Let me say up front: content marketing works great not just for affiliate networks but for any business that sells B2B. In traffic arbitrage, that means affiliate networks, advertising networks and services of every stripe. A media buyer is a business unit: they don’t buy on emotion, they count ROI. And to catch them in your net, you need B2B methods.
I’ve already gone through the whole arsenal — paid ads, cold spam, referral programs and which of those actually work — in a separate post on marketing an affiliate network. Content marketing came fourth on that list: the dullest-looking option and the most profitable one over the long haul. Today it’s the only topic, and we’re taking it apart bone by bone.
What content marketing is
Regular advertising tells a person: “Look at this product! Gorgeous, profitable, pure poetry.” Content marketing works far more subtly, more elegantly. First you give the person content that’s useful to them, or at least interesting. And then, inside that content, with varying degrees of finesse, you tell them about the product. They get the value, you get their attention. After that they’ll come and ask what this product of yours is, all on their own.
Kinds of content marketing in traffic arbitrage
Our industry is specific, of course. But not as specific as it may seem. Besides, traffic arbitrage has been a niche for quite a few years now, and in that time the companies on this market have had a chance to road-test the strategies that work.
I can already hear it: “So what are those strategies, Reznik? Get to the point!” Yes, yes, here we go.
The standard approach
With the standard approach, an affiliate network or any other company pays to place content in the media, on a Telegram channel, an Instagram profile or anywhere else the target audience hangs out. It’s an honest deal: you pay the platform, the platform lends you its audience for one piece. Everything after that depends on what you put into that piece.
In arbitrage, the content usually comes in these flavors:
- Review. The key is that it must not read like an ad. Show objectively and impartially what the business can do for the client. Are there downsides? Say so honestly too. That builds trust. Blatant salesmanship, on the other hand, an audience can smell a mile away. Your audience is affiliates. Do you seriously think they can’t spot a paid puff piece? A purely glowing review is more likely to work against you, so better to publish nothing at all than that.
- Case study. Works for an affiliate network, a service and an advertising network alike. You write a story in which someone made money using your business. The case has to be built on real data. Sure, it’s tempting to invent something spectacular that never happened. But respect your audience and your potential clients. And by the way, a case study doesn’t have to be about millions earned: a clearly solved problem does the job too. Take our case study on protecting a site from scraping with AlterCPA One — yes, we use this format ourselves, no point pretending otherwise.
- Native content. One of the most interesting formats. You write a genuinely useful article. Say, “Why essay offers pay off in September.” It goes out in August, with proper content on the topic inside and a mention of the affiliate network that just happens to have great offers. To keep native pieces going over the long haul, you have to be really good at generating content ideas, and constantly: one lucky article a year won’t feed you.
- Interview. Someone interviews you as the founder of the business. It has to have a point, and you have to have something to say to the audience. No need to push the business itself, a mention is enough. Show your expertise in the field, earn the audience’s interest and respect for you personally, and those feelings will carry over to the company.
Guerrilla content marketing
A very interesting and subtle thing. The founder of the business runs a personal blog and grows it by placing useful content on third-party platforms for free. That content carries no advertising and usually doesn’t even mention the business by name. But it does link to the blog. The platform gets solid material for free, you get clicks and subscribers. Everyone’s happy, and nobody paid anybody.
The selling happens inside the blog, to an audience that’s already interested. The key is to pick the blog’s topic with precision, so the content hooks the right people and converts them into subscribers, who can later be converted into clients. That, incidentally, is exactly how this blog lives: useful content first, and the business somewhere on the periphery, unobtrusive, a couple of links. You’re inside that funnel right now, by the way. Don’t fidget, it doesn’t hurt.
I can recommend a friend with experience promoting affiliate networks and services through content marketing — he once helped me with this very blog. Admittedly, that was a while ago, four years or so, so I can’t vouch that the offer still stands. But stranger things have happened: message Andrey, tell him Reznik sent you, and a couple of free tips might just come your way.
Conclusion: which kind of content marketing to choose?
All of it. Ideally, run both strategies at once. If money is tight, the guerrilla option alone is fine too, just slower. But cheap.
The main thing I want to get across: if you’re running a young or mid-sized business in arbitrage, with no strong support team ready to handle a low-quality audience with a tiny average ticket, then don’t waste money, time and your employees’ nerves (your own included) on targeted ads, banner buys, branding and sponsorships. I’ve already counted how much money and how many people it takes to open an affiliate network on a shoestring. Marketing follows exactly the same logic: don’t spend more, spend smarter.
Invest in content. It will work for you forever. And extremely effectively. Don’t believe me? I wrote this text four years ago, and you’re still reading it.