According to SaaS statistics, software as a service market has reached a whopping 247.2 billion in 2024. This translates into a compound annual growth rate of 18.5% from 2020 to 2025. Also, 47% of all venture capital funding flows towards software as a service startup. This makes it an ideal niche for affiliate marketers to target.
What really makes the software as a service industry stand out is that it ditches the traditional software-based models and adopts a new model where users don’t have to install the software to use it. This also means that they don’t have to worry about software maintenance and buying servers to host the software.
Since, software as a service is hosted on the cloud and everything is taken care of by the software provider, users won’t have to worry about anything. As a result, this makes software as a service easily accessible and more cost-effective at the same time. That is the reason why software as a service industry is growing at a rapid pace.
85% of businesses will rely on SaaS-based products by 2025, according to statistics. This means that the demand for SaaS products will continue to be high. So, if you are an affiliate who is wondering whether you should dip your toes into SaaS-based affiliate marketing then this is the best time.
In this detailed guide, HOSTNOC will dive into the world of business-to-business software as a service affiliate marketing. Moreover, we will highlight some of the best strategies affiliate marketers can adopt to succeed as an affiliate marketer as well as challenges affiliate marketers will face. You will also learn about the best tools and server options.
What is Business-to-Business Software as a Service Affiliate Marketing?
Business-to-business SaaS affiliate marketing is all about promoting SaaS-based solutions that are tailor-made for businesses instead of individuals. Just like in other forms of affiliate marketing, affiliates will be paid a commission on every sale.
The key to success is to choose SaaS products that fulfill the needs of the business. Make sure that you choose a product that is highly relevant to the industry. This could be customer relationship management tools, project management tools, or cloud storage solutions. In most cases, these SaaS solutions usually follow a subscription-based payment model, which means that a continuous stream of income is created. As long as a customer is subscribed, you will continue to get paid.
Why is Business-to-Business Software as a Service Affiliate Marketing Important?
With business-to-business software as a service affiliate marketing, you can increase your sales without spending more money on hiring sales representatives. This can come in handy especially if you have a limited marketing budget. By
harnessing the power of affiliate marketing, Business-to-business software as a service companies can target new audiences and explore new avenues for revenue generation.
When done effectively, affiliates can earn a handsome amount in terms of commissions. Business-to-business software as a service solution is usually more expensive as compared to business-to-consumer software as a service product. This allows affiliates to qualify for larger commissions. As mentioned above, most B2B SaaS charges a subscription fee, which entitles affiliates to recurring income.
Key Components of Business-to-Business Software as a Service Affiliate Programs
Before jumping into the world of business-to-business software as a service affiliate marketing, it is important to understand the key components involved.
Let’s look at each one in more detail to give you a better idea.
1. Commission Structure
There are two different types of commission structures in B2B SaaS affiliate programs.
- One-time Payment:
As the name suggests, this model pays a fixed commission on every sale or subscription. If you are selling a high-ticket item or have a high volume, this model can work best.
- Recurring Payment:
For those interested in generating a continuous stream of income, the recurring payment model is the best. This pays you a continuous commission throughout the period of subscription. Let’s say, you have referred a customer relationship management solution to a business that costs them $100 per month.
Assume they offer a 30% commission, this translates into $30 per month income each month. The recurring model is also a good choice for those affiliates who are interested in earning passive income.
2. Tracking and Analytics
As an affiliate, you get access to all the analytics and tracking tools. Some of these tools even have real-time tracking functionality that gives you a clear picture of clicks, conversions, and commissions your marketing efforts have generated. This can come in handy when it comes to optimizing your marketing campaigns.
In addition to this, you can easily see which marketing techniques are delivering the best return on investment and which ones are not. This allows you to double down on techniques that are working and overcome shortcomings in techniques that are not delivering the desired results.
3. Marketing Resources
Affiliates also get access to marketing materials that will help them promote software as a service products and services. This includes everything from banners, links, templates, and even landing pages. Additionally, affiliates are even encouraged to create their own unique content, which could be anything from blog posts to videos to generate more sales.
4. Payment Methods
Before joining any affiliate program, check their payment method and payment frequency. Most affiliate programs pay affiliates on a monthly or quarterly basis. Similarly, most of them offer PayPal, bank transfer as well as other payment methods for affiliates to choose from. If the commission payment frequency or payment method does not align with your financial goals, you are better off looking at other options.
5. Product Fit
Product selection plays an important role in the success and failure of business-to-business software as a service affiliate marketers. A wrong product choice can ruin your entire affiliate marketing campaign. Make sure you choose a software-as-a-service product that resolves the business’s biggest pain points and is in line with industry requirements.
Let’s assume that you have built an audience of seasoned marketers, then you should choose marketing automation solutions such as HubSpot. On the flip side, if your audience comprises software developers, you can promote Jira.
How to Succeed in Business-to-Business Software as a Service Affiliate Marketing?
Successful affiliate marketers in business-to-business software as a service space leverage combinations of practical and strategic approaches
Here is how you can replicate their success formula.
1. Identify Your Niche
There is a wide range of industries and niches affiliates can choose from. Choosing the right niche is as important as choosing the right product to promote. A wrong decision can negatively impact your chances of success. Once you have identified which niche to target, it is time to create targeted and relevant content around it.
Let’s say you have years of experience in marketing, you should choose business-to-business software as a service product that is related to marketing such as email marketing software, social media management tool, or digital advertising tool. Similarly, if you specialize in accounting, you should consider accounts management software.
2. Research Affiliate Programs
One of the biggest mistakes most affiliate marketers make is they join an affiliate program just by looking at the financial side of things. Instead, you should focus on other aspects such as product quality and reputation in the industry along with competitive commission rates.
To make it easy for you to decide, here are some of the examples of popular businesses to business software as a service affiliate worth joining.
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- FreshBooks
- QuickBooks
- Zoho
Do in-depth research about affiliate tracking tools, and promotional and marketing materials offered by the HOSTNOC affiliate program. Look at the commission structure, payment method, payment frequency, and the business models they are following. Make sure it aligns with your business models and goals.
3. Create Valuable Content
Content marketing is a great way to attract business executives and decision-makers towards software as service products. It helps you establish your brand as an authority in the industry and build trust with the target audience.
- Blog Posts:
B2B decision-makers are more knowledgeable and are looking for comprehensive and credible information that is not easily available online. You can deliver it to them by writing in-depth blog posts. Focus on how your software as a service product can help them get over their biggest business challenge and they will engage with your content.
- Case Studies:
Business-to-business decision-makers want to see data, real life customer success stories. If you can present this in the form of case studies, they will take action.
- Tutorials and How-To Guides:
Business-to-business software as service products are feature-packed and have a complex user interface. That is why new users will find it tough to use them. You can share how-to guides and tutorials to help beginners overcome this challenge.
- Video Content:
You might have heard the common adage: show, don’t tell. Instead of creating text-based tutorials and how-to guides, you can also create video tutorials, product reviews, and explainer videos to educate the B2B decision-makers about your tool.
4. Leverage Paid Advertising
If you are looking to generate leads quickly, paid advertising is a great option. Thanks to the granular level of controls these ad platforms offer, affiliates can show their ads to the right audience.
- Google Ads:
Identify relevant keywords people are searching for when looking for your software as a service product and use them in your ads. For instance, if you are promoting a project management tool, you can use keywords such as best project management software.
- LinkedIn Ads:
In addition to running ads on Google, you can also use LinkedIn ads. LinkedIn is a highly effective channel for business-to-business marketing because most business-to-business decision-makers are active users of LinkedIn. Lunaching LinkedIn ad campaigns can help you reach out and promote your software as a service product.
- Retargeting Ads:
Not every prospect will complete the goal you want them to, especially when they are interacting with your brand for the first time. With business-to-business sales cycles being even longer as compared to business-to-customer ones, it can take dozens of touchpoints and interactions before they are ready to make a purchase.
That is where retargeting ads can come in handy. Your goal should be to stay on top of the mind of your business to business decision-makers and retargeting can be a great way to remind them about your brand.
5. Optimize Your Website for SEO
According to a report by BrightEdge, 68% of online interactions begin with search engines. Not only that, the report also found that SEO generated 1000% more traffic as compared to organic social media, making it one of the most effective marketing channels for traffic generation.
- On-Page SEO:
Include primary keywords in title tags, meta descriptions, URLs, and headers to increase your search engine visibility. Break your content up into bullet points and subheadings to make it easier to read for the reader.
- Backlinking:
Acquire backlinks from relevant and highly authoritative websites to enhance your domain authority. Get featured in top industry publications, partner with influencers and publish content that people love to link to in order to acquire backlinks naturally.
6. Use the Best Hosting Solutions to Improve Site Performance
User experience is an important ranking signal. Search engines like Google have Core Web Vitals to detect how quickly your website loads and become responsive to user input. You don’t want to make users wait as 40% of them will abandon your website if it fails to load in three seconds, as research shows.
That is why it is important to invest in the right hosting solution provider so you don’t experience downtimes and performance slowdowns. Consider upgrading to managed cloud services or Web Hosting if you are already using shared hosting for enhanced performance.
Did this guide help you in becoming a better B2B SaaS affiliate marketer? Share it with us in the comments section below.
