Today’s environment has ushered in a wave of changes. While often challenging, these shifts can also result in the motivation to uncover new revenue opportunities. One that is plainly in sight – extending affiliate programs to include lead distribution.
In fact, forward-looking networks are already capitalising on this opportunity for continued revenue growth. Lead distribution enables you to monetise leads beyond what’s possible with the standard click and conversion traffic.
What is lead distribution?
Lead distribution is a performance marketing process that involves capturing, validating, and distributing leads. The purpose is to secure the best price for generated leads. This is how it works:
Three reasons why lead distribution is the next big revenue driver
A natural extension to an affiliate marketing program, lead distribution can provide more options for monetising leads and is worth the time to consider.
1. Uncover hidden potential within easy reach
Adding lead distribution to your existing affiliate program can be as simple as activating new options for your advertiser and affiliate partners. For example, perhaps your affiliates already have access to pre-qualified lead data beyond the typical click and conversion traffic that they currently capture. Additionally, maybe your advertisers are looking to receive pre-qualified leads as opposed to general traffic, even if that means paying a higher price. In other words, are there more ways to increase incremental revenue with existing affiliates and advertisers in targeted verticals you focus on today?
As the economy evolves, so do customer needs. You also need to adapt, and it makes sense to ask, how about expanding into new vertical industries? You can leverage opportunities with new vertical markets to grow your performance marketing program by working with new affiliates and advertisers in addition to your existing partner base.
2. Strengthen your partnerships for the long run
Networks are well-versed when it comes to creating and leveraging partnerships. With lead distribution, networks can further nurture a long-term relationship by delivering more value to advertiser-affiliate interactions.
Affiliates gain access to a wider audience of advertisers looking to purchase pre-qualified leads, while advertisers are matched with the affiliates who deliver leads that meet specific, pre-determined qualifications. In both cases, all audiences benefit by maximising ROI.
Additionally, networks can play a more significant role in attaining higher-quality leads, garnering higher selling prices. For instance, with a vertical industry such as legal, a highly-qualified lead can go for a selling price in the range of $300 – $400.
3. Enables more control
Typically, with affiliate marketing, publishers or affiliates control the content and traffic that advertisers are interested in. This makes publisher’s/affiliate’s online media platforms valuable assets for advertisers to leverage. By giving publishers an opportunity to further monetise their traffic, advertisers create a win-win scenario for both parties.
With lead distribution, affiliate networks win more too. They can tightly manage the quality of affiliate-driven traffic through its network. Instead of sending traffic from the publisher/affiliate to the advertiser and hoping they convert, lead distribution presents the option to transfer the process of managing leads into the hands of affiliate networks. This allows networks to directly manage landing pages and own the data, thus providing more influence over the user experience, content, and conversion points.
To discover more about how it pays to expand your affiliate program with lead distribution, check out this new resource, Better Together: Adding Value to Your Affiliate Program with Lead Distribution. In this guide, you’ll learn more about:
- The essential components of lead distribution
- The benefits of automating the process of capturing, validating, and distributing leads
- Real-world examples of integrating lead distribution and affiliate marketing management on one platform
