Before we get into the specifics of affiliate management, it’s important to understand the definitions of some common terms.
Table of contents
Affiliate management is the overall management of partners within a channel to promote program growth for the brand or advertiser. This can be handled in-house or by a third-party agency.
Affiliate managers essentially serve as go-betweens for the client (merchant) and their affiliates. This includes submitting weekly or monthly reports; attending conferences, approving affiliates, maintaining creative and promotions; and conducting check-in calls with clients and affiliates.
Affiliates are simply partners who promote a merchant’s products or services. They can be coupon publishers, content publishers, loyalty publishers, and so on.
What Is the Process of Affiliate Management?
Some marketing executives believe that the affiliate channel is something that can be turned on and off like paid search or paid social.
It isn’t; affiliate partnerships are based on transparency and genuine relationships, not one-time transactions.
The affiliate program’s main goal is to set up a win-win situation for brands and their affiliate partners.
The affiliate channel can account for a sizable portion of a brand’s online revenue with a high ROAS and low CPA when managed properly.
We do this by following a set of steps that we’ve used to start hundreds of affiliate programs over the years.
Here are a few of the things that affiliate management tries to do in order to make more money.
Managing Affiliate Expansion
Affiliate management significantly impacts how quickly the channel expands and, ultimately, how successful it is.
There are a lot of things to think about in this discussion, as well as a lot of benefits to using different tools.
Affiliate Program Recruitment
Recruitment entails reaching out to potential partners to get them to join the program and start promoting the brand.
New affiliates can be found most easily on networks, Google, social media, and other search engines.
Consider it similar to recruiting the best players for your favorite team.
Affiliate Marketing Activation
Activation can be seen as a kind of “welcome,” and it often involves sending welcome emails and setting up calls with newly approved or newly hired affiliates.
The goal here, of course, is to increase traffic and sales.
Affiliate Channel Optimization
When optimizing is done simply, it means that you keep an eye on the affiliate program and take steps to make it better.
In exchange for more exposure for your brand, you could get more commissions or paid ads.
Reaching out to affiliates who have low clicks and revenue year after year is a great place to start.
Auditing content and promotions, as well as Trademark+ terms, is also part of the process of making your site better.
There’s a lot of strategy here, which makes it a fun part!
It’s also important to take advantage of your clients or merchants’ networks.
When used to its full potential, affiliate networks are extremely powerful tools. They help with things like recruitment lists, placement options, and seasonal tips and tricks in order to make a program work as well as it can for everyone.
Conclusion
Building relationships—with network, client, and affiliate contacts—is at the heart of affiliate management.
Frequent and consistent communication is essential to successfully managing affiliates and affiliate programs.
Affiliate marketing is one of the most effective ways to get new customers and make more money if it’s done right and with the right partners.
Last Updated on January 30, 2021
