Think of your favorite radio show, audiobook, or podcast. They are not only entertaining and cool in themselves, but they also can be profitable for you. Audio content has been with us for centuries, and digital audio — for decades. Big broadcasters and streaming companies now use the assistance of their audience to draw an even bigger one via affiliate programs.
Podcasts and audio conferences skyrocketed in 2019–2020 due to the worldwide lockdown. Recently, Apple has introduced an affiliate program for their podcasts and even gives us a chance to earn a 100% fee for every subscription through the end of November 2021. This only means that audio is the new black in digital content, so let’s look closer at the two biggest players on this field.
Apple Podcasts
Apple has a comprehensive affiliate program for their products, today we will focus on Apple Podcasts. The program is called Apple Services Performance Partner Program, and it allows anyone to promote audio content distributed via Apple Podcasts and earn a commission.
Anyone can join, you need only to fill out the application form and get approved. You will also need to specify the marketing channels you plan on using in your campaigns (e.g. email marketing, mobile apps, web ads, etc.). This step is supposed to filter out potential scammers and to keep the program available only for those who can actually promote the content.
Once you are approved, you get a unique token that will be used for the attribution of all the subscriptions to your account. Apple claims that their affiliate tokens are compatible with any third-party tracker. Apple pays out a one-time fee per subscription. The usual payout rate is 50% of the first-month payment, but currently Apple is running a promotion: until the end of November, you can get 100% on the same conditions. The exact amount will depend on the subscription plan. The cookie window is 30 days in all cases, this means that you have a really high chance of converting more users.
This affiliate program is available in all the GEOs covered by Apple Podcasts, that is 170 countries and 100 languages. The company also provides affiliates with free marketing tools (e.g. post generator for social networks, embeddable player for your landers, etc.) to make your ad campaigns even more profitable.
Last but not least, as an Apple affiliate, you can cross-promote Apple Services such as Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Books, etc. This allows for an even bigger affiliate income within this program.
Audible by Amazon
It’s no secret that Amazon sells almost anything imaginable, including audio, of course. Audible is Amazon’s audio division that is also available for the Amazon Associates affiliate program by the online sales giant. This affiliate program is more than 18 years old and provides high-quality service across industries and countries.
This program works with a fixed fee on audiobook sales and Audible memberships. The fee ranges from $0.5 for a book to $10 for Gold membership. This works for every sale including both new and returning customers. Another good thing is that the affiliate program also includes Free Trials (that end up at $14.95/month after 30 days). For more details, check the official Amazon bounty statement.
Every affiliate gets a unique link to embed on any webpage (as long as it follows the guidelines). One important condition is to state clearly that you earn a commission from every qualifying purchase. To help your ad campaigns, Audible offers a selection of promotional tools, customizable links, images, and widgets. The only available ad format is banner that comes in different sizes. Detailed reporting will also not come amiss for any affiliate who knows a thing or two about campaign optimization.
You can drive organic traffic from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch.tv. Your page or group should be long-established and have a considerable number of followers. Another option is website traffic, but you should be the owner and have relevant content (no older than 60 days). It is possible to promote Amazon’s audio content via mobile apps. Check out the app regulations.
From the customer perspective, Audible is attractive because all the digital books purchased via the platform are available for a lifetime, even if the membership is canceled.
With more people joining the audio services as customers every month, our opportunities as marketers grow proportionately. These digital giants are not the only audio content distributors out there: online lessons, audio editing software and databases, audio theater, and much more is available for promotion. You have big freedom of choice as a marketer because there are many products to cater to every taste and audience.
If you want to reach new GEOs and audiences, maybe it is all waiting for you on Telegram? We’ve prepared some material about Telegram audiences. What are the messenger’s users like this year? How old they are, what they do, and what they are interested in!
