OVERVIEW
To a business owner it’s important to have a clear picture about what is happening in your chosen niche industry and online Affiliate Marketing is growing at great speeds as more and more promoters, merchants and companies discover it’s power in moving product. So, here is a compilation of 10 Facts About Affiliate Marketing that will interest anyone in the game, giving you a snapshot and insight!
Married People Aged 25 to 44
Contents
Married people between the ages of 25 to 44 make up 55% of Affiliate Marketers according to AFFSTAT in years past. This is not surprising to me because it would include those who are at home taking care of young children, and perhaps looking at ways to earn supplementary income to support the household. So this makes alot of sence.
Product Brands
The Affiliate Marketing channel to promote product brands on the internet is the second most used – it is predicted to climb to a $6.8 billion industry up to 2020 according to FORESTER. This shouldn’t be of any surprise though, since advanced training and technologies, including software and hosting platforms such as Wealthy Affiliate, make it straight forward, affordable and user friendly for anyone looking to get started.
Registered Companies Cashing In
Most affiliate profiles were individuals with privately owned websites in the past. But today registered companies or a collection of companies now make up most affiliates. It’s no surprise here either that Companies want a bigger piece of the pie and have been adapting to the times. Some slower than others but these companies are all catching up as they realise that consumer behaviour potentially means a bigger reach across the globe for them and a change in their marketing approach.
Where Affiliates Work From…
According to AFFSTAT in 2016, 54% of affiliates work from home, 19% work from an office, 
and 27% work a mixture of the two. Whether it is obvious or not, more and more people want the freedom of working from home or from anywhere in the world. The online affiliate world has certainly provided this opportunity since it’s inception around 15 years now.
Generating Sources Are…
According to an AFFSTAT Survey, the FIVE traffic generating sources are…SEO with 69%; Social Networks with 67%; Blogging with 65%; Email-Marketing with 48%; PPC with 34%. The suggestion here is that Search Engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo remain the main way consumers find what they are looking for, closely followed by Social Networks such as Facebook, Twitter and so on. Followed by blogging although Vlogging is a growing trend.
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Vlogging A Growing Trend
Vlogging or video blogging is currently trending among internet marketers on social channels like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. So, the expectation is that popularity among affiliate marketers for this channel will grow in the years to come. Just see YouTube and facebook to know how popular this approch is.
Programs Affiliates Prefer To Promote
By looking at the type of programs affiliates prefer to promote, we see that Business to 
Consumer (the customer being the consumer) or B2C is preferred by 60% of all affiliate marketers, as it is a friendlier environment online and the cycle is short. I.e. a mum is looking for soft toys and she finds a site, reads a product review and clicks through to buy an item.
Business To Business
Business to Business or B2B will take longer because the salesperson usually meets with the heads of departments who then get approval from someone higher, usually the business owner. The products and services are intended for other businesses. I.e. factory equipment, office equipment/furniture, and accounting services.
Most Promoted By Affiliates
Computer and electronics categories are promoted the most by affiliates at 41%. Then clothing apparel comes next at 40% and then online services. Amazon is the worlds biggest online retailer and provides a platform for affiliates promoting such things as Computers and electronics. Of course thier range of products across lines is massive, giving their affiliates or associates as Amazon like to call them, a huge choice of products to promote.
Affiliate Programs
Forty-two percent (42%) of affiliate marketers promote between 1 – 10 affiliate programs; 23% promote between 11 – 20 affiliate programs; 14% between 21 and 30 affiliate programs. The amount of products an affiliate want to promote is up to each affiliate, and will usually revovle around their chosen niche. This is usually a hobby or interest of theirs. Although, the more experience an affiliate gathers around online marketing, the more opportunities they see.
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Very interesting facts here. As someone who is new to affiliate marketing, it kinda makes me stop and think about a few things, including the vlogging. I may have to think about getting into that and incorporating it with a niche website, especially if it’s projected to become a bigger part of affiliate marketing. Thanks for the food for thought.
Interesting statistics on affiliate marketers profiles.
These have changed significantly from even 5 years ago as more people look for supplemental income.
Point #9 is testament to a lot of why affiliate marketers quit. They automatically go for the highest ticket priced items they can find (like electronics) and they really have no motivation entering the niche other than to monetize it – so they offer little to no value to site visitors.
I think as the world surges forward, people have slowly come to realise that working a 9-5 job for someone else will never give them the financial freedom they yearn for.
Hiya SamDal!
Thanks for calling by and for the great comments…I just wanted to pick-up on the points you made.
Working from home is appealing to more and more people, and affiliate marketing is quick, low-cost, low risk making the option very attractive.
The appeal for married couples (55% of all affiliate marketers) could be that while one spouse is the main income earner, the opportunity for the other spouse to create a second income through affiliate marketing may be the reason this percentage is what it is.
The niche oppotunity is vast and as you rightly point out, offering value to site visitors within a niche is key. There are literally millions of niche ideas in all sectors of the entire global market forever evolving as new products are being added, providing more opportunity than one can imagine – new markets are opening up all of the time.
Perhaps longevity in the industry requires a diverse approach to keep people in the industry. Affiliate marketing is becoming the ‘new normal’. Now than ever, is the time to get started and get your self a share of this ‘new nomal’.
Rina,
I really liked your 10 facts about Affiliate marketing. I didn’t even know business to business marketing was an option until I visited your site, but I was wondering, what is AFFSTAT? Overall, I like the facts you chose to list, and I think they provide some important information about Affiliate Marketing that I’m glad I know now.
Hi Brooks, thanks for stopping by and for the comments. In regards to what AFFSTAT is, it stands for Affiliate Statistics and they produce an annual report designed to bring awareness and important statistical data to the affiliate marketing community. They have been doing this for the past 13 years – clic here http://affstat.com/about/ to learn more about them.
Regards 🙂
You have some really interesting facts there. I’m currently new to the affiliate marketing world and had no idea the many types of businesses that can be created. It gives me a lot more to think about where I want the direction of my website to go. Thanks for the great information.
Hi Steph! Great to have you stop by. As someone who is new to affiliate marketing, you will probably realise if you haven’t already that there are in fact many facets to it.
Be sure to ask loads of questions from those who have done already done it and who are making substantial amounts of money through affiliate marketing.
Try and find a community that will willingly give up their time to answer any of your questions, such as in Wealthy Affiliate.
I wish you all the best for the future.
Regards 🙂
Hey Rina,
Very interesting stats there about Affiliate Marketing. Affiliate Marketing industry is going to be around $7billion by 2020, and that’s a huge opportunity for Affiliate Marketers.
Also, nowadays people are more inclined to shop online and do a diligent research before shopping for anything.
They heavily rely on the online reviews of the said products, and here is another great opportunity for affiliates, to write great reviews.
What fascinates me most is the fact that clothing apparel category is most promoted by the affiliates after computer and electronics.
Thanks for the very useful stats.
Regards,
Jivita
Thank you Jivita for posting your comments and for the interesting stats. The opportunity for new affiliates to start in this industry is bigger now than ever. There will be more online shoppers than ever before as well as the worlds population surpasses 7 billion. Huge opportunities indeed.