rephrase sentences – Paraphrase Online https://www.paraphrase-online.com/blog Creative Writing Blog Mon, 04 Apr 2022 06:10:42 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.16 Inbound or outbound marketing? What to choose? https://www.paraphrase-online.com/blog/online-marketing/inbound-or-outbound-marketing-what-to-choose/ Thu, 16 Dec 2021 07:23:15 +0000 https://www.paraphrase-online.com/blog/?p=1700 Continue readingInbound or outbound marketing? What to choose?]]> Marketing is something without which it is impossible to exist on the market, especially now, when it is very competitive. Fortunately, nowadays, conducting wide-ranging and effective marketing activities does not require a huge budget, so success is basically available to everyone. First, however, it is worth deciding whether it is better to conduct inbound or outbound marketing. Or maybe both?

Inbound marketing versus outbound marketing

Where does this division into two types of marketing come from and what does it mean? Outbound marketing is defined as “outbound”. It includes all activities of addressing the customer and thus encouraging him to take advantage of the offer. It includes, among others direct advertising and promotion.

Inbound marketing, in turn, is called “inbound”. It consists in carrying out such activities that are to lead to a situation in which the customer will find a given company and express interest in its offer.

Figuratively speaking, outbound marketing can be compared to a loudspeaker or a megaphones from which advertising slogans and a message directly encouraging you to use specific services are heard. Meanwhile, inbound marketing activities can be compared to a magnet that attracts customers to the company and its offer. In practice, the outbound strategy uses, among others:
– graphic advertising on the Internet,
– TV and radio advertisements,
– outdoor advertising,
– telemarketing,
– leaflets, advertising catalogs, brochures,
– paid links and advertisements on various websites,
– mailing and SMS campaigns,
– on-site advertising: incl. web push notifications, pop-ups, chats encouraging contact.

Meanwhile, as part of inbound marketing, you should deal with:
– company site,
– SEO,
– content marketing (including blogs, podcasts, webinars, video content, etc.),
– social media,
– newsletters,
– discussion forums.

All these activities should be based on prior arrangements as to the target group and its exact profile. Only then can they be tailored to the needs of a potential customer, and therefore effective in attracting him and then generating conversions.

Outbound marketing – principles and advantages

 Currently, inbound marketing strategies are used much more often, while those “outbound” are often considered less beneficial, less effective, and even outdated. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Most often, in outbound marketing, an undefined message is used – the same for all recipients and usually not fully supported by the expectations of the target group. However, it is also possible to test different formats and check their effectiveness.

It is important to remember to adapt the rules of operation of outbound marketing to the needs of the modern consumer. There is no place for outdated techniques or intrusive, irritating advertising. However, it is worth taking care of:
– personalization of communication – wherever possible;
– adopting an advisory, expert tone – customers do not like pushy “stuffing” them with products, but value reliable information and advice from professionals;
– careful selection of communication channels – depending on e.g. on the scale of the business, industry and target group.

The advantages of outbound marketing include:
– control over the message in communication (because it is usually one-sided),
– the ability to quickly achieve results, such as building awareness of a given brand,
– relatively low costs in the case of running online campaigns,
– the possibility of operating on a large scale.

Certainly there are also some disadvantages to this type of strategy. This, for example:
– the risk of causing negative reactions from potential customers (intrusive and disturbing advertising),
– some difficulties with targeting the message (i.e. adjusting its form and content to a specific recipient), in particular outside the Internet,
– the risk of the message being ignored by the recipients – the society is flooded with constant advertising message, therefore it becomes resistant to it,
– relatively high costs per acquired lead.

Can inbound marketing be an effective solution for your company then?

Inbound marketing – principles and advantages

The idea of inbound marketing is based on attracting customers. Therefore, it requires a thorough understanding of their needs. How to make the client want to come to you? Belongs:
– develop a detailed marketing strategy – vision, goals and methods of their implementation;
– define precisely who is the target recipient of your services – the profile of your model client should include as much information as possible, including age, gender, profession, habits, expectations or needs;
– prepare a website – keeping in mind its aesthetics, functionality and maximum simplicity, which will facilitate the shopping path and conversion;
– create valuable content and constantly supplement the website with it;
– keep profiles on social media, ensuring that the content presented in them is up-to-date;
– use thematic and industry websites;
– take care of the constant acquisition of leads and develop a system that will help make sure that they will become customers;
– constantly analyze the methods used and deal with their improvement.

Inbound marketing should be focused primarily on building brand awareness and strength as well as gaining customer trust. This has its advantages, provided, of course, that the strategy is properly developed and implemented. These include, among others:
– the ability to reach a large group of customers,
– relatively low costs,
– many forms of communication and almost unlimited possibilities in terms of creation,
– high targeting opportunities,
– the ability to build brand authority and inspire trust at the same time,
– a message based on the intention to buy or the customer’s interest – does not arouse desire, is not intrusive,
– hard sale.

However, this is not a flawless method! They can include:
– high barrier to entry – inbound is based on tools whose level of complexity has increased significantly over the last decade. In principle, the support of a specialist is necessary to obtain optimal results.
– Limited opportunities to build coverage in niche industries – going beyond them can dramatically increase the cost of customer acquisition.
– High budget required in some segments.

When to use outbound marketing?

Certain criteria should be taken into account when considering the two types of marketing strategy. In some cases, outbound marketing works much better, and in other cases it is better to focus on inbound methods. So when is it worth using outbound strategies and addressing customers directly?

When you expect quick results
We have to wait for the results of inboud activities. So if you need to achieve specific goals, it’s best to turn to outbound techniques or paid advertising like Google Ads. They usually allow you to gain certain clients or leads in a short time. It is worth remembering, however, about the principles of running effective outbound campaigns, which have been included above.

When you are new to the market
It is difficult for small, new companies to break into the minds of customers by conducting only inbound marketing activities, and waiting for results may lead to a deterioration of the company’s financial situation. Therefore, to put your foot in the door crack, it is worth using outbound strategies that will help increase brand visibility, and at the same time gain leads at a much lower cost.

When you have a limited budget to start
If you have a small amount of capital, you definitely cannot wait for the effects of running incoming campaigns. Then a well-thought out action of the outbound type with paid channels may prove useful. Of course, this does not apply to companies that have, for example, low fixed costs and can afford to wait longer for results despite a limited budget.

When to use inbound marketing?

Of course, there are also situations in which inbound marketing is usually much better. When is it worth using?

When you take your time
Do you want to build a strong brand, but do not expect immediate results? If you have the right budget and can afford to slowly build your position, it is worth focusing on intense inbound activities. Remember that it can take many months from starting them to acquiring a client. Meanwhile, there is still time to carefully prepare your marketing strategy.

When you realize the importance of good content and have the opportunity to create it
Writing an expert article for your company’s blog from time to time may seem like a simple task that you can do yourself in your spare time. However, this is very disastrous thinking. Taking care of the published content is very important, so it should not be work done “on the occasion”. It should be ensured that the content is of high quality and complies with SEO principles, which requires appropriate knowledge. In addition, someone has to watch over the regularity of publishing the content. Therefore, it should be dealt with by a specific, designated person who at the same time has the appropriate qualifications. Instead of hiring a new employee, you can entrust this task to an agency – in many ways it is a more profitable solution.

When you know your target audience
The great strength of inbound activities is the ability to precisely match them to the target group. Therefore, you absolutely must know it very well – otherwise the strategy you are pursuing will not make much sense. You need to know who your customer is, but also what messages he / she reacts to, how he / she buys purchases and what values he / she believes in.

When you have the right budget
It is about financial resources that will allow you to wait for the results, but also about the amount of funds allocated for marketing. Developing, implementing, and then refining an inbound strategy is usually quite resource-intensive and time-consuming, although the cost per lead is lower than outbound campaigns. Of course, the exact amount of the required budget depends on many factors, including industry, area of operation and competition. In inbound marketing, however, the snowball effect applies. Consistency in acting in the long term can offer you the cheapest lead acquisition.

Inbound and outbound – together or separately?

The above content should help you decide which marketing strategies to use. However, there is also a hidden option number three, which is a combination of inbound and outbound. Does it make sense? Absolutely and probably the best solution! In many cases, this is how you get the best results. Complementary and interpenetrating marketing techniques will allow you to get more customers and maximize your profits. Example? You can use an email campaign with a link to an educational video or article. Such a combination of outbound and inbound activities is characteristic especially for companies with slightly more experience on the market, as well as with a budget, and this is when it turns out to be the most profitable.

How do others do it? Statistics show that smaller companies place by far the greatest emphasis on inbound activities. This tendency is especially visible in enterprises with up to 25 employees. Companies employing from several dozen to 200 people clearly increase their outbound marketing expenses, while in the largest ones (over 200 employees), outbound and inbound methods are basically used in half.

It can certainly be said that modern companies place an emphasis on inbound marketing. It’s a strategy that seems to be primarily more effective in the long run. If you want to keep up with the competition, you should definitely not base your marketing solely on outbound activities. However, the strategies used so far should not be changed abruptly. The process of their modification should always be gradual. Usually, it is also not worth completely abandoning outbound marketing. As indicated above, it also has its advantages! If it is properly implemented, it will surely bring tangible results, although more and more often such activities are considered obsolete.

Inbound and outbound marketing – how to measure the effectiveness of activities?

Still not sure whether to bet primarily on inbound or outbound, or maybe use a mixed strategy? Or maybe you want to check how the activities carried out so far will be compared to the newly implemented strategy in terms of effectiveness? Comparing the effectiveness of inbound and outbound methods is usually not easy, but it can be done. It is worth looking at various marketing indicators and measures. First of all, you should take into account the budget allocated to specific marketing activities and the number of leads obtained and compare their proportions. The so-called CPL indicator, i.e. Cost Per Lead. In addition, it is worth considering:
– QL (qualified leads) – the number of leads that are considered potential customers, ready to buy,
– CR (conversion rate) – conversion rate showing what percentage of leads from a specific source decides to buy,
– Ticket Value – The average value of the transaction for each of the customer acquisition sources,
– Length of the sales cycle – it often happens that acquiring a customer from certain sources takes less than from others.

By comparing this data, it will be much easier for you to identify which activities bring the best results and thus improve your marketing strategy. It is worth monitoring the above indicators constantly, because nothing is certain in marketing – what works great one day may stop bringing results the next.

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6 things you MUST check before choosing hosting https://www.paraphrase-online.com/blog/online-store/6-things-you-must-check-before-choosing-hosting/ Thu, 22 Oct 2020 05:36:04 +0000 https://www.paraphrase-online.com/blog/?p=793 Continue reading6 things you MUST check before choosing hosting]]> The offer of hosting services in the world is very wide. Considering only the most popular solution, which is a shared server, we can choose from several thousand proposals that differ significantly in terms of the parameters offered. No wonder that in many cases choosing the best hosting can be quite difficult. Meanwhile, it is hosting that determines whether your website will always be available, functional and attractive to the recipient – whether it will allow you to effectively promote your company and profit from your business. Here are the 6 most important things you need to check before choosing hosting.

What to look for when choosing shared hosting?

Shared hosting is the most popular form of using a server that allows you to create your website at low cost. In this case, the resources we use are shared with other users within one very efficient server. This keeps prices affordable. The server is fully administered by the hosting company, and users can conveniently use all functions via an easy-to-use panel.

If you are creating your own website for the first time, shared hosting will probably be the most suitable for you – it allows you to create a corporate website, portfolio, blog or medium-sized online store. Unless you develop complex solutions that require custom solutions, or host sites visited by hundreds of thousands of users a day, most likely shared hosting will be right for you.

When analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of individual hosting services, it is worth noting that there is no one best solution for everyone. For a photographer who wants to put all his photos and videos online, the most important aspect may be the available disk space, while an entrepreneur who runs a small business and just wants to create his “business card” online does not want to pay for unused gigabytes, while would like to use more e-mail accounts. A solution recommended by your friend may not work for you. For this reason, I cannot answer the question of which hosting is the best. Instead, we indicate issues that should always be checked before choosing.

Uptime – time trouble-free operation

This term stands for uptime, which is simply the reliability of hosting. When you set up a website, you want it to be always available. Imagine that you are starting a long-planned promotion in your online store or providing potential customers with links to your portfolio … and due to server failure the website is currently unavailable. There is no doubt that even if the breakdown is short, it can mean very serious financial losses for the entrepreneur.

Until a few years ago, interruptions in the operation of servers were commonplace, which is why the best providers introduced the concept of uptime to stand out from the competition. This value is expressed as a percentage and is often referred to as SLA. For example, an uptime / SLA of 99% means that servers are running smoothly 99% of the time. Currently, reputable hosting companies already offer uptime / SLA usually at the level of 99.7 – 99.9%. However, we do not always find this information at all – in some cases, hosting service providers are confident in the reliability of the technologies offered and prepared to pay compensation in rare emergencies.

Disk space available

One of the most important factors that we should pay attention to when choosing hosting is also the available disk space – the amount of space on the server that we will have to store all kinds of files necessary for the functioning of the website.

In case you already have your website and just want to transfer it to another server, you can easily see how much disk space you used. There should be no problem accessing historical data. However, it will be more difficult to assess your needs if you are just setting up your first website.

Remember that the place is taken by:
– website template files and software – PHP, HTML, JavaScript scripts – WordPress installation without template and plugins is 50-60 MB, PrestaShop software for creating online stores – 70-80 MB;
– graphic files, photos, videos. – a typical photo from a smartphones is 1.5 – 6 MB – due to the thumbnails, this number should be multiplied by two, a 10-minute video in the quality of 480 pixels may take up to 150 MB.
– databases – they will contain all the content that you publish on your website in text form, for example blog entries, as well as data on the configuration of themes or plugins.
e-mail accounts – remember that each message takes up space on your server. This applies to both sent and received messages as well as unsolicited correspondence from the SPAM folder. Especially in a situation where you massively send and receive large amounts of e-mails from customers or you have many mailboxes, this can translate into a large consumption of disk space.
– logs and own backups – can also take up additional disk space.

Data transfer

In addition to the space for your files on disks, also pay attention to the available transfer. This is information from which we will find out what amounts of data we can download and send to the server each month. This number includes all page views by both users and bots.

In this case, too, it may be difficult to estimate future needs if we cannot rely on past information. However, there are sites that allow you to ‘weigh’ existing websites in this respect, such as tools.pingdom.com. For example, you can check a competitor’s page and try to estimate your needs by multiplying the page’s “weight” by the number of views per month.

Some hosting companies offer unlimited bandwidth with no limit. However, remember that such unlimited hosting applies only to websites and materials that are on these websites. Usually, in the regulations, you will find provisions that prohibit the abuse of unlimited transfer.

Hosting speed

The vast majority of users leave the website if it fails to load within a few seconds. Only the most determined wait longer. For this reason, loading speed is fundamental when choosing your hosting.

Slow page loading or problems with displaying some elements will discourage potential elements. For this reason, it is worth paying attention, among others on the type of disks used.

As part of the hosting service, you can meet the following types of disks:
– standard HDD drives – Hard Disc Drive – classic disc drives,
– fast SSD drives – Solid State Drive – semiconductor drives,
– super-fast NVMe SSDs – state-of-the-art drives up to 10 times faster than SDD drives.

And you probably already know which one will be the best choice, right? Yes. It is worth to bet on SSD or SSD NVMe.

In addition, it is worth paying attention to IOPS – this abbreviation stands for the number of operations performed per second. Some hosting plans, despite using SSD (or SSD NVMe) disks, limit the speed of reading and writing to the disk (given in MB / s) or IOPS. It’s worth being careful about that. The same as avoiding companies that have SSDs, but only for some data (e.g. for MySQL databases, while all the rest is on plate, slow HDDs).

When comparing the hosting speed, you cannot forget about parameters such as the number of PHP processes that can be run simultaneously and the available CPU and RAM power. A simple rule applies here – the more, the better. A good minimum is 10 processes, 1 CPU core (1 GHz) and min. 1 GB RAM.

When looking for fast hosting, it is also worth checking what software it is running on (LiteSpeed is faster than nginx, and this one is faster than Apache). It is also worth making sure that your hosting supports the latest available PHP version and the HTTP / 2 protocol – both of these factors affect the speed of your website.

Mail and e-mail accounts

Each hosting service also offers the option of creating company mailboxes with an address in your own domain. It will be a good idea to create a separate mailbox and e-mail address for each of your colleagues / department in the company. For this reason, it is worth checking how many e-mail accounts can be set up as part of the hosting service. It is always worth being able to create additional ones in the future when the company grows and new people are hired.

It will also be a good idea to check what types of spam and phishing protection are in place in your mail service. These should be solutions such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. It is best if they have already been implemented automatically, otherwise you should do it yourself.

Data security – backups and SSL certificate

One final point worth discussing is security issues. Of course, you will have to keep your data safe by taking care of a backup – it can save your site in the event of a breakdown or hack. Most hosting companies provide automatic data backups, but you will need to check how often it is backed up and how long your site backups are kept. Ideally, copies are made at least once a day (every 24 hours) and stored for at least 7 days.

Undoubtedly, an SSL certificate should also be implemented, which enables data encryption by users. This is an absolute must, especially when it comes to online stores. If you do not have it, the user will see a message that the site is unsecured – it will definitely scare potential customers away.

For this reason, it is worth choosing a hosting service that supports a free SSL certificate (e.g. Let’s Encrypt), which in practice is no different from paid certificates offered by many hosting companies and domain providers.

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Multi-channel marketing – three faces https://www.paraphrase-online.com/blog/paraphrasing/multi-channel-marketing-three-faces/ Mon, 10 Aug 2020 05:39:33 +0000 https://www.paraphrase-online.com/blog/?p=682 Continue readingMulti-channel marketing – three faces]]> “I feel more or less like someone who was floating in the clouds and suddenly fell.” Do you remember this quote from Winnie the Pooh? This is probably how every entrepreneur who once had communication with the client felt in only one channel and that was enough … until multi-channel marketing appeared on the horizon.

The perfect online world

In an ideal world, we would always know where our potential client is currently. This knowledge would allow us to reach him with a message that step by step would build confidence in our brand and product, and then subtly lead to conversion.

All of our marketing, sales and after-sales activities would be easily tracked and improved, creating perfect customer service.

In an ideal world, we would only use one channel to interact with the client. Unfortunately, ideal situations rarely apply to companies.

To keep your sales at the highest level, you need to go with the times, constantly develop your marketing skills and supplement your knowledge with the latest solutions. Because if you still sell only in one channel, you lose a large portion of the target audience that your competition is successfully taking over. In fact, focusing on one channel can even degrade customer service and prevent you from successfully acquiring new ones. Why? About this in a moment. Let’s explain why multi-channel marketing is so important in the 21st century.

Multi-channel marketing – why is it so important?

Today’s consumer uses 2.8 channels on average before deciding to buy a given product or service.

Over the past decade, customer service and how to acquire it have changed significantly. Observing today’s technological progress, it is difficult to imagine that brands not so long ago used only three marketing channels. These were: telephones, post office and stationary store.

Since the internet appeared, companies have expanded and some have even completely transferred their activities to the online world. Websites, applications, e-mails and marketing campaigns have created virtually unlimited possibilities of communication with potential clients. However, along with the development of new technologies, competition has also increased.

To get a customer, we must be where he is currently with what he currently needs. And if we want to engage and maintain it, the above alone will not be enough.

So we already know that a modern consumer, before making a purchase, passes through 2.8 channels on average, integrating with a given brand. It is also obvious that during the day it uses many different devices.

The digital consumer seems wise today and is prudent in their purchasing decisions. We use opinions on Facebook, in Google My Business, and view applications of a given brand. He created a world between many channels in which he controls the vast majority of the sales process.

So if you want to win this smart game you must be one step ahead of it. The way to do this, of course, is a well-thought-out marketing strategy – necessarily multi-channel.

How to engage a potential customer?

In order to successfully engage a potential customer, we should communicate with him using several channels at the same time. According to this assumption, three different strategies have evolved: cross channel marketing, omnichannel marketing and multi channel marketing.

Many have trouble distinguishing them. No wonder, because they differ slightly. However, to make good use of their potential, you should know the subtle differences between them.

Multi-channel marketing

Multi-channel marketing was available first and continues to function today. It allows the customer to interact with the brand through multiple channels. It can be a telephones, computer, stationary store. Customers have already learned that they can access brands 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on various platforms. So it is an absolute must have for an online entrepreneur if he does not want to “go out of circulation”.

Cross-channel marketing

Cross channel marketing is very similar to its predecessor. The difference between them, however, is that in the latter, different brand communication channels with the client are connected with each other. In practice, this means that they register and pass on information about the customer, which greatly facilitates the purchase and, as a result, shortens the customer’s shopping path. In particular, women know perfectly well how wonderful it is to get a 20% discount on buying shoes of your favorite brand and be able to use it both online and offline – in a stationary store, via a desktop computer or cell phones.

An example of the use of cross-channel marketing by brands is, for example, an e-mail survey after shopping in a store asking for shopping experience.

In practice, it may look like this:

When you finish shopping in an online store, you will see a pop-up asking you to complete a short survey. The survey contains 5 questions about your shopping experience. You complete it, which in turn entitles you to a 20% discount on re-purchases. You can redeem the discount both online and offline (in any stationary store of the same brand).

Each store representative will be able to scan the coupon, but the customer will also be able to enter the coupon code also at the online cash register and receive the same coupon in this channel.

In this example, the channels will communicate with each other by first creating an online survey based on personal experience and then checking the validity of the coupon.

Once the coupon is used online, it can no longer be used in the store and vice versa.

Omni-channel marketing

Omni-channel marketing is the most advanced type of multi-channel marketing. It uses channels that work together seamlessly, providing clients with comprehensive service at the highest level.

The goal of this type of marketing is to “break the barrier” between the online and offline world.

A good example of using omnichannel marketing is the use of applications that help potential customers make a purchasing decision.

The Shiseido brand allows, for example, the use of “Shiseido Makeup Mirror”. The consumer’s face is placed in a virtual mirror, and he has the opportunity to see how it looks in a given make-up. For women, this is a great help. Each of us will certainly admit that there is nothing worse than an incorrectly chosen foundation or blush that does not harmonize perfectly with our skin tone.

The application also allows you to take a photo to allow you to quietly make a purchasing decision from the comfort of your home. For people who do not like to make purchasing decisions spontaneously, it is extremely helpful. Otherwise, they might never have decided to buy.

Professionals in the field of sales psychology say that the process of making a purchasing decision begins long before the purchase and has its consequences long after. This brand is aware of this and, what’s more, it perfectly uses this knowledge.

Shiseido allows consumers to virtually “try on makeup” to help them make the best buying decision. This method also increases your chances of getting better opinions about your products. So you admit that it’s a well-planned marketing strategy.

Summary

Cross-channel marketing involves combining different marketing channels in a way that creates a logical transition for the target audience from one stage to another. Different channels work together to ensure consistent communication with the consumer.

However, it is important not to confuse it with omnichannel marketing, which also uses several marketing channels to interact with the client, but this does not necessarily mean consistency between them.

In cross channel marketing, you can send your customers an email about the promotion of their favorite product, display targeted ads on social media to improve brand recognition, and publish blog posts on topics related to key phrases. All this together is an effective method of building trust and leads to maximizing conversions.

Let’s say you run a company that sells hair thickening shampoo. The shampoo is patented and very effective. Therefore, your target group will be people with the problem of hair loss.

A potential customer will read the blog post you wrote about the causes of hair loss. The email he then receives will provide testimonials from someone who has overcome the same problem with your product. When your dream client looks into social media the same evening, he sees an ad with a catchy headline about how your products or services completely remove the problem he was reading about.

Such marketing activities give consumers a clear sense of consistency with the brand, while also building trust in it. Their shopping path becomes as smooth and direct as possible. Because there is a clear link between each part of your marketing experience, it’s easier to verify and optimize your marketing efforts, which can help you achieve the right ROI from your campaign.

In omnichannel marketing, individual channels are treated as independent entities. As a result, your marketing activities remain essentially independent, making it difficult to link a specific effort to achieving a high ROI.

Marketing has evolved considerably over the years and created new opportunities. However, in order to meet market expectations, you need to be an diligent student and constantly supplement your knowledge with new directions in the field of digital marketing.

Regardless of whether you use multichannel marketing, cross channel marketing or omnichannel marketing, the most important thing is that you put the quality of customer service first. Making the purchase process as easy and intuitive as possible is the key to catapulting your marketing to become the leader of the 21st century.

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Affiliate programs – types and advantages https://www.paraphrase-online.com/blog/special/affiliate-programs-types-and-advantages/ Wed, 26 Feb 2020 13:03:47 +0000 https://www.paraphrase-online.com/blog/?p=499 Continue readingAffiliate programs – types and advantages]]> Although affiliate marketing is not new, it is growing in popularity. For the seller, it is a chance to promote their products or acquire customers at a fairly low cost. It provides partners with full freedom of action to obtain the greatest financial profits. Affiliate programs – are you interested in them? Get to know their types along with the biggest advantages.

Affiliate Programs – What is it?

Affiliate programs are nothing more than affiliate marketing. It is an efficiency channel based on the relationship: seller (advertiser) – partner (publisher / affiliate). The specificity of this channel means that it is not a direct marketing technique. Closer to the model of employing independent marketers, who – motivated by a commission system – take the most effective actions to attract the largest number of customers performing the desired actions.

Participants of partner programs

Before you implement affiliate marketing, you should know the essence of its functioning. In this case, four “links” play an important role.

Seller (advertiser)
The salesperson is the main element in affiliate marketing – it is he who “launches” the affiliate program, wanting to promote his products and acquire customers in order to achieve his business goals.

Partner (publisher)
The partner has an advertising space that can be used to promote specific products / services. Any publisher or social media users who, as part of the affiliate program, intend to present the seller’s offer can become a publisher.

User
The user is simply a potential customer who clicks on a special affiliate link. As a result, he is redirected to the advertiser’s website and makes a purchase or performs any other desired action there.

Affiliate Network
An affiliate network is a platform that provides technology that allows collaboration between the seller and the partner. Its role is also to control the correctness of cooperation and optimization of activities carried out by advertisers and publishers.

Affiliate programs – types

All affiliate programs operate on similar principles. However, their types may be different, taking into account, for example, how advertisers are billed with publishers and the affiliate network. So let’s explore the available options to choose the most favorable and best suited to your needs

Pay per sale
Pay per sale (PPS) is a method of accounting for participants of affiliate programs, which consists in granting a specific amount on sales. It can also be a percentage of the amount of the final purchase made by the user. Accounting in the PPS model is the most popular in partner programs. Due to the fact that they are characterized by a relatively low conversion, the paid commissions are quite high – often up to 50% (in the case of services, software).

Pay per lead
Pay per lead (PPL) means the specific amount paid for each specific action taken by the user. In this case, it does not have to be only a customer’s purchase. Acquiring leads may include, among others to sign up for the mailing list, fill out the contact form. This type of affiliate program allows advertisers to measure the performance of specific ads. By calculating the average income in relation to the leads obtained, it can estimate the amount of profits made.

Pay per click
Pay per click (PPC) is a method of accounting for affiliate programs, the essence of which is to pay a specific amount for each click on an ad – similar to Google Ads. The number of products sold does not matter. Of the available types of affiliate programs, settlement in the PPC model enjoys the least popularity.

Affiliate programs are mutual benefits?

Affiliate programs are gaining popularity year by year. According to the latest Paraphrase-Online.com report, total investment in affiliate marketing in Europe has exceeded EUR 12 trillion. Although it is primarily popular among top advertisers, it really benefits every seller. This is due to the simple fact – affiliate programs are a model based on high performance and profitability. The biggest advantage of affiliate marketing are mutual benefits – especially when settling in the PPS model.

The advertiser is sure that the partner will take the most effective actions translating into increased sales of products. The publisher is highly motivated because his dedication depends on how much he can earn. It can also use any marketing methods that are most effective in acquiring customers.

Low cost to the advertiser
Participation in the affiliate program requires advertisers to bear the costs. However, they are relatively low, taking into account the payment of commission only when, for example, there is a sale.

Attractive earnings for the publisher
In the case of affiliate programs settled on the basis of PPL or PPS, the publisher has a chance to earn well. Much, however, depends on his activities. The more thought-out the campaigns, the greater the chance for profit.

Affiliate marketing – where to start?

Are you a salesman and want to run affiliate marketing? You need to start by creating an affiliate program and then invite publishers, e.g. through an affiliate network. Are you the owner of an advertising space and want to start earning? Join selected partner programs to receive sales and lead generation commissions through properly conducted marketing activities.

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