One affiliate, one very good affiliate, can change your business fortunes forever. Therefore, it is important that you do everything within your power to set up an affiliate program as soon as “Yesterday” if you want your online business to grow risk-free. The big difference between this model and other promotional model is that it usually does NOT involve a lot of capital. All you have to do is get certain things right from the onset.
If you have been wasting a lot of your hard-earned cash on different advertising models and been getting less than satisfactory results, it is time you switched to something that takes the risk off you. However, you have to ensure that your sales funnel has been tested and proven to convert well before you attempt to get others involved. That said; affiliate marketing is one of the most effective ways to promote any business. However, there is a difference between setting up a program and having one that is very effective. For an effective affiliate program, you have to take certain steps. Here’s what we recommend:
1. Make Them An Offer They Can’t Refuse
This is something you shouldn’t joke with. Everyone who has the capability of sending qualified leads to your site will like to know what’s in it for them. Remember, they are taking all the risk off you. They are the ones going out on a limb; NOT you. You only pay them if they deliver a sale (if you are using a pay-per-sale model). Therefore, make the offer as attractive as you can while staying profitable. Remember, it is better to get 30% of the profit on one million sales than to get 100% of a thousand. So how much should you offer? As much as you can afford to without having to pay them out of your pocket or disrupt your cash flow.
2. Provide Additional Incentives To Affiliates
You can help the decision making process easier for a lot of folks by giving additional incentives. For example, you can offer a sign up bonus. However, make sure you don’t make a payout until such an affiliate has brought in enough sales to justify the bonus (This is to discourage people from signing up with fake identities). You have to work this out beforehand and include it your terms (Nothing will hurt your affiliate program more than shifting the posts when it’s time to make payments). You can also have performance incentives. You can offer an all-expenses paid trip to any affiliate that hits X number of sales within a given period. You can also reward top affiliates by giving them bigger commissions. Get creative. You want people to go out of their ways to promote your business.
3. Offer Lifetime Commissions
One of the things that will make you stand out is offering lifetime commissions. Many businesses don’t do this. They may pay generous commissions for the first sale but then they take all the profits thereafter. Believe it or NOT, affiliates are a lot smarter now. They know that there is something known as the lifetime value of a customer. While it is your business and you can choose to run it however you deem fit, you will show yourself to be a very fair business person if your affiliates see that you are NOT only going to reward them for the first sale but also for every sale you make from their referrals.
You will have a very “lethal” combination if your product or service has a recurring feature: Your affiliates can build residual income (Don’t we all love making passive income?). This will make your affiliate program a lot more attractive and help you sign up very committed people.
4. Have A Multi-Tier System
There is a reason multi-level marketing companies experience phenomenal success (I mean those that have excellent products): They have a system that makes early adopters leverage the hard work of others who join after them. A person is going to be more motivated to sign up and work hard to promote your product if they realize that they’ll get paid both for their efforts and those of people whom they introduced to your business. The numbers can add up quite easily. If you are going this route, make sure you find out what the law in your location says about such arrangements. You don’t want to end up being accused of breaking the law. Also, be careful about how you set this up. You don’t want to end up with a pyramid scheme.
5. Provide Training To Help Them Succeed
While a number of your affiliates will already be acquainted with all the tips and tricks of affiliate marketing, many will have yours as their first commitment. Therefore, you have to provide them all the training they need to succeed. Don’t forget that their success is yours too. Share things that you’ve tested and found effective. If you can afford it, get a seasoned internet marketer to prepare solid training material to help ground them in the art of affiliate promotions. Yes, they might use your training elsewhere but they’ll forever be grateful to you.
And you know what? There’s a law called the law of reciprocity. It states that human beings like returning the favors they are done. In this case, they’ll feel good about your business and send over both new customers and affiliates to it. Who wins? Everyone!
6. Start The Process
You have set out a great plan. You have worked out all the commissions and incentives that will get the world’s best affiliates begging to join your program. But there’s one thing left…
You just have to start the process. Until then it is just a figment of your imagination. Start the process.
So how do you start? Pick the right affiliate management software and have it set up (Get an affiliate management software if your site runs on WordPress). Get promotional material in place for your affiliates. Now go out and apply all your promotional skills in getting the word out. Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect. You can make adjustments along the way. Affiliate marketing is one model that every smart online business includes in its marketing.
