An affiliate marketer drives traffic to third-party affiliate networks and ecommerce retailers, then earns a commission rate for every sale of a promoted digital product. Part of a digital marketing strategy, a successful affiliate marketing program potentially leads to payouts that can quickly add up. On occasion, there are incentives extended to affiliate marketers, from higher commissions to complimentary gifts.
Small businesses and startups in the ecommerce space that offer new products or services often form an affiliate marketing partnership with freelancers, such as bloggers and influencers, in order to push affiliate sales. Marketers may share their personalized links leading to the affiliate business and its offerings through social media posts, video content, blog posts, and other forms of digital media.
Several important factors, including project scope and geographical location, could influence how much affiliate marketers cost upfront and overall. In addition, certain freelance marketers charge for their services by the hour while others bill per project.
Experience and expertise
Beginner affiliate marketers tend to charge about $25 an hour, though this is toward the lower end of the price range. Intermediate freelancers with a firm grasp on online marketing strategy and search engine optimization (SEO) typically command upwards of $60 per hour. Expert marketers who excel in referral marketing could earn ample affiliate commissions through high conversion rates, billing an hourly rate of $115 and more.
Scope of work
To stay within the marketing budget, a project agreement should ideally define deliverables, expected outcomes, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Plus, the contract needs to include a clear statement or description of the work, such as directing leads toward a specific affiliate product linked to an ecommerce landing page or online business on Amazon.
Timeline
There are factors in regard to the timeline that potentially influence costs, between the turnaround time for deliverables and the time frame given to provide marketing consulting services. Additionally, an affiliate marketer may charge premium rates to expedite any expected deliverables.
Geography
For most projects, a freelance affiliate marketer can complete work remotely from anywhere in the world. Still, they may take into account their location’s cost of living when calculating hourly or project fees. For example, an independent professional who resides in a large metro area like Los Angeles or New York City would likely set higher rates than a contractor residing in a less densely populated region or town.
Popular affiliate marketer projects & costs examples
There are many different types of projects an affiliate marketer may complete, from executing email marketing campaigns to developing an affiliate marketing strategy to boost sales. Here are a few ideas of contracts freelance marketers could take on for a client.
Produce a marketing strategy to increase affiliate sales
A well-designed strategy serves as a roadmap for effective marketing efforts. It could specify which social media platforms to use in order to drive referrals to affiliate businesses, as well as the types of content marketing initiatives to implement. A seasoned strategist could charge on average $80 per hour for their services.
Create tutorials about how affiliate marketing programs work
Newcomers to the affiliate marketing world potentially lack the knowledge to successfully promote an affiliate network or business. This is where an experienced freelance marketer can come in to provide guidance to beginners through individual or group training sessions.
In addition to one-on-one training, an independent professional could offer step-by-step tutorials and guides covering the subject matter. For this type of project, a mid-level marketer may bill around $60 an hour.
Manage email marketing campaigns to boost referral volume
Emails are great tools for collecting relevant information from leads. The data makes it easier to create personalized, targeted emails that could convince a lead to visit the affiliate and make a purchase. A freelancer potentially charges an hourly rate of $45 to handle email marketing efforts.
Find talent at the world’s work marketplace
Providing a user-friendly freelancing platform, Upwork connects millions of businesses to a wide network of independent professionals. By partnering with one of Upwork’s preferred marketing experts, launch a new affiliate marketing program or take an existing one to the next level. Collaborate with experienced affiliate marketers on Upwork today.