How to Use Affiliate Marketing to Drive More Traffic and Social Shares

How to Set Up Affiliate Marketing for Your Business

Creating an affiliate marketing program for your website can be a great way to generate more traffic to your website and social feeds, and increase sales and revenue for your business. So you know setting up a solid affiliate marketing program will grow your business but how do you get started? We got you! By following the 7 steps outlined here, you can set up a successful program that attracts high-quality affiliates and helps you grow your business.

Step 1: Choose an Affiliate Platform

The first step in creating an affiliate marketing program for your business is to choose an affiliate marketing platform to manage the program. Affiliate marketing has many moving parts and to keep all of these important components aligned and moving forward takes dedication and nurturing. Using a platform that supplies data analysis, support, tracking management and compliance review are key to creating a successful program.

There are several solid affiliate platforms available, such as LinkConnector, Commission Junction, and ShareASale. Each platform has its own set of features and pricing plans and ways they are well suited to your business type and size, so it's important to do your research and choose the one that best fits your needs for where you are now. Don't get sold on a platform that offers amazing scaling capabilities for a medium size business when you're more in need of building your customer base. Right-size your business with the platform strengths and how they will best serve your business growth now.

Other important things to consider in choosing a program are, ease of integrating and compatibility with the business web platform you are using, and analytics provided by using the API or plugin (if hosting on Wordpress) and the amount of customer support that will be provided with the service. Signing up for services you don't know how to use then never using them properly will leave you frustrated and possibly leaving money on the table. Set yourself up for success.

Step 2: Identify Your Target Audience

Before you start recruiting affiliates, it's important to identify your target audience. Who are you trying to attract as affiliates? What types of products or services are they interested in promoting? Understanding your target audience will help you tailor your affiliate program to their interests and needs, which will increase the chances of them joining and promoting your products or services.

Step 3: Set Your Commission Structure

Next, you'll need to determine how much you will pay your affiliates for each sale or lead they generate. This is known as your commission structure. There are a few different options to consider, such as:

• Pay-per-sale: You pay affiliates a percentage of each sale they generate.

• Pay-per-lead: You pay affiliates for each lead (e.g., email signup) they generate.

• Pay-per-click: You pay affiliates for each click on one of their affiliate links.

Which commission structure you choose will depend on your business model, margins required for profit, and the type of products or services you offer.

Step 4: Create Marketing Tools that are Easy to Access

To help your affiliates promote your products or services, you'll need to create a variety of marketing tools and a digital asset bank. This may include banner ads, text links, and email templates. Make sure to provide your affiliates with a variety of sizes and styles of banners, as well as clear instructions on how to use them.

Using a creator platform like Canva to distribute your marketing materials can be highly beneficial in keeping your affiliate team equipped with resources they need to promote your product or services. Canva provides a structured digital asset management system, tools to edit content quickly and a team structure for connectivity to keep everyone aligned and up to date.

Consistency is key in creating a strong brand presence with marketing. Don't overlook how your content is managed and make it easy to scale. Having a reliable way to access resources and distribute content are tasks that can be automated so take advantage of the systems out there designed to make this every growing task easier to manage.

Step 5: Recruit Affiliates

Now it's time to start recruiting affiliates. There are a few different ways to find affiliates, including:

• Online directories: There are several online directories that list affiliates.

For small businesses and entrepreneurs, we like Tapfiliate. They are part of the Amitad, a network that gathers advertisers and affiliates in one platform. When you're looking to grow both the B2C and B2B sides of your business this platform gives your business exposure from both fronts. Set-up on the platform is highly customizable and for this reason, it can also feel a little over-complicated. So you'll benefit from having some support getting set up on the platform. Overall customer satisfaction is ranked the highest of any affiliate platform and results speak for themselves and they have a 14 day free trial to make get started painless. Tapfiliate integrates with every eCommerce platform and is one of the original affiliate platforms available to grow your business.

For medium to larger size businesses we like Refersion marketplace. Refersion lists affiliates for you to discover by industry sector and you can search these directories to find affiliates that are a good fit for your business. Affiliates also get a personalized portal with their own dashboard which makes it easy to monitor activity and payouts and scale. With a 14 day free-trial, you get a chance to try every feature the platform offers. Great way to jump right in and see if the platform is a good fit for your business.

• Influencer outreach: If you have a product or service that is popular with influencers in your industry, reach out to them and ask if they'd be interested in promoting your products as an affiliate.

• Online ads: You can also use online ads to target affiliates and invite them to join your program.

Step 6: Provide Support to Your Affiliate Team

To ensure the success of your affiliate program, it's important to provide your affiliates with great communications and the ongoing support they need. This may include answering their questions, providing them with assistance with website tracking links and marketing tools, and helping them with a brand strategy guide to promote your products or services effectively.

Step 7: Audit, Evaluate, Optimize Your Affiliate Program

Finally, make sure to regularly evaluate the performance of your affiliates and adjust your program as needed. This may include changing your commission structure, updating your marketing materials, or recruiting new affiliates to support sales goals. By constantly optimizing your affiliate program, you can maximize its success and generate more revenue for your business.

In conclusion, creating an affiliate marketing program for your website can be a great way to generate additional sales and revenue. By following the steps outlined above, you can set up a successful program that attracts high-quality affiliates and helps you grow your business.

Sources: Tapfiliate, Refersion, LinkConnector, Commission Junction, ShareASale

Written by Mary Ellen Schrock for Floh Creative.

Mary Ellen is the Chief Disruptor of Floh Creative. A bright, intuitive creative she has a passion for solving complex design and marketing challenges, and brand storytelling. Mary Ellen's 20 years of brand strategy and creative direction experience working with Corporate, Fortune 50 and Entertainment giants has created household recognizable identities for Coca-Cola, Oprah Winfrey and memorable brand launch campaigns for Lotus Cars, Disney - The Lion King Broadway, and Warner Bros.

Floh Creative partners with brands and businesses to build marketing tools and deploy effective strategies to grow your business.

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