If you are new to the world of being a merchant and starting your own affiliate program, it may be worth it to affiliate with an existing program in your niche. Ask yourself important questions about how the program is run and how you are treated as an affiliate.
Years ago I (author Paul) was coaching a student on how to successfully start a consulting practice. While he was still confused and uncertain about what to do, I suggested that he become a junior consultant with an existing consulting organization to gain proven strategies and practices. You can do the same. If, for example, you want to become a merchant starting an affiliate program in the fitness niche, find affiliate programs already in the fitness niche and join as an affiliate. You’ll quickly see what tools, tips, resources, support and practices merchants are providing their existing affiliate sales force and you can learn what you can adopt for your specific program. This way, you can maximize the potential success of your affiliate sales force.
If you’re an avid affiliate, are the tools and guidance provided valuable? What can you, as a merchant, learn from other merchants to increase the success of your affiliates and the overall success of your program? What about compensation, sales bonuses, and incentives? Again, why start from scratch when you can discover so much from existing programs?
Choosing your technology
From a technical perspective, what software or service will you use to run the affiliate program? There are basically three ways to run your affiliate program:
In-house (with affiliate management software)
On an external affiliate platform (eg JVZoo or ClickBank)
Outsourced to a professional affiliate management company.
Each method has advantages and disadvantages. Look closely at the following sections.
Consider an in-country affiliate program
This choice can vary depending on what you want to do. These programs have (and should have) a list of minimum features:
Reliable affiliate sales tracking
Ability to track an unlimited number of affiliates
Affiliate access to performance and compensation reports
Real-time reporting for merchants and affiliates
Easy registration, login access, and so on for affiliates
Provision of coupon codes for various promotions
Custom payout rates and commissions, either as a percentage or dollar amount
Ability to track and code for different campaigns or categories
Complete and actionable data for best and worst performing affiliate marketers
Compatible with most payment processors (PayPal, Stripe, Credit Card)
Ability to easily work with or integrate with common/popular sites, from Facebook and other social media to email services, digital download services, and similar
The affiliate program software you choose will be a financial commitment, even if you don’t earn any affiliates or make any sales. This is an important consideration. Keep in mind that software packages can range from as little as $100 as a one-time charge to as much as $97 per month.
After purchasing and setting up the program, you then need to go out and recruit affiliates. We mention this because one of the benefits of an external affiliate platform is finding affiliates! Read on
Using an external affiliate platform
An external affiliate platform provides the merchant with both software and service combined with a network that operates 24/7. A big advantage for new traders is that it is either low cost or no cost to get one because affiliate platforms usually make their money as a percentage of sales. Another benefit is that affiliate platforms can have thousands of affiliates, giving you a ready pool of people to attract to your program.
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