A successful affiliate team can mean the difference between hundreds of dollars in profits and thousands (or more) dollars in profits. The trick to earning higher profits is to motivate your affiliates so they are eager to sell for you. Here are a few of the best ways to motivate your affiliates:
1-Pay them well.
Money motivates. Pay your affiliates a commission rate that will make them more likely to promote your products rather than those of your competitors. Make it easy to figure out commissions as well. Don’t make it complicated like Amazon.
2-Show they are important
Give them little surprises in the form of bonus items, commission increases, end of month bonuses to the best affiliates, and so on. It does not cost a lot but can generate a lot of goodwill.
3-Make sure your sales copy works
Never take on affiliates until you have carefully tracked and tested your sales letters to be sure they convert well. If they don’t make sales, they will drop you.
4-Make sure you offer good customer service
This will be both for your customers, and your affiliates. Your customer service department should be clear about what you are selling and any issues that might arise, such as trouble with downloads. A proactive affiliate manager will support affiliates well and get back to them in a timely manner.
5-Good recordkeeping
Be accurate about all money matters. If ever in doubt, err in the favor of the affiliate. Be fair and reasonable. Pay on time and be available to answer questions in a timely manner. One good solution is to have a membership site and a ticket system. Then you can automate much of the process and you can outsource it to a virtual assistant.
6-Add new products to your line regularly.
Affiliates love to get caught up in all the hype of a new launch and it is a great way to create a lot of buzz.
7-Supply them with fresh marketing regularly
Provide your affiliates with new banner ads, text ads, promotional copy, articles, reports, and so on on a regular basis. The more materials they have to promote your products or services, the easier it’ll be for them and you to make money. If they have to create their own ads, ad copy, content and promotions, then they’re less likely to work hard for you. Remember, many of them will not have the skills to be able to do this compared with your team’s abilities.
Motivating affiliates starts with appreciating them and making their job easy. From there, you’ll likely find that most affiliates are motivated by the ability to make more money. Give them that ability, provide them with the resources they need, and treat them well. You should soon have a happy, healthy, motivated affiliate team.
Further Reading
Affiliate Marketing Commissions 101
35 Top Tips for Affiliate Marketers
Free Ecourse: Affiliate Marketing Success Secrets
