Things to Do Before You Start an Affiliate Marketing Program

If you own an online store there is one thing you are probably constantly thinking about. It’s “How to get more customers”, isn’t it? There are numerous marketing techniques aimed at attracting users to your site, but today we are going to focus on affiliate marketing strategies.

Well, having an affiliate program is like having an army of devoted sales people selling the products and services you have to offer. So, what should be done to make your affiliate marketing strategy successful?

First, sit and think over your commission structure carefully (flat fee or percentage of sales). It is really important to decide how you are going to pay your affiliates. This should be mutually beneficial for you and your partners. Try not to change the terms of cooperation after you have affiliates working for you. You don’t like to have the rules changed, neither do they.

Second, which is crucial here, recruit affiliates into your network. This is what will actually determine the success of your affiliate campaign. If you gather the people who are willing to work, are creative and full of initiative, you will be the luckiest man in the world. So, check the affiliate recruiting sites, try doing organic searches, or just offer it the people you can rely on. Another way is to start inviting affiliates within your own website, just like we did it here. If your customers become your affiliates, you will get well informed and loyal partners, since they know everything about your online store, and will be ready to share it with others.

Third, give your affiliates the tools to work with. Create affiliate banners and all sorts of promotional materials to make customers come to your site through affiliates’ links. Install magento affiliate programs extension to start tracking both PPS (Pay Per Sale) and PPL (Pay Per Lead) program types.

Finally, communicate with your affiliates. This is how psychology and smart marketing give birth to a successful partnership. Maintaining this contact will enable you to regularly send new information about your products and special offers.  The wish to be a part of a social community is in human nature. So, once again, communicate with your affiliate partners and you will get a united community of not just workers but passionate brand supporters.