Effective Affiliate Program Management Part03
Friend,
welcome back to our new article series " Effective Affiliate
Program Management " which will help to improve your business. Last time
we started to build up a picture of the ideal affiliate program? If you missed
it, click here to get it.
Ok, it's time to look at management of your affiliates
themselves, how to get them to promote in the most profitable way possible
depending on your product.
Not an Overnight Task - Doesn’t Mean
It Can’t Be Fast
Ok, let’s get started. Friend, the
first thing I want at the front of your mind when going through this is
affiliate sales and affiliate building is not an overnight thing. I could lie
to you, but I won't.
Affiliate building is like list building. The more products
you create and promote, the more affiliates are likely to join you on the way.
Like with list building, the more joint ventures and promotions you get sorted,
the more people will join your list on the way.
Understand that if this is your first day, and you don't
have any affiliates they will only grow as fast as you promote. Keep in mind
though, that even five good new affiliates will put you well on your way to
earning a heck of a lot more.
Your First Questions
Friend, in setting up your affiliate
program, the first question you'll likely have to ask yourself is how much do I
award to affiliates per sale and on how many levels?
While there are many factors to take into account, the
answer isn't really all that complex. Always look at things from an
affiliates point of view. We've really been spoiled by commissions as of
late, I've seen things up to 80%, and even 100% for the first month quick start
bonuses.
This is why it's important that your first level is at least
40%. Remember that's not a 60% loss, it's a 40% gain from a sale you may never
have made. If there’s one thing I’d like you to keep in mind at this point,
it’s that when getting started, affiliate promotion is more about resource
building for future promotion than making immediate profit, something the big
earners realized early on.
Sure you’d give away 80-100% if it meant you’d have a list
of several thousand to promote to as a result of the increased affiliate
activity. Don’t think in two dimensions, or you’ll see your highly
contested for affiliates go elsewhere for higher commissions.
Friend, next up comes level two. It's
really important to have a level two commission going, because this will give
all the first level referrers a passive income (cliché, I know) once they've
exhausted their first level promotion.
I know some people who won't even promote products unless
they have a second level commission there (very big tip, don’t forget this
widespread factor), or the first level commission is particularly high. So a
second level is a must, unless you have a very high ticket product to start
with. Use your discretion, and remember to test whilst your selecting your
levels and whilst your affiliates promote for you.
Now I understand that there may be circumstances where 40%
commissions or a second level commission may not be possible. For example, if
the products that you're creating are tangible, or have a high production cost,
but still go ahead and create yourself an affiliate program, whether it's five
or ten percent.
It won't get you as much interest as a high commission
program, but you really don't have much choice when paying a 40% commission
rate would put you at a loss every sale.
Taking into Account the Price of
Your Products
Friend, the next thing you'll want to
look at when trying to set your affiliate commissions is the price of your
product itself, and its structure. It's far easier to get people to promote for
you in four situations.
1. Where you have a high price
2. When your commissions are higher
3. When you have a second level
4. Where the commission is re-occurring over time
Friend, if your affiliate program
doesn’t meet at least one of those requirements, we have a problem on our
hands. The more of these four points it meets, the stronger is your position
both for attracting affiliates and keeping them promoting.
Analyze Your Offer Objectively
I've had people ask me why they're having trouble getting
affiliates to promote for them, and more often than not, they're trying to get
people to promote a one off sale $10 product, or something similar.
Now if that's not re-occurring, and has no follow-up
product, then what good is a $5 one off commission for the promoter? Not a lot.
Of course I'm not saying you wouldn't get any affiliates in this situation, but
it may be harder than you expect to attract.
The competition for joint ventures, lists, and affiliates
right now is as harsh and as cut throat as the competition for actual sales of
products.
So before you actually decide to shell out on some sort of
affiliate software, make sure that you don't offer commissions that are too
low, non-reoccurring, or don't have a second level.
Put yourself in the affiliates’ shoes. Remember, they don’t care about your profits.
They care about theirs.
Friend, if you were them, would you
promote your product? Would it be profitable for you? Would it even be worth
your time? These are the things to think about when not only setting commissions,
but deciding whether or not it's even worth having an affiliate program up
there for people to take advantage of in the first place.
If you can't answer those two questions with a confident
'yes' then your setup probably needs to be changed in some way until you can,
because it's likely others will have the same reaction as you, and your
tracking and testing results will tell you the same.
If you don't have an affiliate system up and running
already, and have just skimmed through this so far, I would suggest coming back
and using this as a reference when you do start thinking about setting one up.
It should be soon though, how about with your next product?
To be continued
Friend, next time we'll see how
well you analyze the affiliate profit potential of your products. See you there
