How to Use QR Codes to Expand Your Reach and Maximize Your Marketing Efforts

If the majority of your business resides solely online, it can be difficult to imagine expanding it beyond the web. However, what if there was a way for you to bridge the gap, and bring your online affiliate marketing business to the real world?

Enter Quick Response (QR) codes. This nifty technology enables you to share web links to anything – portfolios, landing pages, social media pages, and more – so you can easily invite potential offline customers to your web-based business.

In this post, we’ll explain what QR codes are and why you should consider using them for your affiliate business. Then, we’ll show you three different ways to use QR codes, and how Pretty Links can help. Let’s get started!

What QR Codes Are and Why You Should Use Them

QR codes are two-dimensional bar codes that are recognized by the camera on your smartphone. Once scanned, they link to a dedicated page and offer you information based on the business in question.

There are a variety of reasons you should consider using QR codes for your affiliate business. For example:

1. They enable you to share almost anything without taking up much space (such as on a poster or billboard).
2. Their versatility enables you to link to different forms of media, such as images, videos, and PDFs.
3. They can be utilized by anyone with a smartphone.

With 77% of US adults using smartphones today, there's really no reason not to utilize QR codes for your affiliate business. Let's see how you can leverage this technology.

How to Use QR Codes to Expand Your Reach and Maximize Your Marketing Efforts (3 Methods)

Now you have a better understanding of QR codes and how they can be beneficial for your affiliate business, here's a look at three specific ways you can utilize them.

1. In Place of a Business Card, or as an Elevator Pitch

The purpose of a business card is to provide a snapshot of your business and contact information. With a QR code, you can easily share this information from your smartphone without the need for business cards.

Implementing this is quite simple:

1. Create a QR code that links to an About page or social media platform.
2. Save the code to your smartphone by downloading the newly-generated code, or taking a picture of it.

When you're next asked for your business card, you can offer up the QR code for scanning. To expand on this idea, using a QR code to optimize your elevator pitch is just one more way to set yourself apart. For example, you could link to a personalized video that represents you and your business, or even create a link to an infographic that outlines who you are and what you do. Again, you can save the QR codes to your device for easy access when needed.

2. To Promote Your Products or Services

Being able to meld your offline and online marketing is one of the largest benefits of QR codes, and they can help you offer an inside look at your business to potential customers.

You have a few options when you take this approach:

1. Print out QR code stickers and attach them to physical affiliate products you use. Once you pique the curiosity of customers, you can immediately provide a link to more information.
2. Create apparel with QR codes printed directly on them. If they're displayed prominently and promoted correctly, you'll likely attract potential customers to your business.

The more creative your ideas, the easier it is to promote your affiliate products in the real world – and the only practical limitation is your imagination!

3. To Offer Exclusive Discounts and Deals

Discounts and special offers can make even the most unlikely of customers a potential buyer. QR codes will enable you to reach the offline bargain hunters as well as your online ones.

To get the most from this strategy, consider these tips:

1. Target the right audience by displaying your QR codes in relevant places. For example, you could target a gym for health products.
2. Link to a landing page that requires customers to like your social media page or follow your blog before gaining access to the offer.

Everyone loves a good deal, and having access to customers who wouldn't normally learn about your online deals can open up a big gap in the market – and entice them to check out your site.

How Pretty Links Can Get You Started with QR Codes

Pretty Links is a leading premium WordPress plugin that offers easy link shortening and tracking. However, alongside its wealth of functionality, the plugin also includes a QR code generator. This enables you to create pretty links to all types of posts and pages, then generate a unique QR code for them.

While there are an abundance of free QR code generators on the web, link tracking is what makes Pretty Links stand out as a superior choice. In addition to tracking your links, you can also track the QR codes you've created – all from your WordPress dashboard. What's more, using this feature is simple, and two steps are all it will take to set it up and put it to use.

Conclusion

QR codes are a marketing aspect you can't ignore, and they provide affiliate marketers with a number of benefits. What's more, with a tool such as Pretty Links, generating and implementing QR codes is a piece of cake.

In the above post, we've offered three ways to use QR codes to expand your reach and maximize your marketing efforts. To recap, you can use them:

1. In place of a business card, or as an elevator pitch.
2. To promote your products and services.
3. To offer exclusive discounts and deals to customers.

Do you have any questions about QR codes or how Pretty Links can help you set them up? Let us know in the comments section below!

Image credits: Max Pixel, Pixabay.

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