5 Affiliate Program Management Practices That Affiliate Marketers Can Learn From

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Hey there WAers, today I just wanted to touch base and discuss the outcomes of some research I have been doing lately. Don't worry, there are not academic type graphs and charts to digest (unless you would really like some then let me know - I do love a good graph) rather simply some similarities between affiliate program management and affiliate marketing that I have been seeing.

It all started with a job ad that popped up in my inbox from something I must have subscribed to a while ago. It was for an affiliate program manager role in a well-known New York fashion company and something that stood out for me was the following requirement:

"This role will be instrumental in developing a best-in-class affiliate marketing strategy that drives demand and fuels new customer growth."

To which I thought... "isn't; that what we do as affiliate marketers?". So of course, as my over working, 'unable to switch off' little brain does, I decided to see what correlations there are between a good affiliate program manager and an affiliate marketer. Here are 5 that I came up with:

1. Set Up Your Program Strategy

In all of the information I have read about the art of affiliate program management, the ones that tend to fall by the wayside are those that try and just set it up as a 'set and forget' arrangement. Affiliate program management is no Field of Dreams - if you build it, they will not just come. Affiliate managers have to get all of their ducks in a row to ensure that their program is able to attract effective affiliates who can contribute to the success of the company and themselves by making good consistent sales.

Luckily for us, as we convert this thinking to affiliate marketing, the sheer fact that you are part of Wealthy Affiliate assists with this aspect of the process within its training. But one thing I know I didn't do at the start was to be extremely clear on what my strategy involved including:

  1. What is my niche? - not in general terms but a really clear idea on what exactly it is that I am talking about - I.e. there is a big difference between boats for water skiing and boats for fishing for example - yes, you may need to be that clear. Be aware of a phenomenon I like to call "niche drift" where over time and without realising it your posts move away from your original niche to something a little different - say moving from knitting to crocheting for example...
  2. Who am I targeting? - think about how you may sell a product to your grandmother as opposed to your son. Be very clear on your target audience and their preferences. Research their demographics in terms of marketing if you need to.
  3. What problems are you solving? - This is the big one, are you clear on the problems that you are solving for your readers based on the first two influences above. After all, why solve problems for a budget conscious audience if you are aiming your site at luxury niche options.
  4. Are there peaks and troughs? - this is something I have noticed in some of my research into outdoors type affiliate programs - they do big sales in the summer months and not so much in the winter ones. Plan your posts and problems to match these times - an obvious example here is not to write a post on how to set up a Christmas tree and then release it in January.

There is a bit to this I know, but trust me, if you are crystal clear on all of this information, everything you do in terms of training here at WA and building your affiliate business will become a whole lot easier.

2. Research the Product and Industry

Affiliate program managers are expected to know, as part of their company's overall marketing strategy, exactly what it is that they are selling and how it fits within the industry. This means having intimate knowledge of competitors, pricing fluctuations, current marketing best practice and so on...

Now, think about the products you promote as an affiliate marketer. Do you know everything about them such as:

  • What make them different from their competitors?
  • Why is it priced the way it is?
  • How do they themselves market their products?
  • How do their competitors market their products?
  • How do other companies in different niches market to the same demographic?

Imagine how much extra influence your own posts may have if you are armed with this information.

3. Focus on Recruitment

This goes along with the 'set and forget' mistake that many affiliate program managers make in that they are not actively looking to recruit new affiliate marketers to their programs. Now I certainly don't mean this as from a MLM recruitment point of view but for their programs to be successful (and make more money than they cost to operate), it is obvious that the more effective affiliate marketers there are within a program, the higher the chances of more sales being made.

Now, as affiliate marketers, our recruitment processes are all about building an audience that we 'own'. Think about your own behaviors online. You do a search, you find a site or post, you check it out for 10 seconds or so (if they are lucky) and you close it down. And with that in mind, now ask yourself a question: What sites did you visit yesterday? I bet you can 't think of a lot of them - because that site doesn't 'own' you. Owning your visitors is about opening up avenues where you can contact then again without them having to find you (after all, no offense but most of them have already forgotten you exist).

How do we do this? - Here are some things you can do:

  • Interact at every opportunity- if they comment on your posts, social media or onsite contact avenues - respond immediately and engage - especially if they have asked a question or for help/information.
  • Create an email list - give readers the opportunity to join your email list. You will need to provide incentives and value for them to opt in, but once they do, you can market them directly anytime you wish.
  • Create landing pages that relate to them directly - this can be tricky, especially as you cannot write the same post 20 times to account for every audience type, but if they take the time to click further into your site or access a landing page, the more it can relate to them the better (hint: this becomes a lot easier if you have properly completed step 1 above).

At the end of the day, once you have a relationship with your readers, you have to real power to drive sales by meeting their specific needs.

4. Focus on Data

This one goes without saying but data analysis is critical to the success of any marketing strategy regardless of which side of the fence you sit on. Program Managers need to know where their clicks and sales are coming from so that they can better engage with their marketers in terms of product offers, banner design and even commissions offered.

As an affiliate marketer, data is the only real way to ensure that the strategies and influences you have worked out above are actually correct. It is imperative that you are constantly checking out your Google Analytics pages (click here if you need help with this) where you can see things such as:

  • What your most popular posts are.
  • Where your clicks are coming from (I.e. country, entry points etc.).
  • What time of day they are accessing your site.
  • What they are doing once they access their first post (I.e. are they clicking elsewhere via internal links etc.).
  • If they are clicking on your 'Calls to Action'?
  • And so so so much more.

From here, you can realign your strategies etc. to give yourself the best possible chance of success.

5. Provide Extra Value

And finally, a common piece of advice given to affiliate program managers - in fact to anybody in the marketing sphere of operations - is to give back to their affiliate marketers. This can be in free product, back links, second tier commissions or even negotiable rates.

For affiliate marketers, this follows on from the audience owning processes we discussed earlier but think about the things that you van do to provide extra value to your readers - especially those that purchase from you. An example may be that say you sold a dog grooming kit via your affiliate program. You could then send that reader an information guide on caring for their product - or even a free brush to keep it clean.

They don't have to be big or expensive things, and you will probably need to update your sales pages to gather their information if it is not locateable within your affiliate program pages, but if you can be proactive in providing value, then return sales opportunities will arise.

And that's it

So, there are 5 things you can do to enhance your changes of affiliate marketing success based on the processes of good affiliate program managers. Some will work for you and some will not - but I will say, and I don't say this very often - that most of this is critical to success as an affiliate marketer.

What works for you? Is there anything you would add here?

Let me know below

And, as always, have fun

Paul

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Recent Comments

12

Great advice Paul.

Where do I see if they have clicked a CTA in my analysis?

Lily 😁🎶

Hi! Are you referring to the Google site analysis?

Interesting Paul. I don't want to run an affiliate network but I would think the best way to get started quickly would be if you have a large enough email list in the niche your network will deal in.

You said the niche was fashion. I don't know the first thing about fashion. If you saw how I am dressed now you would surely believe me.

This is a long shot but I once used a source called 10dollar solo ads. For 10 dollars they will mail to 2400 people and they have other niches to choose from other than opportunity seekers. I did choose opportunity seekers and I got over 300 ciicks and 6 free members to WA although none of them went premium

My mistake was not sending them to a capture page of my own first so I could add them to my list.

A word of warning. If you use 10dollar solo ads pay with a prepaid debit card with just the amount you plan to spend for the month. They seem to have a habit of billing you early instead of waiting until a new month starts

“If You absorb Persistence You will Destroy Failure.” Tom Short.

"It does not take any longer than your ability will allow." Tom Short.

“Is it impossible? Then challenge it and make it possible.” Tom Short.

Tom.

Hi Paul
You have shared great insight here, thank you so much.
Blessings
Louise

Exactly. The main things for success in affiliate marketing. And even in online business in general.

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