The Beginner’s Guide to Land Trust Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing has paved its way into pretty much every industry, Worth over $17 billion, the affiliate marketing industry helps brands reap serious revenue whether they’re in ecommerce, SaaS, retail, finance, and pretty much every industry. 

Another industry that’s been influenced by affiliate marketing? Real estate. Specifically, the land trust affiliate marketing model surrounds property owners that find buyers through affiliate partnerships.

As a leading affiliate marketing software, Tapfiliate keeps tabs on all the latest affiliate trends and shares them with our audience. We’ll walk you through the ins and outs of land trust affiliate marketing, pros and cons, similar alternatives, and more.  

What Is a Land Trust?

Trusts are financial instruments that grant authority and management rights to a person (trustee) over another person’s assets. Those assets could include bank accounts, stock investments, retirement funds, and properties. 

A more specific type of trust? Land trusts. This is a legal entity (organization, agency, group of investors) that owns and manages a property or multiple properties on behalf of a property owner. Land trusts can also hold mortgages and other similar assets related to property. 

Types of Land Trusts

Land trusts aren’t always specific to multi-income real estate properties or apartment buildings. They also cater to more niche property types and values that property owners want to be maintained no matter who purchases the land:

• Agricultural land trusts: These include rural and agricultural properties with the intent to preserve the land and operations
• Community land trusts: These include commitments to land for affordable housing, community centers, non-profits, soup kitchens, and other community-focused developments. 
• Conservation land trusts: These include any type of land with a focus on preservation of water resources, ecosystems, forests, and natural habitats.
• Historic preservation land trusts: These include lands and properties with historical significance with the intention of preservation. 

So, how do such niche land trusts find their way into affiliate marketing?

That’s the beauty of it — affiliate marketing offers you the world in terms of variety. Affiliates can come from all ranges of backgrounds and experiences, from sustainability-focused real estate agents to industry publications in historical spaces. 

What Is Affiliate Marketing? 

Affiliate marketing is a marketing model in which brands pay set commissions to partners who lead them to potential customers and affiliate sales. 

Brands might rely on a variety of affiliates to bring them sales, like: 

• Social media influencers with niche followings
• Coupon websites with discount codes
• Comparison websites with blog posts and listings
• Bloggers with regular industry content
• News publications with wider audiences

The biggest perk? It’s a much cheaper marketing tactic than pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, and traditional physical advertising. All you need to do is pay a commission rate, often a small percentage of the sale, and you’ll reap a new purchase and sometimes a new regular customer. 

So, how does this translate to real estate?

How Does Land Trust Affiliate Marketing Work?

Affiliate marketing rewards leads and purchases with affiliate commissions. 

Imagine that same concept with real estate. Of course, you have real estate affiliate programs that look to promote courses, legal services, and even architectural services in exchange for a commission. 

Land trust affiliate marketing programs work similarly to the traditional real estate agent and property owner relationship since the business model surrounds a commission for a sale. 

Still, land trust owners don’t have to pay affiliates all the fees that come with a real estate agency and can save on costs in finding a buyer. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any risks to the model.

Pros and Cons of Land Trust Affiliate Marketing

Land trust affiliate marketing could bring property owners the sales they’ve sought for many years. However, there are pros and cons to all types of affiliate marketing. Here are the most significant for land trust affiliate marketing:

Pros

• More niche experience than average real estate agents: The real estate agent market is saturated with an unprecedented number of new agents in the last few years. This makes it difficult to find agents with the experience and niche expertise needed to find you relevant buyers and give you the best return on investment possible. Land trust affiliate marketing opens you up more to affiliates with direct community and niche experience.

• Networking: This form of property marketing gives you a wider industry network that can support you with future endeavors and build community connections and long-term relationships.

• Cost-effective: Land trust affiliate marketing is flexible to your budget, meaning you decide how much of a commission you’re comfortable offering. This might save you on fees associated with more traditional real estate agent models.

Cons

• Limited affiliates with the right expertise: While there’s no shortage of affiliates in general, finding ones specific to your niche could be tricky. You can’t risk relying on partnerships with irrelevant experience or knowledge, or you’ll risk damaging your firm or company’s reputation to a potential audience. 

• Niche over industry knowledge: Some land trust types are incredibly niche, which might make you rely on affiliates with expertise in the niche more than the actual real estate market. It’s not easy to find a dedicated land trust affiliate marketer, but even once you do, they might be more niche knowledgeable than in the real estate process. This might limit your reach to qualified buyers if you work with too wide a pool of enthusiasts. 

And if you’re considering other options? Keep reading for other alternatives. 

Alternatives to Land Trust Affiliate Marketing

Land trust affiliate marketing is a pretty niche way to sell land and property. Other avenues to get your sale might include: 

• Traditional real estate agents
• Private sales from within your circle
• Real estate brokerages

The only con to these types of partnerships is the limited niche knowledge that might be necessary for some more specific land trust types. 

How You Can Get Started Today

Land trust affiliate marketing is an innovative strategy making waves in the real estate market. It’s a great way to find qualified buyers for different types of properties, especially in niche industries like conservation or limited markets. 

Are you a land trust owner looking to elevate your affiliate program? You need a robust affiliate marketing software to keep tabs on your affiliate performance, yearly trends, and commission types to get the most out of your new partnerships. Tapfiliate’s Enterprise Plan is a solid fit for brands with larger commission payouts and niche programs that require more customization. Book your free 14-day trial today!