This article was written by CJ (formerly Commission Junction), an established leader in global affiliate marketing technology. CJ is also a founding member of the APMA.
With the constant evolution of the affiliate landscape— including new partners, emerging technologies, and shifting regulations—it can be overwhelming to manage all the data at your disposal. Amid these shifts, adopting a data-centric approach can transform your programme’s effectiveness and boost your marketing ROI. With extensive experience in the affiliate industry—from building the affiliate channel to managing clients and publishers—CJ offers top practical ways to leverage data to optimise your affiliate programme.
1. Scale Your Affiliate Programme for Growth
To unlock growth, look for opportunities outside your current set-up. Consider:
Expanding your scope: Expand into new regions, websites, apps, commissionable products and actions that drive customer acquisition goals. Also, consider tracking and incentivising in-store conversions to broaden your reach – affiliate is not just online. To take this approach to the next level, implement customer segmentation strategies that target new, existing, and lapsed customers, or adopt audience-based commissioning—a new solution that enables tailored incentives for specific audience segments. This strategy ensures targeted, effective engagement aligned with your acquisition objectives.
Diversifying publisher types: Expand beyond traditional models like coupon or loyalty publishers by leveraging tech solutions, content, search, and mobile publishers. Over the last few years, many established publishers have diversified their consumer-facing offerings to develop new ways to partner with brands.
Leverage AI and automation: Utilise AI solutions that recommend publishers based on programme KPIs (like conversion metrics or audience demograhics) and audience trends (such as audience behaviours across channels, browsing habits or content preferences). This advanced targeting helps find opportunities that may be difficult to identify manually through human input alone.
Integrate with more plug-ins: Networks are increasingly incorporating plug-ins, removing barriers to entry and streamlining the tracking of new publisher types.
2. Continuous Partners’ Recruitment
Recruiting new partners is vital for long-term success, and our network data shows newly recruited publishers can account for up to 60% of programme revenue over five years. To keep your affiliate programme thriving:
Ongoing recruitment: To ensure a steady flow of quality recruits, establish recruitment as an ongoing process that leverages network and platform tools. Key efforts include creating co-branded landing pages, customised welcome packs for publishers, adopting a publisher application framework, designing a new publisher scoring system, allocating an initial test-and-learn budget, and developing newsletters and a CRM to engage publishers effectively.
Tap into emerging trends: New types of publishers are continually emerging in the affiliate space, including influencers, Closed User Groups (CUGs), and Card-Linked Offers (CLOs). Post-pandemic, smaller CUG publishers, influencers, and eco-publishers have gained traction, particularly with Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences. CLO partners are also reshaping tracking and validation, driving the industry forward with innovative solutions for successful partnerships. These partners can help diversify your audience and connect with niche demographics.
Relationships are key: As relationships are at the heart of the affiliate channel, getting to know your publishers is key. Hosting ‘affiliate days’ dedicated to meet and strategise for the upcoming quarter and year could help to strengthen these relationships which can in return improve publisher performance and help you meet your goals.
3. Optimise Your Investment
Affiliate marketing is a pay-for-performance channel, offering guaranteed ROI. However, to fully maximise that return:
Regularly analyse your programme: Use reporting tools to monitor performance across key KPIs, such as revenue, order and conversion growth, shifting trends, and customer behaviour on mobile and app-based publishers. This is essential as the industry has advanced in tracking mobile interactions, enabling integrated strategies that seamlessly mirror promotions from desktop to app and mobile experiences.
Optimise publisher performance: One way to tailor your optimisation strategy based on different publisher performance tiers, from low performers to top performers:
- Low-tier performers: Offer goal-based incentives and update creative and offers.
- Mid-tier performers: Invest in additional exposure and provide exclusive codes.
- Top performers: Maintain regular communication and review successful strategies.
4. Monitor Programme Health
Ensuring the health of your affiliate programme requires vigilant monitoring:
Regular transaction and programme review: Keep an eye on performance and validate transactions to avoid fraud or anomalies. Be proactive, using both AI and human expertise to maintain programme integrity. Additionally, conduct regular audits of programme terms and conditions to ensure clear guidelines on how the brand can be promoted.
Audit and manage publishers: Actively engage with your publishers to align on programme compliance best practices. Utilise network fraud prevention tools and clearly communicate with publishers of the terms and conditions of your programme through networks and SaaS platforms can help prevent unintentional
5. Improve Tracking Efficiencies
Taking advantage of your network or platform’s sophisticated tracking and commissioning strategies can enhance your programme’s overall efficiency:
Situational Commissioning: Network solutions like CJ’s Situational Commissioning offer tailored, margin-based commissioning structures based on real-time data, enabling advertisers to reward publishers for delivering on specific performance objectives.
Publisher Audience Commissioning: By incorporating first-party publisher data into your commissioning, you can target specific audience groups more effectively. This helps drive better results while providing publishers with higher commissions for reaching desired audiences.
As more customers shop online in new ways, the affiliate channel is uniquely positioned to help brands reach audiences in places other channels can’t. Amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties, affiliate marketing remains a cost-effective approach to amplifying overall marketing efforts. By implementing data-driven strategies, businesses can ensure their affiliate programmes deliver maximum value and sustainable growth.
If you would like to learn more tips and tricks to make the most of your affiliate programmes, check out CJ’s blog Junction.
CJ has been named Global Affiliate Network or SaaS of the Year at the 2024 Global Performance Marketing Awards (GPMA), and also earned Highly Commended for Best Client Development Team.
