Affiliate marketing can be a great way to generate attention for your business. When used correctly, you are tapping into an audience who are already in market for a product or service you offer. A warm lead, if you will.

The question is, what would you pay for that lead? Even then, how qualified of a lead are they? There's no guarantee they'll actually buy from you. That's why Savvy SME's look to optimise their own assets and landing pages first, so that when you're ready to start spending money to attract people to your business, you're using those funds in the most efficient way possible. This will put your business in the best position to capitalise and convert that traffic into paying, loyal customers. 

A small business can use an affiliate marketing to grow brand awareness, increase revenue, and drive traffic to your site. The great thing is that it's low risk. You pay a commission only if a website (or infliuencer, or whoever you work with) refers someone who goes on to purchase.

It allows you to track the real return on investment with different content creators (or other sites) you decide you want to work with. 

There are two options for doing this - an affiliate software, or an affiliate network. As a small business, it is easier to get overlooked on an affiliate network as affiliates favour brands that they know. Networks also come with a higher price tag. With a software, the outlay is less, but you are responsible for recruiting your own affiliates (the websites that promote you to their audience.)

It's all about what you are looking for. 

Another option would be to start a referral program for current customers. That way you reward people for sharing with their family and friends.