Starting an affiliate marketing program is the best way to expand your brand’s reach and increase sales each year.
Here is why.
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Cost-effective: Affiliate marketing is a very cost-effective way to market your products or services. You only pay your affiliates when they generate a sale or lead, so you don’t have to worry about spending money on advertising that doesn’t convert.
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Scalable: Affiliate marketing is a scalable marketing strategy. As your business grows, you can easily add more affiliates to your program. Your affiliates will help you reach a wider audience and generate more sales.
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Lower Maintenance Growth Strategy: Once you set up your affiliate program, it can be a relatively hands-off marketing strategy. Your affiliates will promote your products or services so you can focus on other aspects of your business.
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Measurable: Affiliate marketing is a measurable marketing strategy. You can track the performance of your affiliate program and see how it’s contributing to your business goals. Every time an affiliate link is clicked to promote your product or service, it will be tracked. This data can help you optimize your program so you can improve your results.
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Builds relationships: Affiliate marketing can help you build relationships with influencers, affiliate marketers, and other key players in your industry. These relationships can be valuable assets for your business, as they can help you promote your products or services to a wider audience and get more exposure.
Read the benefits of affiliate marketing to learn more.
How Affiliate Programs Work
An affiliate program is a partnership between a website owner (the affiliate publisher) and an advertiser (the business, company, or merchant). The affiliate publisher promotes the advertiser’s products or services on their website through unique affiliate links. When a visitor clicks on these links and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a commission.
12 Tips to Consider When Starting an Affiliate Program
Here are 12 details to consider when launching an affiliate program for your brand:
Define your goals.
Before you launch, you must understand what you want to achieve with your affiliate program. Do you want to increase sales, drive traffic to your website, or expand your brand’s reach? Having specific goals will help you measure your success.
Choose the right affiliate networks.
There are many different affiliate marketing networks and platforms available. Our best advice is to select one that is easy to use, simple to launch, and is affordable for your brand.
Check out Partnerize’s affiliate platform overview page to learn about all the features our network can offer your brand.
Understand your target audience.
Who are you trying to reach with your affiliate program? Once you know your target audience, you can identify the right affiliates to reach them.
Set a commission structure that works for your business.
How much will you pay your affiliates for each sale or lead they generate? The commission structure you choose will depend on your goals and your industry.
Here is a summary of the different affiliate commission structures you could use.
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Cost-Per-Sale (CPS): This is the most common commission structure, where affiliates earn a commission when a referred customer makes a purchase. The commission rate is usually a percentage of the sale amount.
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Cost-Per-Lead (CPL): Affiliates earn a commission when a referred visitor takes a specific action, such as filling out a contact form or signing up for a newsletter. The commission rate is usually a fixed amount.
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Cost-Per-Action (CPA): Affiliates earn a commission when a desired action is completed on your site. For example, if they referred a newsletter subscriber or requested a sample of your product. The commission rate for the action is usually a fixed amount.
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Pay-Per-Click (PPC): Affiliates earn a commission for each click generated from their referral link, regardless of whether the referred visitors make a purchase. The commission rate is usually a fixed amount or a percentage of the CPC (cost-per-click) advertising.
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Pay-Per-View (PPV or CPM): Affiliates earn a commission based on the number of times an ad or promotional material is viewed by visitors referred from their link. The commission rate is usually a fixed amount or a percentage of the CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions) advertising.
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Hybrid Commissions: Combines multiple commission structures within a single program. For example, affiliates may earn PPS for some products and PPL for others within the same affiliate program.
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Performance Bonuses: Affiliates receive additional bonuses or incentives based on meeting specific performance targets or milestones.
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Cross-Device Commissions: Affiliates earn commissions when a referred customer makes a purchase on a different device than the one they initially used to visit the site (e.g., starting on mobile and completing the purchase on desktop).
The best commission structure for your affiliate program will depend on your specific goals and objectives. For example, a CPS commission structure may be a good choice if you’re looking to generate a lot of sales. However, a CPL commission structure will be a better fit if you’re looking to generate leads. By creating different commission rates and structures for affiliates that align with your objectives, you can steer your affiliate program to acomplish more of your desired outcomes.
Comply with the law.
Make sure your affiliate program complies with all applicable laws and regulations. This includes disclosing the terms of your program to your affiliates.
Screen and vet your affiliates.
Not all affiliates are created equal. Be selective when choosing affiliates, and make sure they are a good fit for your brand.
Provide quality marketing materials.
Give your affiliates the tools they need to promote your products or services. This includes banners, images, product descriptions, and promotional content.
Analyze your results.
Use tracking tools to see how your affiliate program is performing. This data will help you identify what’s working and what’s not.
Communicate with your affiliates.
Keep your affiliates updated on your program and how they’re doing. Answer their questions and provide support as needed.
Test and optimize your program.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different strategies and see what works best.
Prevent affiliate marketing fraud.
Take steps to prevent affiliate fraud, such as click fraud or fake referrals. Here is an infographic that will help you understand the most common forms of affiliate marketing fraud.
Read this to learn 4 tips to prevent affiliate marketing fraud.
Stay Competitive and Pay your affiliates on time.
Make sure your affiliates are paid promptly for their work. Additionally, keep an eye on your competitors’ affiliate programs and ensure you’re offering a competitive commission structure and other benefits.
Build long-term relationships. Focus on building long-term relationships with your affiliates. These partnerships can be valuable assets to your brand.
Review your affiliate program regularly.
Meet with your affiliates regularly to review their performance and set new goals.
Launching and managing an affiliate program takes time and effort, but it can be a great way to grow your business. By following these twelve tips, you can create a successful affiliate program that benefits both your brand and your affiliates.
