The marketing affiliation scene has changed dramatically over the years, with a great number of businesses now relying almost solely on affiliate marketing for expanding their presence and scaling the reach of their products and services. When it comes to the forex / CFD trading industry, it is no secret that affiliate marketing has been an integral part of the marketing strategy of the majority of brokers. In fact, we’ve witnessed an aggressive broker race to on board the most talented affiliate marketers in an effort to expand their online presence and build a robust partner network. BDSwiss Senior Affiliate Manager Raphaël Coffin, counting more than 5 years industry expertise and currently leading our company’s affiliate team in the Berlin office, comments that the affiliation landscape is extremely dynamic and will continue to evolve as an industry in the foreseeable future.

– How has affiliate marketing changed over the years in your experience Raphaël?
Over the years affiliate marketing has proven itself a viable customer acquisition channel, however the affiliate marketing industry had quite humble beginnings. In fact, the concept of affiliate marketing existed long before the internet was around. If you think about it, any referral program in which the referrer receives a commission for driving new business, is an example of affiliate or performance-based marketing. The internet simply revolutionised the industry. In its early digital era, affiliate marketing was mostly associated with retail corporations. Amazon was one of the first companies to launch its partner program in 1996 and by 1998 the first two affiliate networks emerged. So we are talking about an immense industry built in a very short time span. In fact, by 2012, in the UK, affiliate marketing represented 6% of the country’s online economy according to the national Internet Advertising Bureau. During the early years of affiliation, there were a lot of issues; many brands with affiliate programs couldn’t determine if their affiliate traffic was incrementally lifting sales for example and affiliate remunerations were not very competitive or transparent. Today, the picture has changed dramatically and affiliate programs now offer more value than ever before, especially when it comes to the forex trading industry.

– How would you describe the current situation in the forex / CFD affiliate marketing industry?
The forex affiliation has evolved into a highly dynamic industry with immense potential. Forex affiliate marketing is now considered a vital part of the marketing strategy of forex brokers. In the last few years, the forex affiliate industry has become highly competitive, with brokers offering great rewards, high remuneration, advanced tools and dedicated support to their partners. Brokers today invest heavily in affiliation; in fact the broker-partner relationship has changed drastically in the last decade as both parties have become more demanding of their partnership. Partners demand constant communication, better marketing and tracking tools and more competitive remuneration, while brokers expect high quality traffic and quality branding that presents their brokerage in a fair light.

– Which is the biggest forex affiliate marketing trend in 2018?
For me personally, 2018 was the most innovative and exciting year for forex affiliate marketing. To be honest, in all the years I’ve worked in affiliate marketing, there’s never a boring day, there’s always some new angle to explore, an exciting campaign, a bright idea or new approach, and of course, fresh, out of the box trends to be explored in the broader affiliation market. When it comes to 2018, we’ve seen some major shifts in the broader affiliation industry, brought upon primarily by millennials’ need to explore new concepts, traffic sources and channels. With the rise of self-publishing tools and social media marketing, the global population of affiliates has grown substantially. We’ve seen niche influencers entering the arena, along with crypto-trading educators and forex vloggers. These new types of forex affiliate marketers often have very targeted audiences, which helps drive warm leads to their brokers.

– What are some of the challenges that forex affiliates are facing today?
From a partner’s perspective, forex affiliate marketing comes with its own set of challenges. With the rise of social media, audiences have become savvier and more skeptical of traditional affiliate marketing methods. Trading audiences in particular now demand quality content with a strong, original voice. They want honest opinions and reviews of the brokers’ services and products. Above all else, audiences demand authentic interactions and authentic messaging. Moving into 2019, the affiliation industry will become even more competitive with brokers and affiliates having to work even harder to meet the demands of their audience and clients. As audiences get more tech savvy and demanding, affiliate marketers will have to find new innovative ways to promote their endorsed brokers.

– How does BDSwiss help its forex affiliate marketers?
At BDSwiss we make sure all our partners receive first rate support. Our Marketing and Affiliates teams align their efforts 100% with our partners and work closely together to achieve their common goals. We further maintain constant communication with our partners, offering regular updates on our latest marketing campaigns, branding efforts, best practices, regulatory changes and overall business strategy. What is more, we have established automated marketing funnels, based on each client’s current lifecycle stage, which has allowed us to optimise our partners’ conversion rates. In 2018, BDSwiss doubled its partner program budget and on boarded a great number of industry affiliates experts to offer high-level support. The launch of our brand new partners’ portal and blog also adds to our efforts to support our partners’ community.

– What does the future of forex affiliation look like?
I think it is now clear that forex Affiliate marketing has a very promising future, it has withstood the test of time and has managed to become an integral part of the overall marketing strategy of brokers on a global scale. The future for forex affiliate marketing is clearly very promising. Looking ahead to 2019, BDSwiss also plans to continue to invest in its partner programs and affiliate marketing with increased budget, bigger teams, more events and refined campaigns.