to consider the statistics: a remarkable 80% of merchants reportedly operate an affiliate program. SaaS affiliate programs offer an array of advantages, benefiting not only the SaaS companies implementing these programs but also the affiliates involved.

From marketing software to productivity tools, SaaS solutions have permeated every industry and operational workflow, particularly over the recent years.

SaaS enterprises have much to gain from establishing an affiliate marketing program, and this article will explore these advantages.

Is delving into SaaS affiliate marketing worth considering?

What are the benefits for SaaS companies to launch their own affiliate program?

These are the questions we aim to answer in this post. Join us as we explore the realm of SaaS affiliate marketing and uncover the potential opportunities it holds.

Before we delve deeper into the topic, are you a SaaS company willing to keep the marketing spendings managable and foreseeable? Admitad has a solution you might be looking for.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a result-oriented marketing approach where businesses collaborate with individuals or other businesses (known as affiliates) to advertise their products or services.

Affiliates are compensated with a commission for each sale, lead, or action that is produced via their promotional endeavors.

By selecting and collaborating with individuals or businesses who will promote your products and drive traffic to your website, brands can expand their reach, drive sales, and increase brand awareness through the efforts of affiliates.

Affiliate marketing is a cost-effective way to leverage the marketing skills and networks of others to boost revenue and grow a customer base.

This performance-based model is particularly advantageous for small businesses, as commissions are paid out only after sales are completed.

Affiliates can endorse products and services they appreciate, earning a share of the revenue from each sale they generate.

What Is SaaS?

Before delving into SaaS affiliate marketing, it’s essential to understand the concept of SaaS.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a product delivery model that enables customers to access software on a subscription basis.

Under this model, SaaS products offer various subscription plans.

Customers get access to the software for a defined period, typically on a monthly or annual payment basis.

As the subscription price increases, customers gain access to additional features and functionalities within the their chosen plan.

Affiliate Marketing For SaaS

When describing affiliate marketing program for SaaS, individuals have the opportunity to become affiliates for particular SaaS offerings by registering to participate in the affiliate program.

These SaaS affiliates can then generate their unique affiliate link to place on their websites, landing pages, and social media platforms.

Furthermore, affiliates may receive access to the SaaS tool itself. This tool enables them to create tutorials, review videos, and effectively promote the software on their platforms. This access proves beneficial, especially when emphasizing specific features of the SaaS tool.

When a user clicks on an affiliate’s unique link and completes a purchase, the affiliate receives a commission for directing the customer towards their website.

Unlike referral programs that generally reward for immediate referrals, a SaaS affiliate program often offers recurring commissions based on the duration of a customer’s subscription to the SaaS software.

Affiliate partners for SaaS can employ various strategies to enhance the growth of their business.

For example, a blogger could leverage SEO tactics to create blog content that resonates with potential customers and SaaS prospects, increasing the likelihood of earning affiliate commissions through effective content marketing strategy.

SaaS Affiliate Marketing Benefits For Companies

For Software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, affiliate marketing has proven to be an exceptionally effective marketing tool.

The modus operandi is simple yet effective – you pay a percentage of the sale to your affiliate partner only when they facilitate a sale.

If no sales are made, no payment is required.

This performance-driven marketing approach ensures that your marketing expenses are minimal, and you only incur costs when a sale is made through an affiliate.

As a SaaS company, monitoring the effectiveness of your affiliate marketing program is straightforward. When affiliates incorporate your links into their landing pages, it amplifies your exposure on their website.

Whenever someone clicks on the affiliate link on a landing page, the resulting sale is tracked using cookies on the SaaS website.

You can also monitor those who register for a free trial, enabling you to compensate the affiliate when the customer opts for one of your paid plans.

You may even choose to offer a recurring commission for affiliates whose audience subscribes to a monthly (recurring) subscription of your SaaS software.

In e-commerce, tracking paying customers and their origins can be straightforward. Instead of resorting to costly marketing platforms or establishing a dedicated marketing and sales team, you could pay affiliates. This is especially true if you’re just launching your SaaS company.

Regardless of the type of affiliate program you establish, you’re bound to witness a surge in sales.

If you’re a start-up or a SaaS company growing exponentially and you’d like to gain access to over 300,000 publishers worldwide, Admitad is here to help. Pick the perfect subscription plan that best suits your needs.

Top Nine Reasons For Companies to Use Affiliate Marketing

Here are 9 compelling reasons why your small business should leverage affiliate marketing:

1. Affiliate Marketing Bolsters Promotional Efforts

Affiliate marketing provides an avenue to augment your promotional strategies with affiliate links.

For instance, if you’re planning a product launch right before Halloween, you can share this product information with your affiliates.

They can then generate excitement around your product and feature your promotions on their websites.

Your online promotional campaign could incorporate a product launch countdown, where you provide a promotional code for a discount on a different product each day leading up to a launch.

2. Affiliate Marketing Offers a Robust Return on Investment (ROI)

This marketing strategy is performance-based, meaning companies only pay affiliates for tangible results, whether that’s a lead generation, a sale, or a specific customer action.

This ensures that businesses get value for their money as they’re essentially paying for guaranteed outcomes.

Furthermore, affiliate marketing extends a business’s reach without a huge investment in advertising.

Affiliate partners leverage their own audiences for promotion, reducing the need for extensive, costly marketing campaigns.

Also, it’s worth noting that tracking ROI in affiliate marketing is straightforward.

3. Affiliate Marketing Provides Social Proof

Social proof is rooted in the principle that consumers often follow the actions of others, believing those actions to be the correct choices.

This phenomenon is visible in many facets of our lives, but it holds significant sway in areas like customer dependence on product reviews, recommendations, and testimonials.

Positive customer reviews are especially influential. According to a recent survey nearly 79% of customers place as much trust in online reviews as they do in personal recommendations.

The endorsement of your product or business by another company or influencer, characterizing an affiliate relationship, demonstrates to online customers that your offerings are credible.

4. Affiliate Marketing Enables Sales Tracking

Pretty much all affiliate marketing programs provide real-time online tracking, granting you precise insights into when a visitor interacts with a link and lands on your website.

Affiliate platforms also deliver metrics related to impressions, clicks, and sales, and include custom lead conversion tools like form submissions and email sign-ups.

All activities are traceable, providing you with vital data on specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to help you understand how your affiliate marketing strategy is generating online revenue and benefiting your business.

5. Affiliate Marketing Empowers You to Capitalize on a Range of Skill Sets

Affiliates come from various backgrounds, each possessing unique strengths and expertise.

Some might be bloggers with a knack for compelling storytelling, while others might be social media influencers with a deep understanding of audience engagement strategies.

There could be affiliates who excel in SEO, driving organic traffic to your site, or those with specialties in email marketing, video content creation, or online advertising.

By partnering with these affiliates, you’re able to benefit from their individual skills and areas of expertise, all of which contribute to promoting your products or services in different but effective ways.

This diversity can augment your overall marketing strategy, amplify your reach, and boost your brand’s visibility across multiple platforms and audiences.

In essence, affiliate marketing enables you to enrich your marketing strategy without needing to develop all these skills in-house.

6. Affiliate Marketing Adopts a Payment Structure Based on Performance

Unlike conventional marketing, in affiliate marketing, remuneration to your affiliate only occurs upon the completion of a sale.

If an affiliate’s efforts do not result in sales, there is no obligation to compensate them.

This allows you to redirect your attention towards other affiliates whose audiences may show more interest in your product or business.

The majority of e-commerce affiliates receive commissions ranging from 5 percent to 15 percent. As such, you may experience a return on ad spend (ROAS) of 10-to-1 or even higher.

This financially efficient digital marketing approach ensures returns as you’re in control of determining your own commission rates.

7. Affiliate Marketing Aids in the Scalability of Your Online Business

Incorporating affiliate marketing into your small digital business essentially means that your affiliates become an indirect sales force.

They can leverage their platforms to endorse your products, reaching their audience on a regular basis, and in turn, generate increased revenue for your venture.

Here are some strategies to extend your affiliate’s reach and boost revenue:

Diversify your affiliates

Ensure no single affiliate contributes more than 27 percent of your overall affiliate income. Utilize a variety of platforms such as coupon sites, customer loyalty sites, and other content-rich websites to prevent over-reliance on one affiliate.

Understand your competition

It’s crucial to investigate which affiliate programs or influencers your competitors are using and their associated commission rates. By offering a competitive commission and positioning your brand as easy to collaborate with, you increase the likelihood of attracting affiliate bloggers.

8. Affiliate Marketing Drives Traffic to Your Website

A significant cause of website failure is insufficient traffic, necessitating a solid SEO strategy.

Affiliates, often bloggers or other online influencers, promote a company’s products or services on their own platforms, which may include websites, blogs, or social media channels.

When affiliates share your product or service with their audience, it not only increases visibility but also directs potential customers to your website.

Moreover, affiliate links improve your site’s SEO ranking.

With more inbound links from reputable platforms, search engines perceive your site as more valuable and relevant, which can result in higher search rankings and increased organic traffic.

9. Affiliate Marketing Paves the Way For Novel Marketing Strategies

By partnering with affiliates who have their unique styles and approaches in reaching their audiences, you gain access to fresh and innovative methods of promoting your products or services.

Affiliates may utilize content marketing, social media engagement, email campaigns, SEO strategies, or video content, enabling you to extend your reach across different platforms and audience segments.

Furthermore, the performance-based nature of affiliate marketing encourages creative and targeted promotions.

Affiliates are motivated to come up with effective strategies to drive conversions as their compensation is tied to the results they generate.

In essence, affiliate marketing not only bolsters your existing promotional activities but also introduces you to diverse ways of connecting with your target audiences and potentially increasing sales.

Conclusion

SaaS affiliate marketing can effectively boost the utilization of a SaaS software and heighten visibility for SaaS firms.

If you’re a burgeoning SaaS company aiming to intensify your marketing efforts at minimal costs, SaaS affiliate marketing stands as one of today’s finest marketing tools.

Given the rising demand for SaaS products among remote teams and startups globally, the SaaS affiliate marketing industry is experiencing substantial growth. Thus, it’s an opportunity not to be overlooked due to its numerous benefits.

Admitad can help SaaS companies seeking new customers worldwide to increase the number of online orders by 20-30%! Get the details by familiarizing yourself with our latest subscription plans.