Why Is Affiliate Marketing the Best Job for Digital Nomads?

Although many still define success as getting an office job at a large company, it’s now common to find people that prefer to have a job that gives them a huge level of flexibility. As a matter of fact, the term “digital nomad” was created to describe people that have the ability to work and make a living from anywhere in the world.

This has led these people to adopt nomadic lifestyles, moving around from one place to another and absorbing local cultures along the way.

There are many digital professions and career paths that allow people to adopt a nomadic lifestyle. But, becoming an affiliate marketer is one of the most accessible and profitable alternatives that are suitable for virtually anyone willing to invest time into learning.

At lemonads, we’ve worked with publishers, company owners, and other digital nomads that make a living from any part of the world they want to visit. We know from firsthand experience that affiliate marketing is the ideal job for digital nomads and anyone aspiring to adopt this lifestyle.

In this article, we’ll share some of the reasons why we believe that affiliate marketing is the best career choice for digital nomads.

What’s a Digital Nomad?

Simply put, a digital nomad is a person that has a job that allows them to work from any part of the world. Unlike jobs that require employees to travel to set destinations, digital nomads pick and choose where they want to go and almost always perform their jobs online. This is the reason why it’s usually said that digital nomads only require an internet connection and they can work from virtually anywhere -- from a park to the beach and everything in between!

One of the major challenges that all digital nomads and online workers as a whole is finding a consistent source of income. The uncertainty is greater for digital nomads because these professionals can’t always predict their exact costs as these vary depending on where they are living at any given moment.

This is where affiliate marketing comes in.

Defining Affiliate Marketing

As the name suggests, affiliate marketing is a type of advertising that allows advertisers (companies that want to promote their products and services) to partner with third-party marketers known as affiliates.

In the simplest version of this marketing model, affiliates are responsible for promoting the advertiser’s product or service. The goal is for affiliates to generate conversions, which are specific actions that advertisers want their audience members to take. Examples of a conversion include filling out a contact form, downloading a file, or making a purchase. Every time an affiliate generates a conversion, advertisers have to pay a commission to the affiliate.

There are many stakeholders in the affiliate ecosystem and a large list of concepts you need to understand before developing your first campaign. But, the most basic concepts are:

Advertisers

As we mentioned before, these are the companies that want to promote their services and products. In simple terms, advertisers want to partner with affiliate marketers that have a high chance of engaging the relevant audiences. For example, a large sportswear brand will likely be interested in partnering with a blog or site owner that covers sports and other physical activities in his or her blog.

Keep in mind that advertisers create affiliate programs that contain all the details third-party marketers need to earn a commission. However, it’s worth noting that affiliate programs often have an application process and these can come from different sources. So, you should pay close attention to the source whenever you’re evaluating a potential program.

Affiliates (Publishers, Media Buyers, Influencers, Etc.)

Affiliates are independent marketers that employ a variety of channels to promote advertisers’ products. There are many types of affiliates, including publishers, media buyers, and influences.

Publishers are affiliates that own their own publishing platforms, such as a website, blog, app, or similar online channel. These affiliates often develop and publish new content through their platforms and amplify their reach using social media.

Media buyers are affiliates that specialize in purchasing traffic from ad networks, publishers who are interested in selling their traffic, and other sources. Rather than developing content to attract different audiences, these affiliates simply purchase their preferred type of traffic to run paid ads.

Influencers are another type of affiliate that specializes in reviewing products, evaluating their performance, and creating other types of content that influence the way their audience members behave. These affiliates are sometimes categorized with publishers, but the difference between the two is that influencers tend to use their personal image as a brand. This makes these professionals more “user-facing,” rather than publishers who prefer to stay anonymous.

Affiliate Programs

Affiliate programs contain every single detail that affiliate marketers need to know what type of conversion they need to generate. This includes the target area, user details like gender and age, type of device targeted, ad formats allowed, default resources, and other essential details.

The two main ways that marketers can find affiliate programs are through direct advertisers and affiliate networks.

Direct Advertiser Offers

Direct advertiser is a term used to describe companies that manage their own affiliate programs. This means that affiliates work directly with the company that wants to promote its products or services, which often translates to a harder application process and more demanding requirements.

Affiliate Networks

Affiliate networks, on the other hand, are platforms designed to connect publishers with advertisers. These platforms serve as an intermediary between the two, often managing everything from affiliate program publication to the application and payout processes.

Needless to say, networks work with a variety of advertisers. For this reason, the affiliate application process tends to be more flexible to better meet the needs of all advertisers. This makes it easier for publishers and other digital nomads that are looking to monetize the content they produce or make the most from the traffic they buy.

Skills Required to Become a Successful Affiliate Marketer

Affiliate marketing offers a lot of benefits for digital nomads. For starters, there’s a wide list of industries to choose from, so you can always work with a vertical you’re passionate about. Not only this, but it’s performance-based, so the more time and effort you invest, the more conversions and money you’ll produce. And, the best part is that it allows for maximum schedule flexibility, so you can schedule your work hours around other activities.

With the above in mind, the biggest reason why affiliate marketing may be among the best jobs for digital nomads is that most online professionals already possess the skills required to succeed as affiliate marketers.

To become a successful affiliate marketer, you need to have the ability to:

Stay Organized

Digital nomads may have a relaxed demeanor, but these professionals usually know how to stay organized. Whether it’s delivering work on time, following travel itineraries, requesting tourist visas, or organizing calls with people in opposite time zones, online professionals have the ability to arrange different tasks and keep a close eye on dates.

Staying organized is one of the most essential skills that affiliates need to have to succeed, which is the reason why digital nomads usually fall naturally into the role.

Conduct Research (Keyword, Competitor, Etc.)

Affiliates are tasked with conducting different types of research, ranging from competitor analyses to keyword group identification. Coincidentally, digital nomads tend to be extremely skilled at conducting research and learning how to use tools with tutorial videos.

In most cases, digital nomads also enjoy reading and discovering new information, so learning how to unveil data using different tools is like second nature to these professionals. Affiliate marketing forums are a great tool too.

Interpret Data

It’s relatively easy to learn how to conduct different types of research. However, figuring out how to assess and interpret it can be extremely tricky because this process is harder to explain.

Digital nomads usually have experience collecting information about different topics and evaluating the results to make a good choice. This process is actually applied to both professional and recreational activities, for example, writing content and trying to find the best destinations.

Solve Problems Quickly

Everyone that has traveled for prolonged periods knows that unforeseeable events are actually quite common. Likewise, affiliate marketing is chock full of potential challenges that can derail a campaign in a matter of hours. In these cases, digital nomads’ ability to solve problems is an invaluable skill that sets them up for success, regardless of the type of affiliate they become.

Identify Areas of Improvement

One of the major reasons why digital nomads can travel for long periods is their ability to identify what’s not working for them and adapt quickly. When creating and optimizing an affiliate campaign, the ability to identify areas of improvement and act on this is essential because it allows marketers to use their resources wisely and get more bang for their buck.

Make Tough Decisions Based on Information

Finally, digital nomads face a collection of tough choices, regardless if they are on the road or taking it easy in a beautiful destination.

Rather than listening to their gut feeling every time, these professionals know that the best way to make decisions is based on prior experiences and other solid data. Affiliate marketing requires the same mentality, so don’t be afraid to take a methodical approach if you’re a digital nomad specializing in affiliate marketing.

So, Is Affiliate Marketing the Best Career Path for Digital Nomads?

Choosing the best job for a digital nomad is not easy because there are a limited number of options. But, as far as career choices go, affiliate marketing seems to be an ideal fit from all points of voice, making it one of the top professionals for digital nomads to specialize in.

Ready to Get Started? Contact lemonads and Find the Best Program Today

Succeeding as an affiliate marketer can be challenging, especially if you’ve never done anything similar. But, as long as you use the skills you already possess from being a seasoned digital nomad, you should be able to figure everything out and set yourself up for success.

Do you already have a solid publishing platform with a consistent number of visitors? Contact lemonads today and we’ll help you find the best offer for your case.