Please enjoy this informative guest entry from our friends at Refersion, and make sure to check out their services to further bolster your online marketing efforts!
Affiliate marketing has, or at least should, become a cornerstone of any solid business plan. The benefits are numerous and the results are real.
We’ve compiled a list of the top three reasons why your business should consider affiliate marketing — and how you can create your own affiliate program.
1. Pay When You Get The Results You’re Looking For
The beauty of having an affiliate program is that everything is performance-based. Instead of spending money on ads that may not yield any sort of valuable ROI, you only have to pay out commissions for actual sales. Affiliate marketing by its very nature is an extremely cost-effective option.
2. Expand Your Brand’s Reach
Affiliate programs have the potential to introduce your brand to countless people that may have never otherwise discovered it. By partnering up with the right influencers, your brand can gain exposure and you may even find a market for your product in a new target audience that you previously overlooked or didn’t even consider.
3. Time Management
Social media marketing can be a timely investment and involve a lot energy on your part. Having a solid affiliate program makes your life easier — someone else is increasing your brand’s visibility and building its social media footprint. You’ll be able to focus your time and effort on additional ways to build up the business.
Sounds good, huh? But how exactly can a business build out a strong affiliate program? Here’s what you need to know.
Step 1: Reach Out To The Right People
Start following the right influencers online and build a rapport with them. Research their audiences and understand what their brands are all about. Are their niches relevant to yours? Would it make sense for them to promote your brand? How large of an audience do they have? When it comes time to approach them, be personal and be sure to reference their work. Influencers are more apt to respond to people that are familiar with what they do and who they are.
You can also easily advertise your brand and matchup with potential affiliates in the Refersion Marketplace.
Step 2: Find The Perfect Platform
As you start to find more and more affiliates and your program begins to scale, things may start to become a little…overwhelming. Managing your network of affiliates can be confusing. Paying commissions, figuring out which of your affiliates drive the most sales, creating coupon codes — it’s a lot to keep up with.
Sooner or later you’ll want to find a reliable, easy-to-understand affiliate management system. A platform like Refersion is able to connect directly to your online shop and will let you manage your affiliates and sales activity in real-time. Adding affiliates, tracking sales, and making payments are simplified and seamless.
Step 3: Optimization And Retention
Once you’ve chosen a platform to manage and grow your affiliate program, you’re well on your way to optimizing your network. By easily being able to view sales activity, finding out who your most valuable affiliates are is a cinch.
With this knowledge at your fingertips, you should consider implementing a loyalty program for the affiliates that drive the most revenue. Offering your best performers special incentives is great way to make sure they don’t seek out a competitor’s program. The more sales an affiliate makes, the higher the commission should be. This will incentive them to stay with you and avoid your rivals.
