How to use affiliate creatives: The ultimate guide for marketers

Why do you need affiliate marketing creatives?

If you want your campaign to be truly effective, you should devote a fair amount of time and attention to your affiliate marketing creatives.

Creatives are materials that marketers can use when promoting affiliate products or services and attracting new customers. These can be different types of images, from static to dynamic banners, as well as interactive content such as widgets and search forms.

The range of affiliate marketing advertising tools varies for each advertiser and network. For example, Moyens I/O offers a wide variety of tools, from simple tools like banners and links to advanced solutions like API and White Label. You can find more tips on how to embed affiliate tools in our free guide.

Types of creatives available to affiliates

Ads for affiliate ads can be universal or tailor-made and unique for a particular product or campaign. Below, we’ve outlined some of the most popular and useful affiliate ads.

banner

An affiliate marketing banner is a widely used creative that creates visual interest in posts and landing pages and grabs the attention of your potential customers. Banners can be branded or co-branded, universal or tailored, static or dynamic.

Affiliate banner ads can include your brand name or logo, coupon or deal information, high-quality product images, and calls to action. You can also create “shop now” banners that direct users to your homepage or feature seasonal holiday deals.

Here are some tips on how to optimize your banners:

• A picture plus a primary message is most effective

• Banners must use the same brand as your website
• Smaller files load faster
• Use standard banner sizes
• Use .PNG format if possible

Below are a few examples of banner ads that Aviasales provides to its affiliates.

Coupon

Coupons are easy to create and distribute, they are used to offer a discount, and advertisers often offer them on special occasions rather than constantly. Even if you can find public coupons, it’s better to request coupons directly from your advertiser. Otherwise, reservations made with unwanted promotional codes may not be subject to commission.

Coupon codes are usually a simple line of numbers and/or letters and do not contain any affiliate links or cookies making them easy to use and share. Coupons also include dates and terms of use. A good example of how coupons are distributed can be found in Omio’s promotional post offering 15% off to users in the United States and Canada.

To make it special, you can create graphic coupons or images with a code and details. Here is an example of such a coupon from Booking.com:

Email template

An email template is a preformatted HTML layout that you can use to create your own unique email. With this tool, you can easily compose emails, keep the style of the brand you are promoting, and save a lot of effort at the same time as you don’t have to create it from scratch. Here are a few examples of email templates from Dribbble:

landing page

An affiliate landing page is a standalone web page created specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign with an affiliate-specific URL. Such a page is usually used to promote a product, offer a discount, create a registration, etc. serves a specific purpose.

To increase conversion, your landing page should include the following elements:

• A specific description of the deal and important purchase information
• Significant restrictions or limitations
• A phrase such as a call-to-action
• Testimonials, real-life examples or product reviews

Moyens I/O has a list of landing pages that you can easily download and use. Here is an example of one of the Hotellook landing pages.

Connection

Affiliate text links contain unique affiliate ID and direct visitors to the page where they need to take the requested action. This simple creative is the first tool most affiliates use as it can be easily integrated into the content. Text links are visible, do not take up much space and can be placed anywhere in the text.

With the Moyens I/O link builder, affiliates can quickly create links for desired programs and integrate them into their web pages.

Trailer

Promotional videos are one of the most powerful tools to draw customers’ attention to your product. Using both visual and audio, videos evoke strong emotions and have a lasting impact on viewers.

That’s why many advertisers use videos to promote a particular product, product line, discount offer, or brand in general. Here is an example of a promotional video shot by Booking.com:

Search Form

You can also place a search form to allow visitors to start searching for desired tickets or hotel stays directly on your website. Below is an example of an Aviasales / Hotellook customizable search form:

You can tailor a search form to your content. For example, if you are promoting a specific destination such as Berlin, add it to the search form and let readers check hotel rates and schedules on the spot.

Vehicle

Widgets allow you to provide users with more detailed information about an offer, such as flight schedules or prices, such as:

Widgets can be updated regularly to show only relevant data without any additional action on your part. It allows your customers to search for specific products, find bestsellers in specific categories, or find special deals and discounts.

white label

With White Label, your visitors will display search results on your site instead of being directed to the advertiser’s website. This is an advanced tool and requires coding skills to install. Advertisers often share White Label with their top performing affiliates, so you need to have enough traffic and high recognition to use it. You can find more information about White Label solutions in our Moyens I/O database.

API

API or Application Programming Interface allows interaction of software components and synchronization of information. With the help of the API, you can request data from the advertiser’s server and get information about:

• Cheapest tickets to a specific destination
• Airports and airlines
• Most popular itineraries from a given destination
• Information about offers and discounts
• Detailed description of a hotel and rooms, etc.

With Moyens I/O you can access Aviasales and Hotellook API and provide the latest relevant information to your website readers.

How to take advantage of affiliate ads?

Using creatives is a great way to boost your affiliate campaign. Start with simple tools like text links, banner ads or search form widgets and then move on to more advanced solutions like White Label or API. Remember to test not only different creatives, but also their placements and content, to find the highest converting options. Therefore, using creatives can help you achieve impressive results as a marketer, and you will see from personal experience how much bloggers earn from affiliate marketing.