Having your own affiliate program can seem like a fast
and easy way to boost your business, as having an army of commission only
salespeople is obviously music to most business owner’s ears.
And rightly so, as an effective affiliate program can
quickly, cost effectively and dramatically grow your business, probably better
than any other method.
However, it takes expertise, hard work and most
importantly the right offering to make an affiliate program truly work.
You can’t just provide your affiliate with a few links,
then sit back and enjoy the deafening sound of cash registers ringing. The key
to success lies in the support and resources you offer your affiliates,
whatever level they are currently at.
Forrester Research shows that the average Affiliate
program has about 10,000 Affiliates, but only 10-20 % of the affiliates
actually participate or promote the program.
So why do so few affiliates that sign up actually promote
the product? Why the huge disconnect?
Simple. Most Advertisers don’t provide their Affiliates
with the help, support and resources they need to promote their products. So
they sign up, look for resources and when they don’t find any, their excitement
and motivation evaporates and off they go to find a program which gives them
what they need.
Here are our 6 top features, switched on affiliates
expect in a quality affiliate program:
1: Communication Leads to Community
The best way to keep top Affiliates loyal is to maintain
a good relationship with them. Not just while they’re signing up, but ongoing.
For starters, it’s essential you offer a dedicated point
of contact for affiliates and respond quickly. Don’t make them wait for answers
and lose trust or you’ll lose them.
As many Affiliates sign up but then get side-tracked and
never get around to promoting, (remember the disconnect?) you should also send
regular emails to keep them engaged, ensure they’re on track AND to show your
program is active.
As they move forward, you can’t presume they are up to
date with your offers and new resources, so keep them informed of any program
news.
Finally, a sense of community and open communication with
Vendors can really build loyalty, so although this goes against the usual
school of affiliate program thought, give them what they want. The long term
rewards can be huge.
ClickSure believes in the power of communication, so
unlike traditional networks, we allow Advertisers and Affiliates to communicate
directly with each other using our in-house Messenger Service. It’s extremely
rare but we believe open communication fosters trust, saves a ton of time when
setting up campaigns and offers outstanding efficiency.
2: Technology
As Affiliate marketing is becoming more and more
competitive in the marketing industry, data-analysis has become a crucial
factor for Affiliates. Marketing methods
need in-depth evaluation in order for Affiliates to gauge their success and
test and improve, to generate the best return on their investments.
Although there may be many individual reporting platforms
available out there, the majority of Affiliate programs are now offering
proprietary reporting and tracking technologies, in order to provide their
Affiliates the opportunity to enhance their performance based on their sales
analytics.
Obviously, you’ll be more successful if you also show
affiliates how to use this technology effectively. Many veterans will be
familiar with it, but be specific to yours and don’t forget, your new
affiliates may have never seen this kind of resource before. Without help, it
can seem overwhelming and become another reason for the 80% disconnect.
Affiliates also need reassurance that their marketing
efforts are working and providing all the relevant sales data on their profile
obviously helps that too.
So don’t even think of building your affiliate program
without this essential resource. No-one wants to run their promo campaigns in
the dark.
3: Competitive commissions and fast payouts
As an Advertiser, you need to work directly with your
Affiliates to create a payment model that best fits your business.
99% of affiliates are in it for the money. So the higher
the payout the more chance you have of attracting affiliates to your offer. On
top of that most super affiliates spend a lot of money buying advertising, so
the faster you can make payments to them, the better their cash-flow and the
lower the risk for the affiliate.
Less risk means they are more likely to push your offers
over affiliate programs offering inferior payment terms.
Take some time to research into what other Affiliate
programs are offering in commissions. This would give you a better indication
of the competition and also what payment terms you should offer to stay
competitive.
For instance, Affiliate payment terms at ClickSure vary,
as our Advertiser/Merchants select their own individual terms and payouts. What
payout and terms you set is up to.
You have to try to get the balance right. See what others
are paying as a starting point, but keep your payments really competitive, as
it’s the most important thing to the majority of affiliates. The only exception
is when your offer converts much better than your competitors, but remember
your affiliates still have to pay for traffic, so keep those payout rates
attractive.
Don’t go too far the other way and go overboard with the
payments though, thinking you’ll clean up. If you don’t get your numbers right
you could get an avalanche of sales you’ll end up making a loss on.
Keep in mind, however, it’s no coincidence that some of
the best performing Affiliate Programs within the ClickSure marketplace offer
the fastest payout terms, with most offering weekly payouts and some also offer
private payouts for super affiliates.
It also makes sense to pay your affiliates well and as
quickly as possible, because the payments could well be funding the next wave
of traffic they send to your product.
4: The Art of Affiliate Incentives
One of the most popular methods to generate attraction is
by offering affiliates a competition with a cash prize as a reward. These are
especially popular during the festive season such as Christmas, as Affiliates
are looking to earn quick cash around that time.
It’s also a good incentive for Affiliates to promote your
offer. You may also attract top Affiliates with generous competitions to give
yourself a competitive advantage in the Marketplace amongst all the other
product owners.
Cash is obviously one of the most popular incentives.
However, co-branded gifts can also work very well and still give you the
opportunity of attracting additional business.
For example, run a ‘Win an iPad’ incentive but then brand
the iPad so wherever the affiliate takes it your brand is on show.
You could also combine training events with incentives…
For example, win a trip to “office location” and “3 days
intensive training with our marketing team”. This helps build relationships,
gives your affiliate additional insights on how to drive business to your
products and if you feature the winners experience in a video or post, you can
also use it as a promotional opportunity for your next incentive.
Another effective way to incentivise Affiliates is to
offer them a ‘money-can’t-buy’ reward. This can include VIP tickets to sold out
events, sporting fixtures or even gifts and experiences.
There are many different options you can choose to reward
your Affiliate from instant cash rewards to generous private commissions.
Test to find out which works best for you and how much
you can offer to encourage affiliates to sign up.
5: In-depth product information
Always offer as much information as you can about your
product as it would help Affiliates to understand the product better, in order
to pre-sell and advertise to their traffic.
Affiliates are looking for products and services that
match the content on the site, so the more information you give, the better
judgment they can make as to whether the product is suitable for them or not.
Provide affiliates with as much information as possible so
they have more knowledge to help pre-sell your products. Also, showing them the
best ways to sell and where to generate sales, is important for keeping your
affiliate marketing strategy aligned to your goals and product branding. For
For example, if someone has a Luxurious Skin Cream for
Women, you don’t necessarily want affiliates targeting men with the product,
unless it’s promoted as a gift idea for their partners or loved ones.
The more info you can supply, the better your affiliates
can perform, so . . .
Give affiliates free samples, free demos or walkthroughs
of the product/service.
Provide affiliates info on best traffic sources, customer
demographics, best practices for promoting the product etc.
Send regular email newsletters to your affiliates, including
tailored news of any new products you are launching.
Lastly, always keep your content fresh and remember to
update and changes to the product as soon as possible.
6: What marketing materials should you provide?
Affiliates do not want to develop their own primary
marketing materials. And why should they? They are promoting for you and
increasing your ‘hands off’ sales, so give them the help they need.
Supplying your affiliates with free marketing material
such as landing pages, banners, images email swipes etc. is a must.
Also important, if you want affiliates to use a great
product image to show your product in the best light then provide them with
images they can use. You do not want them cutting and pasting shady looking
images that don’t show your product in all its glory.
Yes, it will take you time to create these resources, but
it’s an investment, not a cost. By supplying a range of high-quality resources,
your affiliates can hit the ground running and make an impact quickly.
Top Tip:
Keep your marketing materials simple as some Affiliates
may be reluctant to use large images/ banner as it may affect the site load
time.
It’s also better if YOU control the branding, quality and
‘voice’ of these resources, as some affiliates may get frustrated, create their
own inferior examples and give the wrong message out regarding your brand.
Also, you are saving affiliates the time spent developing
these materials themselves and instead they can focus on promoting your
products straight away.
