Affiliate Marketing is the business practice of paying affiliate webmasters a commission for every sale, lead, or new customer that they send to your Website. It can be a very effective Online Marketing strategy, however it is not the cash cow it once was for Marketing Managers or Business owners.
The efficiency of Affiliate Marketing has been marginalized over the past couple of years. Search Engines have established much tighter SEM (Search Engine Marketing) restrictions for Brand and Trademark advertising, and Social Media Marketing platforms have made it easier for Brand owners to target consumers themselves, rather than relying on the efforts of affiliate webmasters. Maximizing the potential of your Affiliate Marketing efforts requires and understanding of how it integrates into your overall Online Marketing strategy.
A. If you can’t generate revenue from your website, your Affiliate Program won’t be able to either!
You provide your Affiliate Webmasters with the tools they need to attract potential customers and convert them to sales… not the other way around! Think of your Affiliate Webmasters as an outside Sales team. You must provide them with the resources they need to close the sale! This means offering them landing pages and ads that have proven their conversion value, and promotional tools and offers that have precedent.
B. Develop positive relationships with your Affiliates.
Communication is crucial! Just as you would not hire a salesperson for your business and never speak to them again, you cannot ignore your affiliates. While this may seem like an unspoken understanding, but many Brands and Business owners mistakenly approach Affiliate Marketing with a “set it and forget it” mentality. Your affiliates are likely experienced Online Marketing professionals themselves. Take the time to get to know them and understand their particular audience.
C. Grow Better Business together!
Instead of putting together a generic collection of banner ads and landing pages, try tailoring your approach to match that of your affiliates. If you have a high producing affiliate webmaster that does well with promotional codes and discounts for example, create custom offers for that affiliate to offer to their readers.
If an affiliate has a very targeted blog for example, presenting your Brand in a manner that appeals to that specific demographic would be wise.
D. Monitor their online Marketing efforts and set guidelines.
Whether you’re working with proprietary affiliate programs or using one of the powerful affiliate networks like Commission Junction or ShareASale, it’s important to set guidelines for how your affiliates can or cannot promote your product. This is crucial!
For example, if you allow your Affiliates to utilize Social Media Marketing or Search Engine Marketing to promote your Brand, they are likely competing against your own efforts! This means you may actually be paying more for your own advertising because you’re competing against your own affiliates for pricing and placement!
Understanding how Affiliate Marketing effects, and is affected by other Online Marketing Strategies like Social Media Marketing and SEM is key to success! Be a responsible Business owner and don’t expect your affiliate webmasters to market or sell your product, if you haven’t figured that out for yourself.
With years of proven Affiliate Marketing experience, The Marketing Hoe can help you optimize your efforts for increased revenue and higher Brand Awareness! For more info contact info@themarketinghoe.com