Loyal audiences averaging in millions of subscribers for influencers all over social media have proven that their followings can convert into sales. Affiliate marketing ties into this, how? Performance-based marketing is often referred to as another term for affiliate marketing in which individuals are given customized links to track any sales generated from their promotional posts. From each of those sales, they are awarded via a commission percentage, flat dollar amount, or both. The ease of publisher customization, tracking URLs and commission payouts associated with affiliate marketing have been encouraging to influencers everywhere.We'll use an example of a fictional fashion influencer, and we'll call her Sally. Sally lives in Los Angeles and has around a million subscribers across her primary social media channels, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat. Now let's pretend that you're an advertiser for a boutique clothing line with a store located along the coast in Orange County looking to tap into a younger niche market. Influencers like Sally would be great to add leverage to your marketing since her promoting your brand would automatically gain credibility from her subscribers, in addition to increasing your customer base and conversions.The most effective ways to do this are either by negotiating a hybrid payout with a flat fee or by offering products in exchange for the posts, both often accompanied with an appealing commission rate. Besides the money or product received for the feature, the commission rate that the influencer is also receiving can potentially last as long as the posts remain visible to their viewers. Often, the commission structure has served as even more motivation for them to push the products and brand more with their followers and subscribers. It's a win-win situation—an increase in sales and brand awareness for the advertiser and an additional source of income for the influencer.Leveraging influencers tends to provide more marketing possibilities along with additional revenue, conversions, and customers with minimal effort involved for advertisers. Start by focusing on influential publishers that have a reach into the customers or niche you're looking to tap into and initiate outreach by sharing an opportunity to collaborate. The already existing prominence that influencers have in affiliate marketing is steadily growing and now is the perfect time to incorporate them into your strategy.

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