Centralized exchanges, decentralized finance platforms, and many other businesses and projects in the crypto industry are trying to capture the biggest audience possible. Due to the intense competition between the participants of the blockchain domain as a whole, it is quite hard for platforms to become widely adopted. Some projects don’t
Since the dawn of the cryptocurrency market, the most effective way of attracting users was either word of mouth or social media marketing. These two tools made it possible for many coins to gain traction and attract the initial core audience.
It is only natural that many companies that use blockchain technology to enhance novel fintech solutions would start focusing on affiliate marketing which is a system where users and marketers advertise platforms in exchange for a share of their revenue generated from newly acquired customers.
How to earn cryptocurrency through affiliates
Running an affiliate program is a good way for many DeFi projects to get started since they can simply outsource advertising to their users and professional marketers who earn by taking a small share of all transactions conducted by invited investors. In many senses, this particular approach to making money in the crypto industry is more reliable and consistent compared to trading or investing personal funds passively.
Affiliates who can invite active users will guarantee themselves a cut of commissions collected by exchanges, brokers, or DEXes they are affiliated with. It is a great source of income for webmasters, social media influencers, and people active in certain communities. In some cases, even individuals who simply have a good social circle with many people interested in crypto can make a living by simply inviting them to popular platforms.
The types of cryptocurrency referral programs
In general, there are three main ways in which you can receive rewards for inviting new active users to platforms:
- Get paid in crypto. Platforms like Attrace are designed to provide an easy way for DeFi and CeFi businesses to attract users with all affiliates receiving rewards in tokens on UniSwap and SushiSwap. It is an interesting platform for marketers and potential consumers since all operations are conducted in a trustless and permissionless manner with instant confirmation and transparent tracking of referrals.
- Get paid in fiat. The vast majority of companies still do business in fiat and pay affiliates in US dollars. Some of the best examples of these platforms are CEXes such as Binance or Kraken and Investment companies like Bitcoin IRA. Many third-party service providers operating in the crypto industry also have referral programs with generous fiat rewards.
- Get paid in utility tokens. Many DeFi platforms also engage in affiliate marketing but they try to further cut down costs to the team or the community by paying partners in utility tokens. Such setups are relatively rare and exist primarily in the RWA and real-world infrastructure projects that have utility tokens that can be used to pay for the service offered by the project and its networks.
It is possible that a platform pays in multiple types of rewards allowing affiliates to be more flexible with their earnings. Many professionals choose to work with these platforms and do the advertising for them to make money in the crypto industry. If you can consistently attract new customers to a service through Google Adsense, social media promotions, and other types of marketing, you will be able to make more money than an average investor.
Various types of crypto affiliate programs
All sorts of companies operating in the blockchain domain offer affiliate programs to their users and professional advertisers. The crypto industry is incredibly diverse with thousands of vendors offering all sorts of services and products. Below are some interesting types of companies that run generous affiliate campaigns:
- CEXes. Without a single exception, centralized exchanges are offering earning opportunities to affiliates. Binance pays up to 50% of the fees collected from operations conducted by referrals with all rewards transferred directly to your Binance wallet in cryptocurrencies. Coinbase has similar terms but pays directly to PayPal and bank accounts. Cryptocurrency exchanges, centralized and decentralized, are some of the best destinations for users interested in becoming affiliate partners.
- DeFi protocols. SimpleSwap is a non-custodial cross-chain exchange that offers up to 40% of the fees to users. All rewards are paid in BTC and can be customized depending on conversion rates and other metrics. You can find interesting affiliate programs on many decentralized protocols even if they are governed by DAOs.
- Product manufacturers. Hardware wallets are incredibly safe and reliable but can be tricky to sell. Many manufacturers of devices for cryptocurrency management are offering generous rewards to affiliates. KeepKey offers up to 25% of the fees collected from transactions made by users. These rewards are paid in BTC. Ledger is a famous manufacturer that pays 10% of all sales to their affiliates in BTC directly to crypto wallets.
- SaaS platforms. A variety of specialized platforms offering services to crypto investors engage in affiliate marketing. For example, Coinrule, an automation and portfolio management service, pays up to 30% on any annual plan bought by an invited user. Rewards are paid to bank accounts or Payoneer. Bitcoin IRA is an investment service offering retirement plans focused on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The platform pays $50 for a lead.
- Mining companies. Since PoW mining is still a big thing in the world of crypto, many companies in this sector turned into investment firms. They also pay handsomely for conversions on their platform. For example, CCG mining, one of the biggest operators in the sector, used to pay up to 6% for contracts sold to investors interested in delegated PoW mining and up to 3% on any ASIC sale.
- NFT marketplaces also offer rewards to their affiliates and can be quite generous. The only issue here is the size of the sector which contracted significantly during the last three years. With many marketplaces simply closing their doors due to low volumes and the lack of interest, it is quite hard to find good opportunities for affiliate marketing. Nevertheless, some platforms are still surviving and have healthy operational metrics.
Unlike direct investing, affiliate marketing should be treated by partners as a job that can build you a source of passive income. Since many companies are paying in coins, you will be also growing a portfolio which is a great idea for advertisers and social media influencers who do not want to purchase coins directly and would like to accumulate them through other means.
Popular crypto marketing strategies
Users who want to focus on earning money through various affiliate programs in the crypto industry must be able to utilize effective strategies to find leads and convert them into active users on the platforms they are affiliated with. While it may seem easy for newcomers, contemporary conversion rates are quite low and require inventive thinking to create a marketing campaign that can rake in cash.
Here are some of the methods employed by aspiring and professional affiliates:
- Google Adsense. Using ads on the most popular global search engine is still a great way to find leads. However, the competition here is quite fierce and the vague auction system that determines which ad is displayed to users makes it hard for newcomers to find success. Budgeting is another important aspect that determines the efficiency of your earnings. It is possible to make some good money by simply focusing on ads but the outcome may be disappointing if you do not use anything else to find leads.
- Content creation for crypto. Social media websites are excellent places to search for potential leads. If you have a large audience that trusts you, conversion rates will be higher than in any other strategy. This particular approach is not for everyone since making engaging content is incredibly difficult and the most popular platforms are intensely competitive. YouTube and Instagram have billions of users and millions of creators. Standing out in an ocean of content can be challenging.
- SEO and organic traffic. This is an old method that still works but requires experience and dedication to produce good results. Search engine optimization refers to the process of creating articles that meet the criteria of websites like Google, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, and many others of what should be served to users searching specific terms. Writing good articles, avoiding AI-generated text, and ensuring that you are not plagiarising others are all very difficult tasks.
- Reaching out to audiences through specialized platforms. Contemporary marketers have access to incredible tools that offer a wide range of products from massive swaths of consumer data to advertising directly on multiple platforms. For example, you can advertise on Reddit where promotional posts seamlessly blend in with user-generated content. Advertising on TikTok is a great way to capture the attention of younger audiences and find a large number of low-quality leads.
- People who are working in the crypto industry can check out blockchain affiliate networks like Attrace which is a trustless referral protocol. It has a variety of interesting perks that cater to both advertisers and platform developers. RefToken is also a great tool that tries to make the relationships between affiliates and platforms transparent. Using decentralized web 3.0 tools to work in the crypto industry is not a necessity but it is a good idea to explore such instruments since they are cheap and can be deployed easily.
There is no consensus on which approach works better than others. Professionals may mix several methods or master one strategy. In both cases, dedicated affiliates can find leads and successfully convert them into paying customers.
Should you focus on affiliate crypto earnings?
In many ways, this particular method of money making is better than investing passively or trading. You don’t face the same extreme risks as brave speculative traders who, like gamblers in a Las Vegas casino, can lose or win a fortune in a day. On the other hand, it is still possible to lose money by miscalculating potential rewards and incorrectly budgeting marketing expenses.
The biggest advantage is that many platforms, such as CEXes, DEXes, and wallets, may offer lifetime payouts. As long as invited customer continues using the platform, affiliates who brought them in enjoy a share of fees. It is a good way of building a lasting source of passive income that has a potential to appreciate if you receive rewards in BTC or ETH.
To answer the question, it depends on your skills as a marketer or popularity as a social media person. If you have the necessary resources, knowledge, or audience to find leads and convert them into paying customers, you will be able to earn good money through affiliate marketing systems offered by various crypto platforms. On the other hand, people who want to try their luck by diving straight into the industry without any prior experience in marketing should avoid crypto referral programs altogether.
