Have you just started an affiliate program? Are you trying to build it up as quickly as possible? Then growth hacking might be the right choice for you. The term “growth hacking” describes a collection of strategies businesses use without breaking their budgets to achieve massive growth in a short period of time.
These strategies take advantage of data analytics and modern technology for sending messages to the right people at the right time. For affiliate marketing, that can be the difference between gaining new affiliates and remaining stagnant.
If you’re ready to start growing your business, these five affiliate program growth hacks will help you get the expansion you want to see.
1. Viral Growth
You’ve heard about “going viral” online. When something has gone viral, it has spread organically across a vast portion of the internet. Virality is excellent for affiliate marketing for two reasons: 1. The cost is minimal (or free in many cases), 2. It shows that the people sharing your message have an engaged audience and are willing to interact with posts.
If you can, build viral potential into your program itself. For example, if you’ve created an app or SaaS product, offer specific benefits for people who act as affiliates. Your affiliates may be easily motivated by financial incentives, so offering a bonus or commission to affiliates who refer other affiliates by setting up a multi-level affiliate program. Your affiliates will be encouraged to make referrals, and the newly-referred people will also have a reason to make their own referrals. This spread from one person to the next is why this type of growth hack is called “viral.”
2. “Sticky” Growth
It’s not enough to bring in new affiliates. You also need them to stick with your company and market it. Sticky growth hacking focuses on keeping your current affiliates rather than simply bringing in new ones.
For instance, offering regular bonuses to build loyalty with affiliates. In addition, you can send weekly congratulatory emails to affiliates and highlight their success in bringing in new customers. This shows your team that you appreciate what they’re doing and gives them a sense of progress.
3. Paid Growth
Paid growth hacking does require some upfront investment, but it can be particularly effective. People like the opportunity to make money. Something simple like a social media ad campaign targeted to your preferred affiliate base can put your business in front of many more people at once. For example, if you’re targeting college students on Instagram for your affiliates, you can place a paid ad campaign on the app to let them know about your program. You’ll reach your specific target audience when they’re most likely to care about what you’re offering. This can help dramatically expand your affiliate base in a short period.
Giveaways are another type of growth hacking. Giveaways are considered paid marketing because, as a business owner, you’re paying for the prizes. Consider advertising a giveaway for people in your affiliate program. You could even set the number of entries into the giveaway based on the number of referrals an affiliate has made. This will encourage new affiliates to join and current affiliates to make more referrals. A good giveaway can trigger viral growth since it should promote the organic spread of your program.
4. Content Marketing
Your affiliates are doing a lot of work for you. Consider providing helpful, informative content if you want to bring in new affiliates while making the current ones more effective These types of content-based affiliate marketing strategies can help you attract people who already act as affiliates elsewhere.
The content you create should cover several goals:
- Education: Blogs and eBooks about your product will educate current and potential affiliates. Furthermore, it will give your affiliates content to share with their audience.
- Conversation: Interesting, insightful blog and social media posts can attract affiliates and help them respond to your brand.
- Information: Dedicated guides explaining how to market for your niche will act as magnets for potential affiliates and make your current affiliates better at their task.
All three of these content types can be put together for little cost while bringing in affiliates that care about their work.
5. Webinars
Webinars can be a great way to reach out to potential affiliates. Try running a free webinar that offers high-quality information about your niche, affiliate marketing, and running affiliate sites. These webinars will be attractive to people who might be excellent affiliates. You’ll have a lot of interested, qualified people in one place, giving you a perfect platform to recruit multiple affiliates at once. Moreover, you can record the webinar and leave it available for future visitors, making webinars an excellent addition to content marketing strategies.
Grow Your Affiliate Program Faster than Ever
Hacking your growth is the best way to get your affiliate program off the ground. By definition, growth hacking is any strategy relying on creativity instead of money to build your base quickly. Start growth hacking your affiliate marketing program today with LeadDyno’s affiliate recruitment system. Visit LeadDyno today to see how you can speed up your recruitment process and keep your growth on track.
