This content has been authored by Lee-Ann Johnstone, CEO of Affiverse.
Affiverse is an affiliate and performance marketing agency, media and training business. To find out more about Affiverse and how you can work with them, visit: www.affiversemedia.com to find out more.
This year, we’re coming back to basics with a literal spring in our step and a gleam in our eyes, as we look towards the start of what will be a very productive year in Affiliate Marketing. To help you get started with levelling up your affiliate program performance, here are five actionable strategies that you can implement this week to supercharge your partner performance and help drive sustainable growth:
1.Review and Refine Your Commission Structures
The cornerstone of any successful affiliate program is a competitive and enticing commission structure. This week, why not take a closer look at your existing commission rates and evaluate whether they still align with industry and your competitor standards?
Are they still motivating your affiliates to deliver higher sales volumes, or should they be adjusted to market forces and supply and demand of the new year? Consider offering tiered commissions based on performance, rewarding top-performing affiliates with higher rates and adjusting commissions based on traffic source and types whilst always looking to meet your core KPI objectives in each relationship you’re managing.
Additionally, explore the possibility of introducing performance-based bonuses or incentives for affiliates who consistently meet or exceed their targets. This not only encourages affiliates to work harder but also fosters a sense of partnership, as they see their efforts directly impacting their earnings.
Communication is key here – inform your affiliates about the changes, emphasising how the adjusted commission structure benefits them and motivates them to strive for greater success.
2. Engage in Personalised Outreach
Building strong relationships with your affiliates is crucial for the long-term success of your program. Dedicate time this week to engage in personalised outreach to your inactive and newly identified affiliates. Send personalised emails expressing gratitude for their efforts and achievements, and inquire about any challenges, problems or suggestions they may have with your program. Now’s a great time to survey and ask your partners what they think is lacking, and create a plan to optimise with the feedback you receive.
By showing genuine interest in their success, you not only strengthen the affiliate-program relationship but also gain valuable insights that can inform strategic decisions. Consider organising a virtual meet-up or webinar where affiliates can connect with each other and share their experiences. Creating a sense of community fosters a supportive environment, encouraging affiliates to collaborate and learn from one another.
3. Optimise Landing Pages for Better Partner Conversion
The journey from clicking an affiliate link to completing a purchase is a critical aspect of affiliate marketing. This week, focus on optimising your landing pages and creative assets to ensure a seamless and conversion-friendly experience for visitors referred by affiliates. Clear out old creative, add in the new and optimise your platform to help affiliates seek and find the content they want to promote, with ease. Sometimes, the smallest efforts can yield the biggest rewards and saving an affiliate’s time is just one such effort that shouldn’t be ignored.
Conduct a thorough audit of your landing pages, paying attention to the clarity of your value proposition, the simplicity of the purchase process, and the overall user experience. Implement A/B testing to identify the most effective elements and continually refine your approach based on the data. Look back at the year that was and see what campaigns yielded the best returns then plan ahead to mimic these accordingly.
4. Implement a Referral Program for Affiliates
Just as affiliates help drive business to your company, encourage them to help recruit new affiliates to your program, too. With the industry moving towards partner based referrals this is a great time to have this referring program in place.
This week, launch a referral program specifically designed for your affiliates to share your program benefits and USP and see how they can help build brand engagement for your program to attract new partners in. Offer bonuses or additional commissions for affiliates who successfully refer new partners to your program – that go active within the first 30 days, sending new sign-ups or customer purchases.
Create promotional materials specifically for this purpose, making it easy for existing affiliates to share the benefits of your program with their network. Leverage social media, email marketing, and other channels to spread the word about your referral program and generate interest among your current affiliates.
Regularly acknowledge and reward affiliates who bring in new members, creating a positive cycle of growth within your affiliate program. This not only expands your affiliate network but also reinforces a sense of community among your partners.
5. Take a Closer Look at How AI Can Improve Your Efficiencies
If you haven’t explored ChatGPT, or some of the other incredibly useful tools from Affiliate.ai – now’s the time to spend a few minutes and understand how it can help save you time and money in the year ahead. Get stuck in and see how you can leverage AI to improve time and reporting efficiencies in your program.
With the advancement of AI technology and tools at the ready to help you get more efficient with program management you’d be a fool not to engage and optimise your current processes. Spend a bit of time this week looking at how to build tools that can help you with menial tasks, and investigate services that can support your team to be more efficient and level up service for your partners too.
Growing your affiliate program requires a proactive and strategic approach. It’s a measure of small incremental steps and optimisations that really impact the bottom line. This week, as you come back to the busy demands your work will have for you – use this time to get ahead of ideas, and execute the small changes that can help support your program growth. Take more action with these 5 simple steps this week and watch as your affiliate program evolves into a powerful driver of business success.
About the Author:
Lee-Ann Johnstone is the founder of Affiverse – an affiliate and performance marketing agency, media and training business. With over two decades of expertise to her name, her award-winning agency team is helping brands to launch, scale and grow successful affiliate programs. Her chart topping Affiliate Marketing Podcast is a perfect resource to hear how affiliate program managers should be tactically growing their partnerships. Affiverse has trained hundreds of affiliate program managers with their AMPP coaching program, which offers in-depth frameworks and support to affiliate managers running programs agency, network and advertiser side.
To find out more about Affiverse and how you can work with them to promote your business, agency or services on their media outlet (Web and Podcast) visit: www.affiversemedia.com to find out more.
