It’s no secret that the affiliate marketing is getting tougher. In the current climate, it’s much more important to stand out for all of the right reasons. Affiliate marketing is in a state of almost constant flux now, thanks to regulatory changes and a rapidly shifting ecosystem, which means it’s no mean feat to stand out for positive reasons.
Growth hacking your affiliate marketing business means getting noticed for the right reasons and growing your tribe in a more cost effective way. Smaller operators and affiliates can feel totally outpaced by the bigger companies out there, but this doesn’t have to be the case if you work in the right way.
Adapting to the Changing Ecosystem
Both affiliate managers and affiliates themselves will tell you just how tricky the current market is to work in. With the Gambling Commission baring their teeth and calling many mainstays of the market into question, it’s important to be able to adapt. For each strategy or decision that you make for your business, you should ideally have a fall back in case a shift in the law means that you can no longer pursue your intended course.
In the last few months alone, we’ve seen those in the gambling industry changing their strategies and promotional materials a huge amount. Those that can afford to invest time and money into new strategies quickly are the ones that will flourish. Right now, most brands are taking a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach, as they don’t want to risk the possibility of a large fine for noncompliance.
If you’re not sure of what’s going on in your industry, then you can’t hope to adapt to it. Consider attending networking events and training days to ensure that you know which changes are coming and when. Even following influencers and industry experts on social media can help to give you early warning signs of the latest rumours.
Collaboration with Others
Overall, in the gambling industry a lot more collaboration is going to be required. This includes between affiliates and with affiliate operator relationships too. The increased pressure on operators means that they must know their affiliates and communicate openly with them. This kind of communication benefits both parties and ensures that both remain compliant.
With the closure of many larger long tail affiliate programmes, it seems that this kind of communication could prevent this happening to others. The fear on the part of operators that they will be fined for an action taken by an affiliate is very real, but they must know their affiliates well to prevent this from happening.
Even between affiliate portals, there is room for sharing knowledge and benefiting one another. Although this is a competitive market, there are affiliates out there that are willing to share their expertise with others.
Future Innovation and Change
Because of the rapid pacing of the tech industry at the moment, affiliate marketing as a whole presents many new opportunities to innovate. Thinking outside the box and trying something new can be the key to success, whether that’s a new way to advertise or a new feature that you can add.
This is how smaller operators and affiliates can broaden their reach a huge amount without the same budget as their larger competitors. While not every idea guarantees success, those who don’t try new things will simply be left following others that have. Unless you take an existing strategy and improve it, you’re not likely to do better than those who have more resources than you.
Traditional marketing mediums, such as PPC and paid social adverts, are becoming more and more expensive. Those with smaller budgets often can’t afford to invest the same amount, or in the case of Facebook ads can’t get the authorisation to do so. Instead of spending large amounts of time fretting over this situation, this time could be better spent coming up with a brand new strategy that’s unlike any other on the market.
Becoming a thought leader and pushing the boundaries of what’s expected of your brand will lead to innovation that others take notice of. Brands that use a cookie cutter approach, with very little unique about them, can’t hope to be successful in the same way as brands that are known for innovation.
If you want to boost your affiliate marketing strategy in 2018, then consider attending our upcoming Affiverse Bootcamp at Betting On Foorball 21 March at Stamford Bridge. You’ll get fantastic opportunities to learn and grow, with the help of our expert speakers. Register for your place now, it’s free for affiliates.
