The Daily Yomiuri:
One in 10 people who put ads from affiliate marketing programs on their Web sites or blogs earn 5,000 yen or more a month, while 70% earn less than 1,000 yen, according to a survey. People likely will be divided over how to look at these statistics: One interpretation is that it’s a tough way to earn real money; another is that affiliate marketing is still an easy way to make money on the side.
The online survey conducted by the Affiliate Marketing Association last November covered 10,825 people who are members of Web service program MyPoint.com. Of them, 525, or 8.6%, were affiliates. Of nonaffiliates, 31.3% answered that they definitely or somewhat wanted to become affiliated.
Kenichi Shibata, director of the association, says affiliates are earning more than he had expected. ‘The pay is supposed to be proportional to the time and effort they put in. The result shows that there are quite a few people who make 10,000 yen a month in their spare time.’
He says affiliate marketing is the safest kind of business. ‘You don’t lose any money, unlike pachinko or stocks. With affiliate marketing, the worst scenario is that you get nothing.’
But when you think about it, the system seems to work in favor of e-tailers, who pay out only a small percentage of their sales.
Shibata points out that as competition among affiliates is getting fierce, so is competition among e-tailers who want their ads to be posted on affiliate Web sites. The competition is prompting e-tailers to pay out at higher rates.
ValueCommerce, which in 1999 became the first affiliate service provider (ASP) in Japan to introduce this business model, predicts further growth in the affiliate marketing business. CEO Brian Nelson is confident the ASP model will win more e-commerce companies as clients because ‘it’s natural that companies want to use something more efficient [than conventional marketing schemes].’ He points out that potential clients are not only in Japan but also in China and South Korea. Besides, existing client companies are allocating bigger budgets to affiliate marketing every year.
Shibata says affiliate marketing styles will be more diversified in the near future.
For example, online maps can be a part of the affiliate network. When users click on an icon on the map that leads them to a relevant Web site, it could be an affiliate marketing site. Phone calls can be a proof of a transaction when consumers visit an affiliate site and then call to make a reservation at a restaurant, say, that the site refers to.
In the near future, even clicking on a dress or wine glass that you might see in an online video clip could mean you’re helping out an affiliater.
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