There are 110,000+ ecommerce websites which are a surprisingly low amount if you think about it. But, you must remember not every site is a full-on ecommerce site. A good amount has ecommerce features like a shop or some form of payment processing but wouldn’t call themselves ecommerce.
What does this mean for the affiliate? Options.
Adding ecommerce affiliate programs lets you take a two-pronged approach to its promotion. You have the dedicated ecommerce stores spending tens of thousands on ecommerce tools and resources. Then, you have small startups and personal businesses seeking inexpensive ecommerce solutions.
This puts you in an advantageous position to promote multi-tiered, high paying ecommerce offers. Plus, many ecommerce programs offer recurring commissions! This is, by far, an extremely enjoyable niche market we believe you should explore – these ecommerce affiliate programs can fit on nearly any niche blog with the right guidance and commitment from their blog owners.
The Ecommerce Industry: What You Need to Know
Ecommerce is one of the driving forces of the Web not only due to its necessity with payment processing for retail and online retailers. But, its business opportunity, too. Platforms like Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and Volusion have variable levels of costs and features making it possible to sell products and services online.
Businesses were stuck with their location prior to the Web. They could attempt to expand by opening new stores, using mailers, or cold calling. But, this required additional employees. Ecommerce paved the say for any individual or business to sell globally.
The ecommerce industry is divided into many parts:
- Shopping cart software
- Lead generation and landing pages
- Cross-promotional and up-sell plugins
- White labeling and drop shipping
- Retargeting and recommendation engines
- Machine learning and AI for tailored experiences
- Fulfillment and logistics
- Customer service and customer relations
Entry into using ecommerce affiliate programs to monetize a blog or site creates several, wonderful opportunities to pitch products and services. After all, remove the “e” and you have the same challenges and needs as retail/commerce stores and shops.
An ecommerce affiliate could use their blog to help people start an online store. Or, use their expertise to recommend software, apps, and services to help grow an ecommerce business. Big money is in play so commissions are quite attractive when promoting high paying ecommerce offers.
The competition is cut-throat but there’s an opportunity for new startups and business every day.
The Ecommerce Industry: By the Numbers
How and why would someone compete with big, recognizable shopping carts and services? Don’t most people shop at big retailers like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Alibaba? Sure, those ecommerce platforms account for most online purchases but they’re not the only players in town. There’s a huge push for boutique giving many ecommerce affiliates an edge on the competition.
Here’s what to know about the ecommerce industry (and why it’s a lucrative proposition):
- $4.5 trillion = The global retail ecommerce sales by 2021
- B2B ecommerce is over 2.3x the size of B2C
- China has nearly twice the amount of online shopping compared to the U.S.
- 75% of online shoppers prefer to buy in their native language
The ecommerce market has no expectations of slowing down. Point of sale systems, P2P payment gateways, and cryptocurrency are changing the game. The ability to launch an ecommerce store with little to no technical knowledge (like Shopify) is another perfect indicator.
Retail is holding on because people still enjoy the tactile experience – being able to window shop, try on clothes, and/or feel the product (especially with big purchases). But, even then, our advancements with video, 3D imagery, and virtual reality may soon remove this last bastion of in-store shopping.
Meaning… now, more than ever is the time to get in on ecommerce.
Getting Online with Ecommerce Affiliate Programs, Offers, and Promotions
The barriers to entry into ecommerce are all but nonexistent these days. Before, it required extensive knowledge of backend systems. Payment processing wasn’t quite caught up. And, there wasn’t as much trust with buying online.
Today, most prefer to research what they’ll buy before ever stepping in a store. Many will do real-time price matching with competitors in store. 79% of Americans shop online. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest retail holidays (especially online).
So, as we know – the market is divided into:
Most affiliates prefer the first – B2C – because many online retailers offer ecommerce programs. This is the retail niche which is close to what we’re doing but not on the nose. The ecommerce niche is more aligned with promoting solutions, services, and tools to help the average person start selling online.
This includes:
- Shopping carts
- Website themes
- Warehouse management
- Logistics
- Customer service
- Advertising and marketing
Think of all the components going into the front-end and backend of ecommerce development. There are programs, offers, and promotions for each of those. The programs pay handsomely. Shopping cart including X-Cart, Shopify, 3D Cart, and more often pay 15%+ upon sign up.
The other is B2B.
B2B ecommerce is selling products and/or services to other businesses. It includes items like:
- Wholesale products
- Equipment
- Software as a service
- Parts and components
- Office supplies
- Apparel
- Promotional items
- Open source solutions
… and a whole lot more. Basically, the stuff to let the business operate. Consumers often don’t see this side of the market but it’s a lot like shopping at a member’s club store. It provides quantity discounts and often requires extra legwork to build and keep relationships and contracts.
How to Promote Ecommerce Affiliate Programs and Make Money with High Paying Ecommerce Offers
It depends on which direction you’re going: B2C or B2B.
The B2C market is the easiest to enter because you can pair with most online retailers through their ecommerce affiliate programs. This provides access to affiliate links, creative, copy, and support when adding high paying ecommerce offers to the site.
For example – suppose you’re helping people start an online store – you could promote:
- An ecommerce platform or shopping cart
- Website theme and plugins
- Email marketing services
- CRM solutions
- Shopping cart abandonment tools
- Photo editing for product pictures
- Content development for the shop blog
- Social media marketing tools and services
Chances are, someone starting an ecommerce store will need each of these items as they’ve become quite necessary for competition. Many will opt for free options in the beginning but quickly upgrade to paid and premium services once they see an ROI with the store.
This is perfect for creating roundups, reviews, and comparison guides that’ll include the ecommerce promotions and offers.
The B2B market is a bit of the same but there isn’t
too much you can do if you’re not a business selling products and/or services in this market. Yet, there are opportunities:
- White labeling services
- Drop shipping services
- Recommendation engines
White labeling software is a lucrative sub-niche of the ecommerce market. This lets you earn commissions for software solutions a company can rebrand and resell. It falls in line with the business opportunity niche, in a way, which many will pay top dollar to introduce.
Drop shipping is quite a good one, too, which skirts the line of retail and wholesale. Here, you can create an ecommerce shop selling products directly, through affiliate means, or promoting high paying offers to drop shipping services other businesses could use.
Lastly, recommendations take all of these and wrap it in a neat package. A recommendation site use reviews, sponsorship, and targeted campaigns to help find items for a person or business. These products are often affiliated and open to user reviews which boost interest and sales.
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The promotional side is your typical affair with Internet Marketing. This includes PPC ads, social media marketing, content creation, SEO, email marketing, outreach, and the like. Standard stuff if you’ve built a blog or site. There’s a little more to it when you list thousands of products but it’s not too different.
Maybe the Ecommerce Niche Right for You – Add Ecommerce Offers and Promotions to Find Out
Ecommerce gives you the best of everything:
- You can create great content and build a following like you would a blog
- You can sell products directly through the online portal
- You can make money doing B2B sales
There’s always a challenge with improving the ROI in ecommerce. This keeps you constantly learning and trying new things. Competition is fierce but welcoming compared to many other niches.
It’s a niche for those wanting to build something sustainable and real vs blogging about a few topics and eventually getting bored with it all. Plus, who scoffs at the earnings one can make when adding ecommerce programs to the mix? This industry is
massive and with it comes the
huge commissions.
Look through our ecommerce affiliate programs directory and see which best suits your blog, site, or online project. Find ways to add it to existing efforts. You’ll be dumbfounded you haven’t tried this niche before.