Effective solutions for affiliate marketing with SMS mailings

Virtual communication via SMS has given way to messengers of all kinds for quite some time now, but for affiliate marketing specialists this doesn't play a big role. The main thing is that people are almost constantly with smartphones and continue to read SMS promptly. In this article, we will analyze how this tool should be used and how it can be better than such methods as email newsletters.

How SMS mailing is beneficial in terms of traffic source

While affiliate marketing now relies on SEO, blogs and contextual advertising to attract users, marketing via SMS often remains in the shadows. This option gives you the opportunity to stand out quite vividly from the crowd and make big profits.

SMS messages are opened almost immediately upon receipt, which makes them a great way to promote operational offers, such as Black Friday or Valentine's Day promotions. This gives you the opportunity to instantly engage with people at the right moments.

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Working with such messages does not involve complex design or layout. All it takes to launch a successful campaign is a couple of sentences and a link, making this format simple and effective for a quick launch with high returns.

Disadvantages of SMS marketing

Like any other method of promotion, marketing via SMS has its disadvantages, although its advantages often outweigh. But in order to make an informed decision about its use, it is worth considering the following disadvantages:

1. Limitation on the number of characters (as everyone knows - up to 160), which is not always convenient for explanations and forces you to shorten the text.
2. The possibility of non-delivery of some messages due to problems with mobile access to repeaters or operator restrictions.
3. Inability to include multimedia content such as videos or pictures.
4. Low effectiveness in attracting newcomers, as messages are usually sent to a familiar audience.

For which areas of business should this approach be applied?

Ecommerce

This area is focused on direct sales through agencies, where advertising campaigns are focused on gaining customer interest through SMS messaging.

Nutra

This is about non-medicinal products that are aimed at improving health and body care. Thematic mailings provide an opportunity to reach a fairly large audience, especially during times of increased demand for such products.

Mobile software

With the growing popularity of mobile applications such traffic has increased significantly, SMS mailings give an opportunity to interest new users.

Gambling/Betting (iGaming)

Offers for all kinds of gambling. Although the cost of traffic in this area is quite high, SMS-newsletters demonstrate good efficiency. Many offers belong to the gray segment, but the target audience here easily finds a response.

Guide to selecting offers, read here.

Adult content

Promotion of services such as paid subscriptions to relevant sites. The key target audience is men under the age of 45. Messages can successfully attract new guests to the site.

Dating

This includes offers to promote dating sites. The target audience is men in their 20s-30s and 45s-60s. SMS-newsletters help to attract new users and grow the customer base.

Finance

This vertical covers offers from brokers to microfinance organizations. SMS helps to engage users in the 25-35 age group, ensuring good results in the finance sector.

Cryptocurrency and Binary (Crypto)

Includes offers from cryptocurrency exchanges, investment platforms and sellers of all kinds of equipment to conduct mining.

How to legally gather a contact base for SMS distribution

• subscription on the resource. Add a subscription form on your website, through which visitors can leave their contact information in exchange for useful information or materials;
• subscription when making a purchase. Invite customers to leave their contacts at checkout;
• SMS promotions and contests of all kinds. Organize promotions or contests where you will need to provide your number to participate;
• social networks. Use this option to promote subscription to SMS notifications with your offers.

1. Exclusive offers. Include discounts or promo codes in SMS. Change promotions to keep the newsletter interesting and keep your audience engaged.
2. Exciting beginning of the message. Since the first 40–50 characters appear in the preview, use them to grab attention to encourage the user to read the message in full.
3. Contact Segmentation. Divide your phone contacts into groups based on different characteristics such as age, gender, location, or interests.
4. A/B testing. Experiment with different texts, send times, appeals, and other elements to see what works best and improve overall effectiveness.

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Conclusion

SMS marketing is a powerful but often underestimated tool to get customers interested, especially in affiliate marketing. This channel helps you stand out from your competitors and get your message across quickly. Since most messages are read within three minutes of receipt, SMS is ideal for promoting temporary offers.