If you’re unsure about how to incorporate affiliate marketing into your ecommerce business, you are not alone. However, there is no need to worry because you have come to the right place. Take it easy and absorb our tips on affiliates management, which will cover the role of an affiliate manager, their methods of managing affiliates, and the tools that simplify this task.
What is Affiliates Management?
Affiliate management involves expanding and developing a group of marketers who generate traffic to your ecommerce store or offer, thereby facilitating business growth. Key components of affiliate management include affiliate programs, networks, and managers. You have the option to handle affiliate management either within your organization or with the assistance of an external agency.
When it comes to managing affiliates in-house with your own team, you have the choice of hiring a full-time affiliate manager or assembling a team for bigger programs. For smaller affiliate programs, you can assign affiliates tasks to a digital marketing specialist. Alternatively, you can opt for collaborating with an outsourced affiliate management firm. These firms provide both expertise and connections in affiliate marketing, relieving the responsibility of staffing suitable team members for handling the affiliate management function.
The Affiliate Manager
Whether they are employed directly or hired through a contracted agency, your affiliate manager has the responsibility of overseeing the partners involved in your affiliates program and the platforms being utilized. Essentially, they are accountable for all aspects of affiliate management in order to ensure maximum benefits from your program. Serving as the primary point of contact between you and your affiliate partners, they:
- Ensure that tracking affiliate orders/ sales/ clicks works as it should
- Analyze performance and report on activity
- Set target KPIs and affiliate incentives
- Screen and recruit new affiliates, maintain relationships and grow their accounts
- Run campaigns
- Maintain compliance
- Find ways to boost affiliate marketing performance – since affiliates drive over 16% of all US and Canada ecommerce orders!
Management Tips
Optimize Affiliate Programs
To take your marketing to the next level, as a business owner, it is essential to have comprehensive data on your affiliates, enabling you to make better and smarter business decisions. This data could comprise snapshots of various metrics such as link clicks, total orders, total sales, active partners, conversion rate, and outstanding commissions due.
With our Theme Configurator, you have the ability to showcase your brand and fully personalize your affiliate pages. Additionally, our Program Terms feature allows you to establish clear program guidelines for your partners prior to their enrollment. Moreover, it is easy for your partners to promote your business by utilizing the resources available in your own marketing library. In this library, you can share various materials such as sample images, articles, email templates, Facebook posts, and more.
Referral Programs
When you use a referral program, you can convert your customers into partners who will recommend your products to their network. You do not need any coding skills, and this process can be completed quickly with our assistance. It is straightforward to define the reward and generate a referral link or discount code for your customer partners to utilize when referring new customers. You can select customized style and content for the emails you send to your partners using email templates. Our Commission Calculation Strategies offer four options for calculating partner commissions. Additionally, with just a few clicks, you can easily use PayPal Payouts to make mass payments to multiple referrers simultaneously.
Don’t Get Stuck in a Rut
Understanding that there is no single path to achieve success in affiliate marketing is key. This industry is constantly evolving, and in order to succeed, you must adapt to the changes. It is crucial for you or your affiliate program management team to stay updated on these changes and be flexible enough to adjust your strategies accordingly. By doing so, you can seize new opportunities and implement the most effective methods in the field.
Invest in the Right Affiliate Management Solution
All affiliate management solutions are not created equally. Even basic affiliate programs need advanced capabilities to be competitive and deliver a cost-effective ROI. As the program grows, the solution needs to become more capable and robust. Effective program management solutions automate essential processes like tracking, reporting, contracting, and paying affiliates. Additionally, they provide data insights to understand what is effective and what requires optimization. However, it is crucial to choose a solution carefully because not all are equal in terms of capabilities or user-friendliness. Before shopping for a solution, it is important to determine your specific needs and identify any potential pain points that need addressing to ensure the solution aligns with your requirements.
Commit to Clear Communications
To successfully run your affiliate program, it is important to maintain consistent communication with affiliates. Ensure that your messages are clear, direct, and concise, as affiliates tend to be busy. By being concise and consistent in your communication, you will receive optimal responses. It is also advisable to offer multiple avenues of communication, such as email, chat, and forums if feasible, and make sure to utilize them frequently.
Give Your Affiliates Tools and Resources
Not all affiliates will possess marketing skills for your products universally. Thus, it is crucial to guarantee that all affiliates have the necessary tools and resources for achieving success. Failure to do so may lead to their dissatisfaction and departure. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that every affiliate has the means to promote your product in a captivating and appealing manner. Additionally, they should have access to information about what makes your business attractive to customers. For example, one way to support affiliates is by providing them with your brand logo. If you’re interested in enhancing your brand colors, you can explore HubSpot’s brand color generator.
Ensure Your Affiliates Are Driving Value
The process of managing an affiliate program includes enhancing partnerships. This starts by evaluating every new partner, making sure they align with your brand and business goals. Continuously, it is important to assess the worth of each affiliate. How are they promoting your products? How are they interacting with your customers? What is the overall expense of each sale they bring, taking into account discounts, promotions, commissions, and any additional fees?
