Working from home during the pandemic may have started out as a challenge to many, but it has also become an opportunity for everyday people to pursue their ambitions of becoming entrepreneurs. Aside from an increase in sellers directly joining eCommerce platforms, more people are also joining affiliate marketing programmes, leveraging their own online and social channels to drive sales to digital shopping sites.
A perfect case in point is Lazada’s affiliate marketing programme. Through this initiative, partners can create affiliate links to certain products or pages on Lazada that they can share via their own channels. They can then earn a commission for every sale that is made via that link. In just one year since December 2020, the programme has quadrupled to tens of thousands of partners across Southeast Asia.
“With this growth, we have reached a point where it is important and necessary for us to develop a first-of-its-kind community programme that allows Lazada to give these partners the support that they need to help them succeed,” said Sandeepraj Ratnasabhapathy, the senior vice president of affiliate marketing at Lazada.
Edgerson Yabut Macatula and his wife, Abigael.
Edgerson Yabut Macatula, 31, is among those who have who have found success via Lazada’s affiliate marketing program.
After graduating with a nursing degree in 2010, Macatula struggled to find a job in his profession. In January 2015, he was introduced to Lazada Philippines’ affiliate marketing programme. Through one of the community events for affiliate partners, Macatula learnt to optimise advertisement placements and was able to gain more traction, leading to success for his business.
As Macatula got better at finding the right audience, his wife quit her day job to help with the business. The couple eventually earned and saved enough to buy a plot of land and start building their dream home in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija.
Matthew Pan and Jocelyn Chua from Singapore have also been able to fulfil their ambitions of being entrepreneurs at a very young age. They are the co-founders of The Wedding Vow, a one-stop digital publication for weddings and homes.
They turned their interest and research into a profitable business by joining Lazada’s affiliate marketing programme in Singapore and sharing their product picks from the eCommerce platform.
With more than 800,000 monthly views and visitors from across the region, The Wedding Vow website has been able to generate plenty of conversions for various products on Lazada, thus generating a sizeable income for Pan and Chua. The couple has also since expanded their content to cover other product categories, including honeymoon, travel, home, lifestyle and electronics. Even during the pandemic, they continued to create engaging content, optimise the website and grow their team.
“We want to give everyone the ability and opportunity to tap into the digital economy,” Ratnasabhapathy said, adding that Lazada’s affiliate marketing programme is designed to empower anyone and everyone with internet access to have a profitable business. “With the rise of eCommerce and social connectivity, there will be new ways for people to monetise their social currency, where individuals can create value by curating the best products for their community.”
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