6 Top Questions to Ask Affiliates Applying to Your Program

At first glance, taking in new affiliates might seem like an easy task. The more, the merrier, right? Well, in this case, that's actually not the smartest approach for an affiliate manager to take. While you might feel tempted to accept a large pool of people, not picking the right questions to ask affiliates applying to your program could cause more harm than good in the long run.

‌Here's why:‌ Think of affiliates as an extension of your brand. They're there to represent you, so their values and behavior should align with yours. The affiliate screening process will help you make sure that the applicants you partner with will help you meet your goals and be an asset to your affiliate marketing program. Having a clear idea of the kind of people you want to work with is essential — as is formulating the right affiliate marketing questions. If you’re not sure how to ask someone to be an affiliate, these questions are a great place to start. 

Here are six important questions to include on your affiliate marketing questionnaire to help you find top affiliates for your program.

1. What's your website's URL?

Visit an affiliate’s site and take a look at the content they’re putting out; this will help you determine whether they're a good match for your brand and affiliate program. Make sure their website is professional and has a strong level of domain authority. Bonus points if their site already ranks high in searches related to your products and services as this further proves that they'll be able to reach a lot of potential customers with their marketing efforts.‌

2. How much traffic does your website get every month?

Before you trust an affiliate partner to generate traffic and sales for your brand, they should be able to prove that they can produce their own first. Knowing how many visitors a potential partner has in a specific period of time can help you evaluate if they’re a good fit. There's no use partnering with an affiliate who doesn't have a strong enough following to bring in the results you're aiming for.

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3. What social media platforms are you active on?

Looking up your affiliates' social media profiles can give you a clear idea of their true following volume and whether or not they keep their audience engaged. Keep in mind that just because a profile has 40K followers doesn't necessarily mean they're all active — or even real. Look at common telltale signs that indicate they might be using unorthodox methods to grow their accounts.

Successful affiliate marketing focuses more on quality than quantity, so don’t base your decision solely on an impressive following. While it's true a macro influencer may increase brand awareness, accounts with millions of followers tend to have lower engagement rates. Conversely, micro-influencers often build up a very loyal audience, leading to higher engagement rates overall. This is important, because affiliates who cultivate a strong relationship with their followers are more likely to increase your conversion rates through their endorsements.

4. What's your niche?

While affiliates can place your brand in front of an entirely new audience, at the end of the day, having thousands of people learn about your company means nothing if it won’t translate into sales. That’s why you’ll want to make sure each affiliate will draw a suitable type of traffic into your site.

‌5. Which is your favorite of our products and why?

This question will help you determine whether a prospective affiliate knows your brand well. It can also help you in matching them with the products and services that they genuinely like. The more authentic their experience with your brand, the better their affiliate marketing efforts will be — and the more likely they are to attract customers to your site.

6. How do you plan on promoting our brand?

Getting a sense of how potential affiliates typically promote other brands is important. It will help you decide if an affiliate's methods align with what you want for your brand — or if they even know what they're doing. A lack of experience may not be a dealbreaker for affiliate partnership if you like some of their other answers. Still, knowing their limitations will allow you to support them better once they join your affiliate program.

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The Bottom Line

‌Now that you have a clearer idea of which questions to ask affiliates on your affiliate registration form, you'll have an easier time screening candidates. You definitely want to know much more than their email address and name — but don't go overboard. Pick only the most relevant affiliate form questions, so you can avoid making a super long affiliate questionnaire that could potentially scare candidates away.

If you recently set up an affiliate program and have more questions about affiliate marketing, let us connect you with the best affiliate tracking software available.  Contact us for a free demo or start your 30-day free trial today!

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