Although there are many services available to aid companies in setting up an affiliate program, launching a web3-native affiliate program was a challenge until recently.

Enter ShareMint.

ShareMint provides an efficient solution for crypto initiatives seeking to promptly establish a secure web3 native referral or affiliate program, fostering partnerships with leading communities and influencers within minutes.

Setting up a Web3 Affiliate Program on Polygon

1. Navigate to https://sharemint.xyz and sign in.
   

   

2. Complete the initial onboarding form, following which you'll be prompted to select the mode of utilizing ShareMint. Choose "Project".
   

   

3. To begin a new campaign, press the "New Project" button.

4. Specify the category of projects for which you are instituting a program. If prompted with a "schedule a call with our team" window, simply click "Continue without call".

5. In the subsequent step, select Polygon as your preferred network.
   

   

6. Proceed to furnish details like your project's name, slug, and description.

7. When you reach the "Affiliates" window, determine the format of the program you desire to establish.

   Revenue share schemes are ideal for incentivizing actions that bring revenue to the company (like NFT mints or DeFi protocol usage). Here, the business can opt to compensate an affiliate with a portion of the generated revenue.

   Alternatively, fixed amount schemes offer a constant token amount as a reward instead of a revenue percentage. For instance, affiliates might earn a 5 USDC bonus for each successful referral, with the option for projects to disburse rewards in their unique tokens.

   Combining both revenue share and fixed amount rewards to form a multi-tier program is also feasible.
   

   

8. The following stage revolves around integration, facilitating the tracking of relationships between affiliates and referees by ShareMint. A majority opt to incorporate ShareMint directly within their websites, establishing the affiliation when a referee links their wallet. Integration entails embedding the ShareMint SDK on your site, a quick process involving just three lines of code. Alternatively, selecting "ShareMint Page" will craft a specialized page for your affiliates to connect referees to.
   

   

9. Add aesthetic touches to your program's page by uploading profile and cover images in the subsequent window.

10. Lastly, enhance your project's visibility by incorporating its social media links in the next section.

Congratulations! You have successfully initiated a web3 affiliate program on Polygon. To maximize your program's reach, don't forget to list it on the ShareMint Marketplace, where affiliates from the web3 network can discover, join, and commence promoting your offering.

Introducing ShareMint's New Points Feature

At ShareMint, we are committed to staying at the forefront of web3 innovation. As the leading web3 referrals platform and affiliate network, we understand the importance of keeping our offerings fresh, engaging, and impactful. That’s why we are thrilled to introduce our latest feature: rewarding users with points for each successful referral. This new addition not only enhances our existing platform but also taps into the exciting new meta in web3—points-based gamification.

The web3 landscape is rapidly evolving, and one of the most significant trends we’ve observed is the shift towards gamification. Companies are increasingly using points to reward users for various actions, creating a more engaging and interactive experience. These actions can be both on-chain and off-chain, and the primary goal is to foster a sense of achievement and community among users.

At ShareMint, we recognize the potential of this trend and how it can revolutionize referral programs. By integrating a points-based system, we aim to:

1. Boost User Engagement: Gamification through points can make the referral process more enjoyable and motivating for users.

2. Enhance User Retention: When users are rewarded for their actions, they are more likely to stay engaged with the platform.

3. Drive More Referrals: A points system can incentivize users to refer more friends and contacts, expanding the reach of referral programs.

4. Provide Versatile Rewards: Points offer flexibility in rewards, allowing for innovative and varied incentives that cater to different user preferences.

The new Points feature is designed to be versatile and impactful, with a range of potential use cases that can benefit both affiliates and users. Here are a few examples of how this feature can be utilized:

1. Affiliate Rewards: Affiliates can now earn points for each successful referral they make. This not only rewards their efforts but also encourages them to bring in more high-quality referrals.

2. Task Completion Rewards: Users can earn points for completing specific tasks, whether on-chain or off-chain. These tasks could include anything from engaging with content, participating in events, or completing surveys.

3. Community Engagement: Points can be awarded for participation in community activities, such as joining discussions, contributing to projects, or helping other users.

4. Incentivizing Purchases: Points can be used to reward users for making purchases or transactions within the platform, driving more economic activity.

5. Token Airdrops: One of the most exciting aspects of the Points feature is its potential for token airdrops. Users can accumulate points and then receive token rewards based on their points balance. This creates a seamless bridge between engagement and tangible rewards.

When creating a new program, or when clicking on the "Settings" which allows you to edit an existing program, under the "Affiliates" section you will be able to choose how you reward your affiliates.

Choose "Fixed Amount" and pick "Points" under "Token". You can even choose a name for your points or simply use the default name "Points"

You can choose the amount of Points an affiliate receives per successful action his referees perform.

It's also possible to pick several actions where each action rewards the affiliate with a different amount of points.

With the introduction of the Points feature, ShareMint continues to lead the way in web3 referral programs and affiliate networks. This new approach not only enhances the user experience but also opens up a world of possibilities for teams looking to maximize their outreach and engagement.

We are excited to see how our community will leverage this feature to create more dynamic and successful referral programs. Whether you’re an affiliate looking to boost your earnings or a user eager to engage more deeply with the platform, ShareMint’s Points feature offers a powerful tool to achieve your goals.

Stay tuned for more updates and innovations as we continue to evolve and enhance the ShareMint platform. Together, we are making web3 referrals more rewarding and engaging than ever before.

About ShareMint

ShareMint is the leading web3 referrals platform and affiliate network. We help teams launch web3 native referral programs in minutes and partner with top communities, influencers, and projects.

Although there are many services available to aid companies in setting up an affiliate program, launching a web3-native affiliate program was a challenge until recently.

Enter ShareMint.

ShareMint provides an efficient solution for crypto initiatives seeking to promptly establish a secure web3 native referral or affiliate program, fostering partnerships with leading communities and influencers within minutes.

Setting up a Web3 Affiliate Program on Fuse

1. Navigate to https://sharemint.xyz and sign in.

   

2. Complete the initial onboarding form, following which you'll be prompted to select the mode of utilizing ShareMint. Choose "Project".

   

3. To begin a new campaign, press the "New Project" button.

4. Specify the category of projects for which you are instituting a program. If prompted with a "schedule a call with our team" window, simply click "Continue without call".

5. In the subsequent step, select "Fuse" as your preferred network.

6. Proceed to furnish details like your project's name, slug, and description.

7. When you reach the "Affiliates" window, determine the format of the program you desire to establish.

   Revenue share schemes are ideal for incentivizing actions that bring revenue to the company (like NFT mints or DeFi protocol usage). Here, the business can opt to compensate an affiliate with a portion of the generated revenue.

   Alternatively, fixed amount schemes offer a constant token amount as a reward instead of a revenue percentage. For instance, affiliates might earn a 5 USDC bonus for each successful referral, with the option for projects to disburse rewards in their unique tokens.

   Combining both revenue share and fixed amount rewards to form a multi-tier program is also feasible.

   

8. The following stage revolves around integration, facilitating the tracking of relationships between affiliates and referees by ShareMint. A majority opt to incorporate ShareMint directly within their websites, establishing the affiliation when a referee links their wallet. Integration entails embedding the ShareMint SDK on your site, a quick process involving just three lines of code. Alternatively, selecting "ShareMint Page" will craft a specialized page for your affiliates to connect referees to.

   

9. Add aesthetic touches to your program's page by uploading profile and cover images in the subsequent window.

10. Lastly, enhance your project's visibility by incorporating its social media links in the next section.

Congratulations! You have successfully initiated a web3 affiliate program on Fuse. To maximize your program's reach, don't forget to list it on the ShareMint Marketplace, where affiliates from the web3 network can discover, join, and commence promoting your offering.

For more info, see section in the official Fuse Docs.

Benefits of Web3 Native Affiliate Marketing for Web3 Games

1. Enhanced User Acquisition and Retention: Utilizing a web3 affiliate network like ShareMint is a powerful method for driving user acquisition. These networks leverage the connections of affiliates to reach a broader audience. The retention of these users is further bolstered by rewarding them with crypto tokens or exclusive digital assets.

2. Increased Revenue Streams: A well-structured web3 affiliate program strategy can diversify and increase revenue streams for game developers, often yielding a higher ROI compared to traditional marketing techniques.

3. Community Building and Engagement: The power of web3 referral marketing lies in its ability to build and engage a community. This approach transforms players into active promoters, enhancing the game's outreach and player engagement.

4. Transparency and Fair Compensation: The transparency of blockchain ensures accurate tracking in the web3 referral program, fostering a trust-based relationship between developers and affiliates. This leads to fairer compensation models and more sustainable partnerships.

5. Innovative Marketing Strategies: The flexibility inherent in web3 allows for unique and innovative marketing strategies, which can be particularly effective when implemented through web3 referral programs and web3 affiliate programs.

Case Study

Crypto Unicorns recently launched their web3 referral program, powered by ShareMint. This strategy not only attracted new players but also significantly improved player retention through unique in-game rewards.

The Crypto Unicorns referral program benefits both affiliates and referees:

For Affiliates: Affiliates sign up via ShareMint, create and share customized referral links, and earn escalating USDC rewards for each game chapter their referee completes. The program offers detailed analytics for affiliates to track their impact​.

For Referees: New players signing up as referees have the opportunity to complete up to three chapters in the game. Each completed chapter earns them RBW (Rainbow Token) rewards, which increase as they progress. This system not only encourages new sign-ups but also incentivizes continued engagement with the game, as players earn valuable in-game currency for their accomplishments​.

Reward Distribution: Affiliates are paid bi-weekly in USDC, streamlining the rewards process. referees can withdraw their earned RBW tokens from a dedicated smart contract upon completing quests.

You can learn more about how it works in the official guide.

Conclusion

As the web3 gaming universe continues to expand, the integration of sophisticated web3 affiliate and referral marketing strategies becomes increasingly crucial. These strategies not only promote a more immersive and rewarding gaming experience but also pave the way for a more interconnected and dynamic digital gaming economy. Looking ahead, the fusion of blockchain technology and affiliate marketing holds the promise of redefining the boundaries of web3 gaming and marketing.

ShareMint helps web3 games grow by making it easy to launch web3 native referral and affiliate programs and partner with top web3 communities, content creators and influencers.

Although there are many services available to aid companies in setting up an affiliate program, launching a web3-native affiliate program was a challenge until recently.

Enter ShareMint.

ShareMint provides an efficient solution for crypto initiatives seeking to promptly establish a secure web3 native referral or affiliate program, fostering partnerships with leading communities and influencers within minutes.

Setting up a Web3 Affiliate Program on Base

1. Navigate to https://sharemint.xyz and sign in.

   

2. Complete the initial onboarding form, following which you'll be prompted to select the mode of utilizing ShareMint. Choose "Project".

   

3. To begin a new campaign, press the "New Project" button.

4. Specify the category of projects for which you are instituting a program. If prompted with a "schedule a call with our team" window, simply click "Continue without call".

5. In the subsequent step, select Custom EVM Chain as your preferred network.

   

6. Proceed to furnish details like your project's name, slug, and description.

7. When you reach the "Affiliates" window, determine the format of the program you desire to establish.

   Revenue share schemes are ideal for incentivizing actions that bring revenue to the company (like NFT mints or DeFi protocol usage). Here, the business can opt to compensate an affiliate with a portion of the generated revenue.

   Alternatively, fixed amount schemes offer a constant token amount as a reward instead of a revenue percentage. For instance, affiliates might earn a 5 USDC bonus for each successful referral, with the option for projects to disburse rewards in their unique tokens.

   Combining both revenue share and fixed amount rewards to form a multi-tier program is also feasible.

   

8. The following stage revolves around integration, facilitating the tracking of relationships between affiliates and referees by ShareMint. A majority opt to incorporate ShareMint directly within their websites, establishing the affiliation when a referee links their wallet. Integration entails embedding the ShareMint SDK on your site, a quick process involving just three lines of code. Alternatively, selecting "ShareMint Page" will craft a specialized page for your affiliates to connect referees to.

   

9. Add aesthetic touches to your program's page by uploading profile and cover images in the subsequent window.

10. Lastly, enhance your project's visibility by incorporating its social media links in the next section.

Congratulations! You have successfully initiated a web3 affiliate program on Base. To maximize your program's reach, don't forget to list it on the ShareMint Marketplace, where affiliates from the web3 network can discover, join, and commence promoting your offering.

Although there are many services available to aid companies in setting up an affiliate program, launching a web3-native affiliate program was a challenge until recently.

Enter ShareMint.

ShareMint provides an efficient solution for crypto initiatives seeking to promptly establish a secure web3 native referral or affiliate program, fostering partnerships with leading communities and influencers within minutes.

Setting up a Web3 Affiliate Program on Binance Smart Chain

1. Navigate to https://sharemint.xyz and sign in.

   

2. Complete the initial onboarding form, following which you'll be prompted to select the mode of utilizing ShareMint. Choose "Project".

   

3. To begin a new campaign, press the "New Project" button.

4. Specify the category of projects for which you are instituting a program. If prompted with a "schedule a call with our team" window, simply click "Continue without call".

5. In the subsequent step, select Custom EVM Chain as your preferred network.

   

6. Proceed to furnish details like your project's name, slug, and description.

7. When you reach the "Affiliates" window, determine the format of the program you desire to establish.

   Revenue share schemes are ideal for incentivizing actions that bring revenue to the company (like NFT mints or DeFi protocol usage). Here, the business can opt to compensate an affiliate with a portion of the generated revenue.

   Alternatively, fixed amount schemes offer a constant token amount as a reward instead of a revenue percentage. For instance, affiliates might earn a 5 USDC bonus for each successful referral, with the option for projects to disburse rewards in their unique tokens.

   Combining both revenue share and fixed amount rewards to form a multi-tier program is also feasible.

   

8. The following stage revolves around integration, facilitating the tracking of relationships between affiliates and referees by ShareMint. A majority opt to incorporate ShareMint directly within their websites, establishing the affiliation when a referee links their wallet. Integration entails embedding the ShareMint SDK on your site, a quick process involving just three lines of code. Alternatively, selecting "ShareMint Page" will craft a specialized page for your affiliates to connect referees to.

   

9. Add aesthetic touches to your program's page by uploading profile and cover images in the subsequent window.

10. Lastly, enhance your project's visibility by incorporating its social media links in the next section.

Congratulations! You have successfully initiated a web3 affiliate program on Binance Smart Chain. To maximize your program's reach, don't forget to list it on the ShareMint Marketplace, where affiliates from the web3 network can discover, join, and commence promoting your offering.

Launching a web3 referral program on Ethereum
1) Visit https://sharemint.xyz and sign in.

2) After filling up an onboarding form, you will need to choose how to use ShareMint. choose "Project"

3) Click on the "New Project" button to create a new program.

4) Choose the type of projects you are launching a program for. If a "schedule a call with our team" window appears, click on the "Continue without call" button.

5) In the next window, pick Ethereum.

6) Next, add your project's name, slug and description.

7) In the "Affiliates" window, pick the type of program you wish to set up.

Revenue share is for programs that incentivize actions where the company generates revenue from (NFT mints, DeFi protocol usage). The company can decide to reward an affiliate with a percentage of the revenue they brought.

Fixed amount programs are for rewarding a fixed amount of a token instead of a percentage from revenue coming in. For example, affiliates can earn 5 USDC for a successful referral,. Projects can choose to use their own token for rewards.

It is possible to create a multi-tier program, combining revenue share and fixed amount.

8) The next page is about integration. This is how ShareMint tracks the connection between an affiliate and a referee. Most projects choose to integrate ShareMint within their own websites and create the affiliation when a referee connects their wallet. You will need to integrate the ShareMint SDK in your website. The integration includes adding 3 lines of code and should be very fast. You can also choose a "ShareMint Page" will create a dedicate page for your affiliates to link referees to.

9) In the next window you can add profile and cover pictures for your program's page.

10) In the next window, you can add your project's social links.

And that's it! You just launched a web3 referral program on Ethereum. Make sure you add your program to the ShareMint Marketplace so affiliates from our web3 affiliate network can find it, join and start promoting your product.

In this blog post, we will analyze two case studies of NFT mints that used ShareMint to launch a web3 referral program and were able to drastically increase their revenue and reach.

1. MetaBrewSociety

   

   MetaBrewSociety was launched by 7 friends and founders. They purchased a beer brewery in Germany and launched an NFT pass that provides benefits to holders.
   
   They have launched a web3 referral program on ShareMint to amplify their NFT pass mint. They offered 10% of the NFT mint price, which was valued at 0.75 ETH (~$1000) for each successful referral. They were able to generate an extra 150+ ETH of revenue using affiliates, accounting for 30% of their revenue from the sale. The majority of their affiliates were existing MetaBrewSociety community. The program paid over 20 ETH to affiliates and improved their community's loyalty to the brand.

   

2. RFOX

   RFOX is a well-known metaverse platform. They have used ShareMint as part of their go-to-market strategy when they launched their Apartments NFT sale. They offered a 10% revenue share of the NFT mint price, which was valued at 0.25 ETH for each successful referral. In addition, minters that were using a referral URL were entitled to up to 15% discount on the mint in the form of cash back. The discount incentivized minting and made it easy for affiliates to share their referral URLs, as minters were benefiting from using them.

RFOX were able to attract big affiliates. Their program showcased how web3 content creators can utilize referral programs to generate more revenue. A notable example is NFTsGuide which is an NFTs focused YouTube channel that amassed over 755k subscribers. NFTsGuide published a video about RFOX, discussed their referral program and posted their own referral URL in the pinned comment. The video currently has over 100k views.

RFOX have generated over 30 ETH using affiliates only.

Conclusion

Referral marketing is a highly effective strategy for NFT mints that are looking to increase revenue and improve their marketing efforts. By incentivizing existing customers to refer new customers, in addition to partnering with web3 content creators and communities, NFT mints can quickly and easily expand their customer base and increase revenue. With the right incentives and a well-designed referral program, NFT mints can tap into the power of word-of-mouth marketing and achieve success in the competitive NFT space.

Using sharemint.xyz, it is now incredibly easy to launch a web3 referral or affiliate program for your NFT mint and drive more sales by making your community your marketers and partnering with external affiliates.

1. Lido Finance

Lido Finance's referral program generated an impressive 1,552,458 staked ETH from referrals, which accounts for approximately 30% of the total staked ETH. Over the past 18 months, Lido has distributed $13 million in rewards to its affiliates.

You can find data about Lido's referral program here:
https://dune.com/LidoAnalytical/Lido-Referral-Program

2. GMX

GMX's referral program resulted in $11 billion in trading volume, equating to around $11 million in revenue. This represents approximately 14% of the platform's total trading volume. Over the past nine months, GMX has distributed $1.6 million in rewards to affiliates and referrals. For every $1 spent, the platform generated $10 in revenue.

You can find data about GMX's referral program here:
https://stats.gmx.io/referrals/arbitrum

3. InsurAce.io

InsurAce.io's referral program generated more than $180 million in insurance coverage sold, collecting approximately $1.2 million in premiums. This constitutes around 48% of the platform's total coverage sold. Over the past five months, InsurAce.io has distributed $224,000 in rewards to affiliates and referrals. For every $1 spent, the platform generated $5 in revenue.

You can find data about InsurAce.io's referral program here:
https://data.insurace.io/referral

4. RealT Platform

RealT Platform's referral program generated $95 million in purchase volume. Over the past 13 months, the platform has distributed $1.9 million in rewards to its affiliates.

You can find data about RealT's referral program here:
https://dune.com/datablob/REALT-Rent-and-Affiliate-Payouts

5. DeBridge Finance

DeBridge Finance saw $14.9 million in referral trading volume, or approximately 16% of its total volume. Meanwhile,

6. CowSwap

CowSwap generated $954 million in referral trading volume, which constitutes around 5% of its total volume.

The Impact of Referral Programs on DeFi Platforms

Based on the examples above, referral programs can bring DeFi platforms anywhere from 5% to 40% of their total trading volume. During the current bear market, DeFi has a monthly volume of $65 billion. Assuming an average fee of 0.25% and a referral-generated volume of 5% to 15%, referral marketing spending is estimated to be between $97 million and $292 million annually.

Referral Marketing in a Bull Market

During a bull market, DeFi's monthly volume could reach up to $200 billion. Using the same parameters, annual referral marketing spending could range from $300 million to $900 million.

Conclusion

Referral marketing has the potential to be a powerful tool in the web3 space, driving significant volume and revenue for DeFi platforms. As demonstrated by the analysis of six DeFi protocols, referral programs can greatly contribute to the growth of these platforms.

In the past, launching a referral program was not a simple task, especially for a web3 product. It involved development, product and strategy work and weeks or months of works eventually led to a very basic referral program. Today, DeFi teams can launch a web3 native referral program in minutes sharemint.xyz.

As the web3 ecosystem continues to evolve, it is crucial for projects to explore and implement referral and affiliate marketing strategies to maximize their potential.

Write a Compelling Program Description

A well-crafted description is the cornerstone of a successful referral program. Ensure that your program description effectively communicates the nature of your project, its unique value proposition, and the benefits for affiliates. A clear and concise description will not only pique the interest of potential affiliates but also enable them to promote your project more effectively.

1. Amplify Your Program's Visibility

Visibility is key to driving participation in your referral program. Dedicate a prominent section of your website to highlight the program and its benefits. Regularly promote the program on social media platforms like Twitter and Discord, with at least two posts per week, to keep the buzz alive and attract new affiliates. Engaging visuals and compelling calls-to-action will further boost the visibility and appeal of your program.

2) Empower Your Community as Brand Ambassadors

Your community members are your most passionate and dedicated supporters. Encourage them to join your referral program and act as ambassadors for your project. By offering incentives and rewards, you can motivate your community to share your project with their networks, resulting in increased exposure and growth. This not only helps your project succeed but also allows your community members to earn revenue by promoting something they believe in.

3) Leverage Strategic Partnerships for Expanded Reach

Collaboration is a powerful tool in the web3 ecosystem. Engage with groups like ShareMint partners, a network of web3 content creators and communities, to tap into their audience and expand your reach. By inviting partners to become affiliates, you can harness their influence and expertise to drive more referrals and increase the overall success of your program.

4) Offer Attractive and Competitive Affiliate Rewards

The success of your referral program largely depends on the incentives you offer to affiliates. To motivate them to actively promote your project, make sure that the rewards are attractive and competitive. Carefully consider the affiliate's perspective and ask yourself: what would make them want to spread the word about your product? By offering a reward structure that is both fair and enticing, you can ensure that your affiliates are motivated to drive new customers and referrals to your web3 project.

5) Boost Conversions with Referee Incentives

Incentivizing referees with discounts can be an effective way to boost conversion rates. When potential customers receive a discount through an affiliate link, they're more likely to make a purchase. Consider offering cashback discounts that are provided when affiliate payments are processed. This not only motivates customers to use the referral links but also adds value to your affiliates' promotional efforts.

Conclusion

By implementing these six strategies, you can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your web3 referral program. With a well-written description, increased visibility, community involvement, strategic partnerships, attractive incentives for affiliates, and proper incentives for referees, your referral program is poised for success. Embrace these tactics to drive growth and establish a strong presence in the web3 ecosystem.

ShareMint makes it easy to launch a web3 referral program in minutes. Set up your program for free at https://sharemint.xyz.

What is Web3?

Before we dive into how Web3 will change affiliate marketing, let's first define what it is. Web3 refers to the next generation of the internet, which is being built on blockchain technology. Unlike the current internet, which is controlled by centralized organizations, Web3 is decentralized and gives users greater control over their data and digital assets.

Web3 technology includes blockchain networks, smart contracts, and decentralized applications (dApps). These technologies enable peer-to-peer interactions without the need for intermediaries. They also provide greater security, transparency, and privacy.

How will Web3 impact affiliate marketing?

Web3 technology is set to revolutionize the way affiliate marketing works. Here's how:

1. Decentralization

Web3 technology is decentralized, meaning there is no central authority controlling the network. This removes the need for intermediaries, such as affiliate networks, that are currently used in affiliate marketing. Instead, affiliate marketers can interact directly with merchants through smart contracts on the blockchain.

This decentralization will lead to lower fees, increased transparency, and greater control for both merchants and affiliates. It also means that affiliate marketing can be done across borders without the need for multiple affiliate networks.

2. Tokenization

Web3 technology enables the tokenization of assets. This means that digital assets, such as affiliate commissions, can be represented as tokens on the blockchain. These tokens can be transferred instantly, securely, and without intermediaries.

Tokenization enables affiliate marketers to earn commissions in real-time, without the need to wait for payments to be processed by affiliate networks. It also provides greater security and transparency, as all transactions are recorded on the blockchain.

3. Smart contracts

Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement written into code. They automate the process of affiliate marketing by ensuring that commissions are paid automatically when certain conditions are met.

For example, a smart contract could be created between a merchant and an affiliate, stating that the affiliate will receive a commission for each sale they refer. When a customer makes a purchase, the smart contract automatically executes, and the affiliate is paid their commission instantly.

This automation removes the need for intermediaries and reduces the risk of fraud or disputes.

4. Greater control for users

Web3 technology gives users greater control over their data and digital assets. This means that affiliate marketers can own their data and monetize it themselves, rather than relying on affiliate networks to do it for them.

It also means that users can choose which data they want to share and with whom. This provides greater privacy and security for users, which is becoming increasingly important in today's digital landscape.

Conclusion

Web3 technology is set to transform the way affiliate marketing works. By providing greater decentralization, tokenization, automation, and control for users, Web3 will make affiliate marketing more efficient, transparent, and secure. It will also provide greater opportunities for affiliate marketers to earn commissions and monetize their data. As Web3 continues to develop, we can expect to see a new era of affiliate marketing that is more accessible, profitable, and user-friendly than ever before.

At ShareMint.xyz we make it easy for web3 teams to launch a referral or affiliate program in minutes. We also help you partner with top teams to boost your project's reach.

We're early

Web3 is young and we have a lot to build. From more scalable blockchains to better wallet UX and security. The industry has many things to improve.

Crypto skeptics say we're moving slowly. We're not. We've built a trillion dollar industry in five years. Tens of millions of people use crypto. We're moving at an insane pace. Especially if you compare it to the history of money or the Internet.

But regardless of how you feel about the pace of web3 innovation, it's clear there's a lot left to build. And there are still billions of people to onboard.

Web2 vs web3 marketing

The tools available to web2 marketers are levels above what we have in web3. This makes sense as web2 has existed for two decades. Web3 had no data or businesses running on it five years ago.

But that's changing.

As we enter the next phase of web3 growth we need better growth tools.

You might ask, why not use the same tools as web2?

You should. But you'll run into limitations along the way.

There are many differences between web2 and web3:

• Web2 collects emails. Web3 collects wallet addresses.

• Web2 doesn't have access to a new user's purchase history or actions on other apps. Web3 does.

• Web2 events happen within the app. Web3 events within the app and on-chain.

• Web2 uses Stripe and PayPal for payments. Web3 uses the blockchain for payments.

• Web2 payments are completed when you get to the thank you page, or the payment processor says it's done. Web3 payments are done when the blockchain says it's done.

• Web2 suffers chargebacks. Web3 doesn't.

• Web2 payments are in dollars. Web3 payments are in ETH, USDC, BTC, or one of another thousand cryptocurrencies or tokens.

All these differences mean that web2 tooling doesn't fit well with a web3 app. Even if you force them to work together, there's a lot of functionality a web3 native product can do better than existing web2 tooling.

Referral and affiliate marketing

ShareMint is a web3 native affiliate and referral marketing platform.

The basic concept in both referral and affiliate marketing is that you incentivise people with rewards to invite others to use your product.

In referral marketing you reward your users for inviting their friends. An example is Uber, where if you invite a friend to the app, you get a free ride, and so does your friend.

Affiliate marketing is similar but rewards external parties and the reward is financial rather app credits. An example would be a YouTuber that is paid $100 for every person that purchases the product they've linked to.

Benefits

Referral and affiliate marketing programs are both highly effective.

83% of customers are willing to refer friends after a positive experience with your brand, but only 29% actually do. Incentivising referrals pushes this number up.

92% of consumers trust personal recommendations more than advertising or messaging that comes directly from brands.

After customers refer their friends to your business, and those friends become new customers themselves, those friends are likely to refer their own peers, enabling a viral loop.

It's also low risk. You pay based on performance. For example, an affiliate will earn a revenue share of 10% for every person that buys via their link.

More than 80% of advertisers use affiliate marketing.

Amazon Affiliates is the world's largest affiliate program with 900,000 active affiliates. You'll find the links everywhere Google "top 10 phone cases" and you'll find ten links pointing to Amazon.

The reason businesses love affiliate marketing is that it's extremely cost effective. Revenue share deals are always profitable, as however much the affiliate earns, your company earns more. This is in contrast to running a Google ad, where you could spend $10,000 and see no sales in return. You bear all the risk.

It's also great for content creators who have an additional revenue stream for their business. We all work to get paid, and this a way for creators and influencers to earn a living.

In web3, every exchange has an affiliate program. Coinbase, Binance, Kucoin, whoever you use has a program.

But within the world of web3 native apps, there are far fewer programs. GMX, Lido, CoW Swap, Aave, and OpenSea all have or have had an affiliate program. But the default is that projects don't have one.

The primary reason for this is that it takes time to build and the team would rather focus on their core product than building marketing tools. In the case of OpenSea, it got so big it no longer needed to incentivise affiliates to drive them traffic. Other marketplaces are sleeping on this.

Referrals for web3 done right

At ShareMint we make it easy for a web3 project to set up a referral or affiliate program. You can launch your program within minutes. You don't need to ask your devs to build something from scratch. We also a network of top partners to help share your project.

We track on-chain payments and events for you.

We track who has invited who.

We provide detailed analytics and charts to better understand who your users are.

And we make it hassle-free to pay out your affiliates.

We're here to onboard the first billion users to web3, and best-in-class referral marketing tools built natively for web3 will help us get there.

The importance of marketing tools

Some will push back and argue we don't want tools to help marketers in web3. That's the past. Web3 is the future.

But that's a mistake.

If we expect DeFi to beat CeFi and if we expect web3 to beat web2 we need to provide our builders with the best marketing tools possible.

The initial days of web3 have been heavily influenced around token speculation. The next era of web3 will be apps that provide real value and generate real revenue.

Of course, influencers and promoters must be transparent when they're getting paid. Not only does the FTC require this, but there's a moral obligation to inform someone if you're earning by sharing a link.

Final words

We're excited to build the next wave of web3 marketing tools. If you'd like to add a referral program to your web3 business and work with the best names in the space, sign up at sharemint.xyz.

ShareMint.xyz is the web3 native referral and affiliate marketing platform. We make it easy for web3 projects to add a referral program in minutes.

Paragraph.xyz is a web3 native newsletter and blogging platform. You can think of it as a Substack or Medium built for web3.

Some cool Paragraph features include:

• Subscribe via email or Ethereum wallet

• Token-gate your newsletter

• Permanent & uncensorable storage

• Monetise your content via NFTs

• Farcaster casts (tweets) show as comments

Starting today Paragraph newsletter authors can launch a referral program via ShareMint to incentivize sharing of the newsletter. Even better, ShareMint is completely free for newsletters.

MorningBrew pioneered referrals for newsletters. It helped them grow their audience to 1.5 million subscribers.

We wanted to start writing on Paragraph ourselves but at the time it lacked support for referrals. With the help of the Paragraph team, we added a ShareMint integration to easily allow Paragraph authors to add a referral program of their own.

Rewarding your community

Using ShareMint referrals you can incentivize your subscribers to share the newsletter with others.

These are the rewards that Morning Brew used for their referral program:

But even a simple rewards program can drive strong results. The Milk Road newsletter offers readers an "An Inside Look At What The Crypto Whales Are Betting On" if they refer just one person to the newsletter. And that referral program drove an extra 18,000 subscribers to their newsletter.

Other ideas for newsletter rewards include gifting membership NFTs to access premium content. Or rewarding users with a percentage of revenue they help generate for the newsletter.

We're excited to see what people do to grow their newsletters using the ShareMint referral platform.

Getting Started

To add a referral program, follow the steps below:

1. Sign up to ShareMint

2. Create a new project

3. Select "Newsletter"

4. Share your affiliate/referrer page with your audience

5. That's it from you! Your subscribers can now share their invite link with others to invite them to the newsletter.
   

For the full ShareMint docs: https://docs.sharemint.xyz

If there are new features you'd like to see added to the referral program feel free to comment below or reach out to the ShareMint or Paragraph teams.