Most affiliate marketing tactics rely on content like articles, product reviews, and social posts to drive clicks and generate revenue. But affiliate marketing isn’t just for content creators. In fact, you don’t even need a website to develop an effective — and profitable — affiliate marketing strategy.
App developers are beginning to see the value of affiliate marketing, and many are tapping into its potential. Shopping apps are especially well-suited to affiliate marketing, including buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services and other tools to help consumers find coupons or deals. These apps serve as consumer discovery engines and can create an entirely new revenue stream for the app developer.
A key feature of affiliate marketing is its breadth and depth. By giving app-based shoppers access to a vast number of merchants to shop at — and sometimes deals and discount programs — you offer the ability to connect with new merchants and trending products, all while successfully monetizing more of your clicks.
Here are two great examples of how Sovrn clients have incorporated affiliate marketing into their shopping apps.
Klarna
The Klarna app helps millions of customers shop at thousands of stores with their BNPL offering, as well as find great deals on the products they want every day, creating a seamless shopping experience with flexible payment options. Using the Sovrn Commerce API, Klarna monetizes the shopping experience by providing customers with access to our entire list of 30,000+ affiliate merchants. Every purchase made through the app earns Klarna an affiliate commission, and the breadth of discount programs ensures that app users will return again and again looking for the best deals.
Zip (formerly QuadPay)
Zip uses the Sovrn Commerce API to create a seamless monetization solution straight from their in-house shopping app. When shoppers use the app, they’re shown a selection of merchants, products, and product categories tailored to their interests. Each click or purchase drives incremental revenue for Zip. To learn more about how Zip leverages Sovrn technology and expertise to maximize affiliate revenue, check out this case study.
Other Ways to Leverage Affiliate Marketing in Your App
Affiliate marketing is flexible enough to allow all kinds of app developers to diversify their revenue. Even if your app isn’t retail-focused, there may be related products that you could promote as part of the overall app experience.
Using our Commerce API, you can monetize your app experience by pulling in top coupons and trending deals from thousands of retailers. Or build out a rich shopping and product discovery experience to augment your main app content. The potential of app-based affiliate marketing is only limited by your imagination.
Ready to start earning with affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is relatively easy to understand but getting started can seem daunting. Even if you’re already making money through affiliate marketing, there may be new ideas to explore and new opportunities to enhance your strategy.
Download our free ebook: 5 Ways to Make Affiliate Marketing Work for You in 2021, and visit Sovrn Commerce, to discover how to start earning through affiliate marketing.
