• 11 Jun 2019
  • 4 Min read

5 reasons to use discounts and voucher codes in your affiliate marketing campaign

Affiliate marketing is associated with voucher codes and discounts, but you might be wary of going down this route out of fear that it could have a negative impact on your bottom line. You might also worry that offering discounts will cheapen your brand’s reputation — especially if you want to be known as a luxury retailer.

However, offering discounts through voucher code and cashback sites can massively benefit your affiliate campaign by helping you to create the strongest possible network and bag more sales. We’re going to discuss exactly how that’s the case here. (Want to get to grips with the basics first? Read our guide: What is affiliate marketing?)

Top voucher and cashback sites have massive reach

There’s no denying the power of cashback and voucher sites: two of the biggest hitters, TopCashback and MyVoucherCodes, have seven and eight million members respectively. In order to secure access to this huge potential customer base, you have to offer shoppers a deal or work within a cashback model.

Voucher codes and cashback eat into profit margins, but there are some strategies you can use to maximise your revenue. For example, if your average order value is £80, you could choose to offer a ‘£10 off orders over £100’ code, which is likely to convince customers to increase their basket value. Or, you could provide free UK delivery for orders over a certain amount which, again, can encourage people to up the value of their order before checking out.

You can personalise your offers to target specific types of customers

Cashback and voucher code sites have a lot of data on their users. This allows affiliate business owners to target certain demographics with the deals that they’re offering.

For example, if you’re a fashion retailer that typically appeals to women aged 18–30, these are the people you’ll want to see your offers most. And, you can arrange for your chosen cashback and voucher code sites to make this happen. This is a great way to build brand awareness among your target demographic and should help you to get an ROI you’re happy with.

You’ll also often be given the option of targeting new or existing customers, so you can choose between trying to drum up more business or building brand loyalty. Of course, you can do both, but one strategy might be more fruitful than the other.

You’ll be less likely to lose sales to competitors

When you’re considering whether you’re open to offering discounts and cashback, it can be helpful to consider customer behaviour. For example, while some shoppers will only look for voucher codes and other ways to save money once they have filled an online basket with items they’re looking to buy, other will do this research much earlier in the buying process. This is what makes discount sites such valuable customer acquisition channels.

For example, if someone has a very clear idea of what they’re shopping for, but they haven’t yet decided where to buy it from, they might go straight to voucher and cashback sites to see who’s offering the best deal. This means, if you don’t have a space on these websites, similar companies that do will be much more likely to bag the sale. So, offering discounts can be a great way of preventing your competitors from getting easy wins over you.

Your ROI will be trackable

With a lot of other marketing channels, tracking your return on investment can be difficult or even impossible. For example, a customer might have seen a poster at a bus stop or Instagram post that inspired them to make a purchase, but it’s hard to work out whether this is the case.

With voucher codes and cashback sites, you’ll be able to see direct links between your marketing campaign and any conversions. This is because trackable codes and URLs will be affiliated with each campaign that you set up, so you can see exactly how much money you’re making through each affiliate marketing channel.

You’ll then be able to compare your revenue with the amount of money you’re spending to work out whether this form of marketing is suitable for your business. If you’re offering different types of discounts and offers on separate platforms, you’ll also be able to get a good idea of what deals are most popular with your target demographics and adjust your approach accordingly.

There are plenty of reasons why it’s worth using voucher codes and cashback offers as part of your affiliate marketing campaign. Not only will it help to get your brand in front of more people and prevent you from losing sales to competitors, but it will also allow you to target certain demographics and accurately track your ROI.

If you’re looking for an affiliate marketing agency that can help you to secure a place on discount sites, we use market-leading technology to deliver low-risk but high-reward campaigns that require minimal input from you. So, you can sit back and watch as we boost your sales. Get in touch with us today to learn more. 


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