How many affiliates you have is not always the most important factor for your business — but the quality of their content and the audience they can help you reach through their platform is. If you’re just getting started in building partnerships, you could feel tempted to accept just anyone applying to your program. It couldn’t cause any harm, right? Wrong.
While having an army of affiliates could put you in front of a wider audience, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’d be a relevant audience. Make sure you select those candidates who resonate with your specific niche. Instead of wasting your time, money, and efforts on affiliates that bring little to no value to your brand, focus on building a strong and productive relationship with those who do — even if there’s just a handful of them.
But when should you optimize your affiliates? The following guide will give you valuable insights on how to optimize your existing affiliates and improve your relationship with them. This will help you make the most out of each partnership you have in the long run.
When Should You Optimize Your Affiliates?
Know when to touch base with your affiliates to brief them on any updates to your products and services. While there’s no one-size-fits-all formula to affiliate marketing success, here are the most common times when you should be putting a little extra effort into feeding your relationship with your affiliates.
Peak Shopping Season
You’ll of course want your product or service to be visible when buyers are on the hunt for sweet deals and special promos. That’s why you need to keep your affiliate program spot on during the many shopping events that take place throughout the year.
Low Shopping Season
This is where you prep for peak season, so you want to make sure you stay in your customer’s minds and use your partners’ platform to reach more potential buyers. Taking appropriate action year-round is key to keeping your brand competitive. It can also help boost sales when you have any lulls.
When Promoting Your Brand
The best time to optimize will also depend on the type of product or service you offer and your own promotional calendar. Keep an eye out for solid promotional opportunities and add them to your vertical.
When Launching a New Product
New product launches are a huge opportunity to discuss updates with your affiliates. This will allow you to secure brand awareness as your marketing strategy unravels. You might also want to reach out to content creators and mass media publishers for a greater impact.
How to Optimize Your Affiliates
Now that you know the best time to optimize your affiliate program, it’s time to discuss the best methods to do so. Here are the best ways to ensure you’re making the most out of each partnership.
Provide Your Affiliates With New and Updated Content
Get your partners excited about your products and the prospect of making more commissions by promoting them along with fresh marketing materials for affiliates. Send them everything they’ll need to properly advertise a new product or feature and set them up for success. Remember: if they win, you win, so work with them to make it happen.
Always double-check all the files and emails you share with them and make sure all essential facts are there and that the information is correct. Don’t forget to include their affiliate links and referral codes right away so that they can get down to work as soon as possible.
Set Up a Schedule for Regular Phone Calls
While you can communicate with your partners via email or social media, never underestimate the power of a real phone call here and there. It will allow you to:
- Foster a stronger relationship with your affiliates
- Help you explain yourself better
- Avoid unnecessary back and forth when discussing complex topics
Giving yourself the time to schedule one-on-one phone calls will help you show your affiliates you’re committed to helping them in any way possible. It’ll establish that you’re working together towards a common goal, making them feel empowered and have a sense of belonging.
Share Internal Analytics With Them
Always be transparent. Sharing relevant information and important metrics about your brand’s performance and the effects of your affiliate program will help you build trust among your partners. Providing your affiliates with timely, relevant data regarding their work can help them work on their strategies and tweak them a bit when need be.
An Affiliate Management Tool That Works With You
Focusing on recruiting more affiliates is not always the right approach to increasing brand awareness and boost sales. You need to optimize the partnerships you already have to ensure they work the way they should. If you’re looking for help to manage your affiliate program, visit LeadDyno and take advantage of the tools we have available for you.
