If you are heading up a large affiliate program, now is the perfect time to consider running a quick audit. This will help to ensure that you and your team are on track to meet your chosen outcomes.
In this week’s video, I share my top 3 steps to help affiliate managers complete a simple 3-step audit across their programs.
Watch the video and then read below to find out more…
Step 1 – SWOT
A SWOT analysis is simple but extremely useful to undertake. It is a strategic plan to help identify certain factors in competition or in a certain project. They are:
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
It can be used to identify what you are lacking within your own program, and can then be used to determine what needs to be done to give you the greatest advantage towards success.
A SWOT analysis can be undertaken simply by asking yourself some key questions about the program and its position in the industry. For example, what do your affiliates love about the program? What is your USP? All of these can help you begin to work out where the strengths in your business might lie, and where changes need to be made.
Need help getting a clear SWOT of your program and offerings? Get in touch with our Affiliate Team for a FREE audit to help you prioritise your program actions.
Step 2 – Policies and terms review
Now is the perfect time to clean up and revise your old campaigns and commercials. Take a look at the performance over time on each of the campaigns that you have run over the last six months and try to identify the ones of note. Anything from pricing structures to market influences to simple supply and demand might all prove to be of relevance here.
This is also the best time to ensure that your current program terms are up to date. Double-check that they accurately reflect current advertising codes and regulatory updates. These will help you to keep your affiliates compliant, so they are then able to market your brand responsibly.
Step 3 – Take a look at the longtail
When did you last take a look at the new affiliates who are being onboarded onto your program? This audit is the perfect opportunity for you to take a look into your database to find some of the true diamonds there.
You could be surprised to discover the quality of candidate that you have waiting for you, and many new opportunities may present themselves from publishers and partners that you had overlooked in the past. Try to find at least 20 new contracts that have shown potential and have good content or sites that have targeted traffic.
These are the three steps you need to take to complete a quick audit of your business. It is important to do these even if you feel like your program is running well as it could uncover some issues you had not realised were there. Start 2021 the right way and see what a 3-step audit of your affiliate program might reveal.
Check back next Wednesday at 10am for our next Affiliate Drive time episode!
