How do you identify and attract top affiliates and what do you do to retain them?
28 July 2010
There are many formulas and solid principles that help you find business success. One is the time-tested practice of attracting the top talent in the field and subsequently retaining them. In the
affiliate marketing world, this practice takes on a whole other level of importance, as there's truly no market as fickle and in need of constant maintenance than the Internet.If you're running a business and are looking to attract and retain the top affiliates in the marketplace, then the first thing you'll have to do is treat them like people - actual employees to an extent - and not just a commodity. This may be harder to do since you won't necessarily have a personal relationship with any affiliate, but the idea here is to go after the talent.You find the most talented people in the field, initially, by having the most attractive offers. In the real world of big businesses, companies are giving the most talented professionals huge signing bonuses and lucrative deals to entice them to come over. You will have to mirror this and do a little bit of the same.
Of course, you probably can't afford to give someone a bonus package that's the equivalent of a sports contract, but you will need to sweeten the pot. Start by making sure you have the best product(s) available. Any top affiliate in the game isn't going to waste his or her time driving traffic to an inferior hub. When it comes to knowing exactly how to identify a top affiliate, the traffic and sales you pick up will tell the tale here. They're not exactly showing up with resumes; and even if they were, there's no real way to prove they're being honest. Their work speaks for itself. You're losing nothing by having affiliates. Cut them loose if they screw the pooch, and up the ante if they're good at their job.Next, it's all about what you're willing to give up for their efforts. How big of a percentage are you putting on the line for every sale they help create and every customer they bring you? There's no number that's set in stone here. The best way to figure out how to compete is to do market research on similar business and to best what they're offering their affiliates. Because of the increased competition online, it's becoming harder and harder to keep an affiliate in place and working for you. Once they've ran through their initial niche, they may want to move on to greener pastures. Outside of lubing the deal and giving them more money, there's not much you can do. And you certainly don't want to lose money by paying outrageous prices for their services. One way to avoid this is to make sure you keep things fresh on your end. You can keep the top affiliates by providing them with new products to pitch and new sites to promote. By diversifying on your end, you'll be able to keep the same powerhouse affiliates and have them working in your corner.
