When one hears “forex partners” as the umbrella term for Introducing Brokers (IBs) and affiliates, they don’t realise just how accurate the term is because that’s exactly what IBs and affiliates are: a driving force behind a broker’s business which helps build and retain entire networks of clients worldwide.

Playing an integral part in client retention, partners usually reward loyalty by offering traders value-add services such as analysis and educational content in addition to promotions and special terms on their own initiative.

It is, quite literally, a collaboration by which the broker and partner join forces to propel the business forward and for this reason, IBs and affiliates have become absolutely imperative to the success of online brokers.

What’s in it for them? The most successful partners have access to almost unlimited financial potential from working with reputable brokers.

Depending on the broker, partners either make money from a spread rebate deal, or cost per acquisition (CPA).

The former structure is based on the logic that the partner earns a percentage of the company’s profit from their referrals’ trades, while the latter means a partner is paid per acquisition or action, for example whenever they refer a client and/or whenever that client makes a trade.

Many brokers today offer a hybrid model through which both payment models are used, which is the case with Exness.

At Exness, affiliates and IBs are an integral part of the business and some of our strongest allies when it comes to entering new markets, and upholding a loyal and long-standing client base.

We offer up to 40% spread rebate to our partners from their referred trading activity in addition to various CPA options which pay up to $1,770 per active trader.

In the bigger picture of the various partnership models, spread rebate typically works better for IBs whilst affiliates most often choose CPA. Exness’ financial report has partner rewards at $85.4m for 2019.

Any business working with affiliates will know how quickly things change in this space, if it’s not  opposition from the likes of Google, it’s the changing nature of the technological landscape or increasing influence of millenials and pre-millennial entrepreneurs.

Keeping up is a relentless task, which is why the multitude of global expos for Affiliate Marketing are in demand everywhere from Barcelona to Bangkok.

Affiliate marketing now and into the future

• Affiliate marketers prefer to promote 1–10 products.
• 81% of marketers and 84% of publishers leverage affiliate marketing.
• Mobile devices account for more than 50% of affiliate-referred traffic.
• The gender split for affiliates is currently 54.23% male and 42.97% female.

Unless people suddenly tire of sharing pictures of their favourite fashion items, food or drink products on social media, which is unlikely any time soon, then the power is going to continue to lie with micro-influencers – individuals with an audience from 2,000 to 1,000,000 subscribers or followers.

The multinational organisations making those products are already realising that there is a  major revenue stream associated with those influencers and they will attempt to monetise every mention of their products by pushing traffic through affiliates back to their digital assets.

We already know that social media is essentially giving everyone the chance to become an affiliate but what we can expect to see more commonly is the integration of affiliate marketing as part of every start-up’s business plan.

Business owners understand that promoting a product or service on social media is a robust catalyst for rapid growth and brand awareness, or simply put, profit.

Working with affiliates will no longer be a ‘nice to have’ but will be the life source of businesses into 2020 and beyond.

The financial industry is no exception to the greater picture of Affiliate Marketing, because the power of social media and the digital world does not just lie in pleasing pictures of fashion and food, but in the fundamental form of influence, which is the power of word of mouth.

If you have any form of online presence, you have some kind of status and thus a significant deal of influence. This, in turn, means you have the trust of audiences and the ability to promote products of your choosing with ease.

In forex, where so many of our markets rely heavily on the networks of our partners, the onus is on brokers to provide guidance to ensure their practices are not misleading.

When all parties work ethically and to a high standard, “influencer” partnerships are the building blocks of a successful business.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is sponsored and does not represent the opinions of Finance Magnates.

This post was written by Nir Iter, Senior Affiliate Manager at Exness