The results can be staggering! Affiliate programs have the ability to generate an additional 5 to 60% additional revenue just months after launch. Compare that to the expense and cost of search engine optimization (SEO), paid search, email marketing and the quickly diminishing returns of running ads on social media without the benefit of iOS tracking.
How does your affiliate platform track sales?
Tracking cookies are great and easy to use but have a significant downside where over 15% of sales could be untracked due to browser tracking settings, browser switching, or simply clearing history could effect the ability to compensate the affiliate.
Affiliate links are another option that can be used to track affiliate efforts and can be embedded into links to attribute credit to the affiliate. This is effective at attributing credit to the affiliate but does not capture all traffic and requires the buyer to remember a code when checking out..
Personal websites are the 2nd most effective way to track sales as each affiliate is able to provide a custom experience to their network from curated lists to custom content.
The most effective way to track sales is to combine traditional tracking and links with personal websites to ensure not a single sale is missed!
How are you going to get people into your ambassador, affiliate, or influencer program? Some platforms have built in networks of people looking to sell products. While helpful, it’s impersonal and you’re now competing with 100’s of different brands! Our favorite option is to recruit your best customers! Your brand evangelists so to speak.
Using a customized recruitment page, you can list out returns, details, and benefits of your product and what it’s like to sell for your brand. Spread the word to all your customers and after sales, ask them via email if they’d like to offer products to their network.
After signup, what happens next? Do you just hand over a discount link, a high five, and wishes of good luck?
Of course not!
Training people how to sell your brand, providing regular content, encouragement, and inclusiveness are all important to keep your affiliates happy. Getting the message out and making sellers feel special is crucial to the success of your program.
It’s important to consider things like creating campaigns to keep in contact, develop online communities or set up chat programs like slack, release regular product and brand updates, and even provide support.
Keeping in regular contact with affiliates is one of the largest driver of success on affiliate platforms.
How is content going to be managed? Are you scrapping influencer’s sites after they post? Asking sellers to drop content into a google drive? Are you emailing images to affiliate to use?
Tracking, collecting, and providing content from images, to gifs and videos is just as important as the link itself. It’s important to have a strong content distribution and collection policy in place that makes it very easy to share unique and up to date images with affiliates networks.
Building and maintaining an affiliate program isn’t usually as simple signing up for an affiliate tracking system and inviting users...but it can be! With the Storr’s all in one platform, we handle everything from onboarding and training to retention and content management.
