Outdoors Niche - Affiliate Marketing
Hello friends,
I have received a comment on my website, and since I want to provide quality feedback, I have decided to ask the community here, as it is not my niche.
(The comment was received on an article concerning informative content about how to start an affiliate marketing business.)
Here is the comment:
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So, I have a few questions, but I feel I should explain my situation:
I am Dutch/British but currently live on the border of the Sumatran jungle with my husband and son where we run a guesthouse with ethical jungle trekking and tours.
This sounds unique- we are not, there are over 200 other 'trekking companies' and about 120 guesthouses.
I really want to get into affiliate marketing (namely for the equipment we need our guests to have prior to arriving here; the quality of products here is SO bad and the main town is 4hrs away!
I am also looking into stocking some here, but Indo has an insane import tax I would need some serious dollar behind me, hence wanting them to buy it before they arrive via my affiliate link-
-I'm thinking trail boots, decent yet small backpack, water tight liners, over the knee hiking socks, quick drying towels etc ), and I would like to have affiliate links for several companies (e.g. decathlon, Columbia) and we already have a decent website and SEO ranking, however here are my issues:
1. our guests come from all over the world (NL> USA> CAN> GER> FRA> UK> SWE> etc) so would I need an affiliate link for each countries store branch?
2. After all the effort, can you really make any money? When I got in contact with Decathlon they said 0.01% commission on each item, which seems painfully low...
I ask all this BECAUSE
I HATE Amazon with a passion- they are absolutely killing the environment and they treat their workers like shite. I want to do affiliate marketing but without killing the world or people.
I am very, very interested in your thoughts and advice.
Thank you for reading my essay if you do, and thank you for the wonderful tips and content!
Lily
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If you guys could provide some kind of brief feedback, I would appreciate it.
Thanks a lot in advance,
Mike
Recent Comments
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I have 5 outdoors site and have been in this for 9 years. With recent Google's craziness this all is hopeless. But I guess this is not what she wants to hear.
I think what she wants sounds impossible. She can apply for any brand, but it will always be the issue of shipping costs. Columbia has 10% commission and this is among the highest in the outdoor industry, no reputable brand will give you more. They sell a lot on Amazon but then the commission is only 3%. Sounds bad but buying from Columbia directly may be far more expensive when costs are included.
Under 1) she listed some countries. Guess what? All of them have local Amazon stores.
So she will have to choose between protecting the planet, and running a business.
Hey Jovo;
Thanks a lot for the information.
I really appreciate it.
As for the Google madness - I hear you.
One can only guess how this will develop.
Lets see.
;)
Cheers
Mike
See more comments
For the first question, normally no, you would just join the affiliate program and then you could earn from any sales through that program, regardless of the buyer's country. You should, however, make sure that the merchants you work with ship to the countries you want.
Second question - Yes, you can make money. You just need to choose the right merchants. So don't work with Decathlon - there are probably many others who sell similar products. Do some research and you can find a good fit or two. You aren't limited to working with just one vendor either.
Finally, yes I agree about Amazon. They treat the entire world badly - their sellers, their affiliates, their buyers, as well as the earth.
Hope that helps.
Thanks a lot, Jeannine!
That helps.
Have a great weekend!
Mike