Already have your affiliate program up and running?
If no… then why not?
See, affiliate marketing is one of the best and most cost-effective ways to promote your products and offers
You can use it to skyrocket your conversion rate, spread the word about your brand, and improve your SEO rankings.
All you have to do is have a stellar offer. And affiliates will be more than happy to send tons of quality traffic your way in exchange for a cut of the sales.
But to get the most out of your program, it's essential to create and maintain solid relationships with your affiliates. Because let's face it: everyone’s success is built on strong relationships.
Here are our 3 top tips to create and maintain strong working relationships with affiliates (even if you can’t go out and meet them at live events right now…)
Listen To Them (Your Affiliates)
It's part of your job as a business manager to ask your affiliates the right questions. To follow up regularly and see how they’re going.
After all, they’re practically like your employees - so you should be communicating with them regularly. (Email, Skype, FB Messenger, it doesn't matter how you connect with them - the point is, you need to be doing it.)
But it doesn't end there. You should also pay close attention to the answers they're giving you.
By listening to them, this lets you come up with better ideas on how to help them. You'll truly understand what your affiliates need and can then come up with additional ways to help them achieve more success.
The simple truth is that a partnership needs to be beneficial to both sides. (The more success they have - the more success you have…)
And get this: sometimes affiliates have great ideas on how to grow your business. Listening to them with an open mind can benefit your company in new and surprising ways.
Here's a simple tip: before meeting any of your affiliates one-on-one, take the time to study their social media profiles or website.
See how they promote advertisers and put down some ideas on how they could improve their efforts. This shows personal interest in your affiliate's progress and will go a long way in building strong relationships.
2. Give Them Resources (Help Them Help You)
Your affiliate partners need all the resources they can get to be successful.
So take the extra step and ask your marketing department to send your affiliates all the helpful product marketing materials they could need.
They'll be able to understand your product better, keep consistency in your brand's voice, and reach the target audience more effectively.
And guess what? By you sharing with them everything they need upfront, they'll feel more connected to your company, you, and your whole team.
3. Don't Forget To Show Gratitude (Starting With Paying Them On Time)
Generous giveaways are a great way to display gratitude to your affiliate partners.
(Seriously - who doesn't love getting stuff for free?)
But one of the best ways to show how much you appreciate your affiliates' hard work is to simply: pay them quickly.
It sounds simple. And it really is.
Fast and reliable payouts - whether you do rev share, flat rate, or percentage-based commissions - build trust and loyalty with your affiliates, and make them work towards your mutual success even harder.
These guys are working just as hard as you are at making a living. So by paying them regularly you can.
Final Thoughts
Building a strong affiliate program relies heavily on creating and maintaining solid relationships with your affiliate partners.
You can boost your affiliate program's success by nurturing a sense of belonging in the team and making sure great results get rewarded
Give the tips from this article a go and build your success on successful relationships. (Can you really afford not to?)
Do you have any great insights into building affiliate relationships you can share? Let us know in the comments!