Affiliate marketing is a sales technique that is almost as old as the internet itself. It was first pioneered by US entrepreneur William J Tobin as a way of building sales for his online flowers and gifts site. 35 years on, there are affiliate programs for literally dozens of business niches. But as it has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry over the past decade, personalized gift programs that follow Tobin’s original idea have been among the fastest-growing.
The digital revolution has seen a steady increase in the number of Americans buying gifts online. But this trend took a dramatic upturn during the unprecedented events of 2020 and 2021, when the proportion of gifts bought online shot up to more than 60 percent. Since then, brick and mortar stores have clawed back a little market share, but at more than 40 percent, the online gift market still generates hundreds of billions of dollars per year. It’s no surprise, therefore, that online gift sellers pursue every marketing tool at their disposal.
What makes a successful gift affiliate program?
Rapid growth means there is no shortage of affiliate programs out there for marketing personalized gifts, especially in the US. But there are some factors that make a handful of affiliate programs stand out from the rest:
- Lucrative commissions – the commission structure tends to be the first thing that prospective affiliates look at. That’s reasonable enough, as it directly corresponds to potential earnings. Gift affiliates tend to offer generous commission rates, sometimes as high as 10 percent.
- Reliable payments – having said that, 10 percent of nothing is nothing. The last thing you want is to be constantly chasing your affiliate partner for payments. A reliable program has a transparent and hassle-free schedule for payments.
- Good quality products – the key to a successful affiliate partnership is a credible affiliate promoting reputable products. The problem is that if the products are of poor quality, then the affiliate’s credibility will suffer, and a damaged reputation can take a long time to repair. Take time to properly evaluate the product range before signing up for an affiliate program.
- Transparent tracking processes – like any kind of digital marketing, constant monitoring is vital in order to improve and optimize. The best programs provide affiliates with access to marketing software that provides reports and analytics to monitor performance and identify areas for improvement.
- Help and support – particularly important for those starting out in affiliate marketing, most of the well-established affiliate programs have strong community support channels such as fora, webchats and social media groups The Lucasgift program is a good example of this principle in action. Even if these are in their infancy, reputable programs will still offer useful resources such as branded advertising banners and content templates.
Types of gift affiliate programs
One of the main cornerstones for success in affiliate marketing is to choose a product niche that appeals to you and to your main demographic of visitors. On the face of it, a niche where you can share personalized gift ideas sounds like one that will have universal appeal. However, there are different types of gift sites, so it is important to consider what sort is the best fit for you.
Some of the most popular examples include wooden gift toys, handmade craft gifts, tech gifts, experience days and subscription gifts, such as monthly food or drink boxes.
