Features of Wayward Platform

Now, let’s see what Wayward offers you to make the process easier:

1. Personalized Stores

The ability to create personalized stores helps brands to make a shopping experience that matches the influencer’s audience and their vibes, which can lead to higher conversion.

2. Performance Tracking

Wayward gives brands advanced tools for tracking the performance of influencer campaigns and shows them which influencer is doing better. Although some limitations have been reported about this feature, it can be a huge drawback.

3. Influencer Discovery

Wayward has a search tool where brands can find influencers who fit their brand and target audience. However, it’s unclear if Wayward offers these features in the best way possible. But this can help brands reach new markets by finding the right affiliates.

4. Campaign Management

It also offers tools for managing more than one campaign at the same time, which can ensure that brands can see everything to make their next decision. This gives brands an opportunity to organize their campaigns in any channel.

Wayward: The Pros & Cons

Now, let’s see the list of pros and cons of this brand to be able to decide whether it’s a good choice or not:

Pros of Wayward

Here are the key advantages of using Wayward for Amazon affiliate marketing.

• Improved Engagement: Wayward’s improved engagement feature helps build trust, increase interaction, and drive more sales through personalized stores.
• Noticeable Higher Commissions: This affiliate platform allows creators to earn higher commissions from sales compared to other programs. With Wayward, creators can make 3-5 times more per sale than Amazon’s native affiliate program, making it a more profitable choice for influencers.
• One Checkout for All Brands: Wayward lets Shoppers buy products from different brands in one transaction, a convenience that typical affiliate setups can’t offer.
• Access to Exclusive Deals: Creators can easily offer engaging followers special discounts to add value for their audience and encourage more purchases.
• Audience Data & Emails: Unlike most affiliate programs, Wayward shares customer information (emails) with creators, allowing them to build a mailing list and remarket – a huge long-term benefit for their business.
• Easy Setup: Setting up on Wayward is fast and easy for both creators and brands.
• Free for Creators: There is no upfront cost or subscription for affiliate users. Wayward only makes money when creators do, via sales.
• Timely Payouts: With weekly payouts through ACH, creators receive their earnings faster and more regularly. Wayward takes care of payment processing and makes sure creators get paid for every sale they refer.
• Brand Referral Bonus for Sellers: Sales driven through Wayward are eligible for Amazon’s 10% brand referral bonus, helping sellers offset a large portion of the commission paid out.

Cons of Wayward

• Limited Network Size: People have said that the network is not that large compared to other platforms. It doesn’t have as many affiliates or brand partners as larger networks, which can limit opportunity, but they are improving and growing.
• Primarily US-Focused: Wayward focuses on ACH payouts and Amazon’s program, which seems to cater mainly to the U.S. market. This definitely makes it less appealing for creators outside the U.S.
• Platform Still New: Wayward is a new startup platform, and some features are still being tested by the overall users. Currently, real-time analytics dashboards and some integrations may be missing, which is quite a bold negative point.
• Learning Curve for Customers: The unified store is going to be a new experience for shoppers, which will lead to some confusion or hesitation. Some users may even drop their partnerships because of this downside.
• Not Open to Small Creators: for small creators and affiliates, Wayward offers no services. Wayward has a minimum follower requirement and expects prior experience, making it inaccessible to new or small affiliates.
• Network Gaps: Wayward’s network doesn’t include every product or category. Creators might find that some niche products or smaller brands are missing.
• Restricted to Amazon/Shopify Ecosystem: As you know, Wayward is heavily focused on Amazon Affiliate marketing and Shopify brands. If a brand doesn’t sell via Amazon or Shopify, integration won’t be available.
• No Instant Traffic: Wayward doesn’t generate traffic on its own. Creators need to bring their own audience or visitors to their Wayward store.