How an Affiliate Program Creates New Wholesale Revenue Streams

As a wholesaler, you’re always looking for ways to increase revenue and boost profit margins. Did you know that joining an affiliate program is a fast and simple way to do so?
An affiliate program makes it possible to scale your business with ease while opening up an entirely new revenue stream. It’s true! So, how does it work? Let’s dive in.

What is an Affiliate Program?

Simply put, an affiliate program (sometimes also referred to as an associate program or referral program) is an arrangement in which an online merchant pays an affiliate company a commission to send them website traffic or refer new customers to their business.

For example, one of the most popular affiliate programs out there is the Amazon affiliate program, dubbed “Amazon Associates.” Website owners and bloggers can sign up for free to become an Amazon Associate, where they advertise Amazon products on their site by creating links. Then, whenever one of their customers or site visitors clicks a link and buys a product from Amazon, they’ll earn a referral commission.

How Does an Affiliate Program Work?

Affiliate programs can work in a few different ways. In the Amazon Associates example, website owners and bloggers will earn a commission any time someone makes a purchase on Amazon through a link on their site.

Some other affiliate programs are traffic-based, which means the affiliate will receive a commission based on the total number of people they send to the merchant's site, regardless of if they actually make a purchase there or not.

Other referral programs work by giving you a commission when you help the merchant close a new deal or sign on a new customer. For example, at The Fulfillment Lab, our affiliate program was designed to make it easier than ever to connect your audience with the perfect fulfillment partner.

Becoming an affiliate is simple—all you have to do is sign up on our site to receive a unique code that can be quickly and easily shared with your contacts. Then, once one of your contacts creates an account using your affiliate code and begins shipping with us, you’ll get credit and start earning affiliate commissions immediately.

Plus, with volume-based shipping methods, you’ll continue to earn lifetime referral commissions every time they ship through our fulfillment services. It’s one of the most simple, speedy, and streamlined ways to increase revenue without having to put in a lot of additional effort.

Why Should Wholesalers Join an Affiliate Program?

There are many benefits of joining an affiliate program for wholesalers. Here are three major ones:

1. The Chance to Open up an Additional Revenue Stream

Becoming part of an affiliate program is one of the easiest ways for wholesale suppliers to boost their overall revenue. Everytime you refer one of your contacts to your affiliate partner, you’ll earn a referral commission. So, you’re getting paid just for marketing your affiliate partner’s products and services to your existing contacts and customers!

At The Fulfillment Lab, we’ll even send you resources to market and sell our fulfillment services which can be directly passed along to your contacts. This means you don’t even have to spend time and effort creating marketing materials on your own—it’s already done for you, making it easier than ever to open up a new revenue stream.

2. The Ability to Scale Your Business with Ease

When you open up a new revenue stream through referral commissions, it makes it easier to quickly grow and scale your business. After all, with additional revenue and cash flow, you can put the money you’re earning back into your business to experience growth faster!

For example, you could give your top performers a raise, purchase new tools and technologies that can be used to improve your business processes, or even expand your office space or product lines. With additional income coming in, you’ll be in a better financial position to make the improvements you need to grow your business and develop a competitive advantage against your competitors.

3. The Opportunity to Provide Additional Value to Your Customers

Joining an affiliate program makes it possible to provide your customers with products and services that go beyond the wholesale products you sell yourself. For example, if you’re selling wholesale products but don’t offer your own fulfillment services, your customers will need a third-party fulfillment provider in order to ship the items you’re selling them in bulk directly to their own customers.

If they’re going to need a fulfillment provider anyways, why not get money for referring them to someone you know and trust? They’ll be pleased when they don’t have to spend additional time and effort searching through nearly endless options themselves, and you’ll be pleased when you make your referral commission! Our affiliate program was created so you can quickly and easily connect your audience with the people, processes, and software they need to accomplish global order fulfillment efficiently and effectively—providing additional value that will be reflected in your customer satisfaction scores!

At the end of the day, joining an affiliate program is a quick and inexpensive way to make more money online—without the hassle, time commitment, and expense of having to offer the products or services your affiliate partner does yourself. Working as an affiliate has an undeniable draw for those wholesalers looking to increase recurring residual income online—and what business owner wouldn't want to do that?

Ready to sign up for our affiliate program or have more questions first? We’re here to help! Contact an expert at The Fulfillment Lab to start boosting revenue in your wholesale business today.