Scalability is key to the success of any affiliate program. It makes sense, right? You want increased demand for your products and services – but it is only going to work if you are prepared to handle that increased demand. Here are some tips to allocate and optimize your resources to drive the greatest results.
Add an affiliate information page to your website
According to the 2014 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report, 20.9% of the fourteen hundred affiliates polled, said they learn about new affiliate programs by finding the information on their favorite merchants’ website. This number is up from 16% in 2012. If you do not have an affiliate information page on your website, you may be missing out on affiliates who visit your site in search of this information. Why not convert your loyal customers and brand advocates into affiliates?
Make your site mobile-friendly
We have been hearing for a few years now “this is the year of mobile” and really it has yet to come. If you are able to make your site mobile-friendly, do it now so more publishers can drive traffic to your site.
Recruit and optimize
When you are recruiting publishers for your program, you are hand picking your team. You should look for affiliates who are well aligned with your products and appeals to similar demographics as your site. Once you have them on the team, stay in contact with them! Make sure you are providing exclusive content and offers to them. Identify your publishers who are important to the program and make sure they are optimized with all of your current offers and deals. You can also retain affiliates by offering bonuses for doing a great job.
Maximize your datafeed
Data feeds can account for 5-10% of all conversions. Feeds allow affiliates to target specific products on your site. For example, if a blog has a post about back to school items, you want them to link directly to those items that fit that category on your website. If you do not have robust datafeed, you are probably leaving sales on the table.
Do not neglect creatives
A variety of creatives is essential to any affiliate program. Make sure you refresh your text links, banners and comb through your data feed at least on a quarterly basis. Your affiliates advertise in different ways too, so they need a unique set of creatives to choose from. It also gives them the option to test what converts the best for them.