Have you noticed lately that some of your affiliates seem to have
disappeared from the face of the earth, or that people who have
registered with you are not always posting your banner or setting
up their affiliate website at all? You're not alone. With so
many affiliate programs available these days, people can, and
often do, jump from program to program with little thought, and
this is bad news for affiliate directors.
Maintaining an active affiliate base is the key to the success of
your program. If people are continually jumping ship, you're not
going to make any money. If you've got a good product with
reasonably high demand and an attractive, easy to navigate
website, you should be able to keep a happy and stable group of
affiliates, right? So what's the problem?
Well, assuming that your program is potentially successful; that
is, your product is in demand and that you have a professional
looking, user-friendly website, I can pretty much guarantee that
the problem lies in communication. If your affiliates are
trickling away, it is most likely because they feel ignored or
just uninformed. Here are a few communication basics you can use
to keep them feeling involved.
First. Have a good "thank you" page. Don't just use a canned
prefab form. When your affiliates sign up, give them some
pertinent information, like what they can expect from you and a
little more about how your specific program works. Maybe even
give a few sales statistics from your most successful affiliates.
This will make them feel really involved right from the start.
Second. "Send a sincere "thank you" email. Don't just send a
cursory "thank you" with your new affiliate's linking code. Once
again, offer some more information about the program. Tell them
a little more about the product, or mention a technique or two
for placing classified ads for their site. Always close any
communication with your affiliates by letting them know that they
can always contact you with questions or concerns.
Third. Keep on top of sales alerts. Try to set up a regular
schedule for informing affiliates of their sales. Frequent
alerts, say once or twice a week, will keep people much more
interested than a monthly mass mailing.
Fourth. Keep in touch. Start an affiliate newsletter, or send
out emails with updates about your program, sales statistics from
your top affiliates, and marketing tips. This will keep people
excited about the potential of the program.
These tactics may seem a little time consuming, but believe me
they're worth it. And besides, just think of the recruiting
hours you'll save if everyone sticks with it. Now obviously,
there are going to be affiliates who leave your program no matter
what you do, that's just the nature of the business, but,
provided you have a good product, if you follow these steps and
stay in communication with your people, you'll find that your
program is a lot more successful.
About the Author
Keller Flynn knows about Super Affiliates and what it takes to
find or help create them. Keller also knows the full spectrum of
tools, ideas and action steps needed to create and run a
successful affiliate program. Reach him at
keller@affiliatedirector.com or 801-328-9006. Get his Extra Money
Newsletter FREE at http://www.AffiliateDirector.com to learn more
about how YOU can profit from the affiliate boom