8 Ways On How To Build Your Affiliate Marketing Program

Written by Doreen Dilger, The Home Based Business Coach
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Affiliate marketing isn’t a fast results type of program. A well-planned affiliate marketing program built today can pay off in spades tomorrow. But, remember - it’s a long-term plan, not a short-term overnight success type of situation. So, get started on the right foot so that you can do it right.

1.    Set Up Your Website Right:  You don’t want to have a terrible website with ineffective sales pages if you want affiliates to take an interest in your offerings. Ensure that your about us, privacy policy, return and shipping policy (if dealing with physical products) and contact information are clear for all to see.

2.    Don’t Link Away from Your Site:  When it comes to promoting a product, the page should promote that product and nothing else. You don’t want to lead people away from your website when they’re coming there to learn about a specific product or service. Take away anything that links them away. Your affiliates will appreciate it.

3.    Clear Contact Information:  If someone has a question that they need answered, you want clear contact information so that they can contact you easily. You can also use a service that provides a chat with people to help them make purchasing decisions. Whatever you decide, make it easy for people to ask questions and get answers.

4.    Product Pages That Convert:  It’s imperative that you have a clear call to action, great images, good descriptions and benefits of the product on the page. If your product pages don’t convert, then affiliates won’t want to touch the product.

5.    Converting Marketing Collateral:  Affiliates need copy, images, text and more to promote your products and services. They’re not going to create it for you. If you want them to send out emails to their list, create an email that they can edit and make their own. Do the same with all the marketing materials you offer them to ensure that they promote your offerings.

6.    A Fair Commission:  Affiliates are like sales people who get paid only when they make a sale. If you want them to do a lot to make that sale, then they’ll need a fair percentage of sales to make it worth their time. If you don’t offer at least 50 percent, you are unlikely to attract high-level affiliate marketers to your program.

7.    Offer Incentives to Affiliates:  In addition to a fair commission, you can also offer prizes to top sellers so that they work harder to promote your offerings. People like competition and if you give it to them and let them win prizes such as additional money or a physical prize, they’ll want to win.

8.    A Fabulous Product:  Of course, if you want to attract affiliates, you need a product that is everything you say it is and more. You want your affiliates to be excited to promote the product because it does what the sales page says it will do. 
Having affiliates to promote your products and services is like having a legion of fans screaming your name. They’ll blog about you, promote you, and be excited about it - because if you are offering a great product or service, they know that it makes them look good. After all, their job is to promote things to their audience that solves their problems. Your product could be the answer.

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