Affiliate marketing is rapidly becoming the most advantageous way to establish a brand online. Making use of affiliate marketing programs allows for a level of engagement that traditional media couldn’t dream of. However, affiliate marketing all depends on engagement. Brands must engage with affiliates who in turn engage with the customers. This creates a buzz of conversation around you and your products.
If you are a retail partner selling products online, there are a number of ways you can engage with your affiliates. This will keep them interested to promote your brand and products and prompt an intent to buy. Take a look at our examples on how to prompt affiliate engagement in your team.
Communication
A welcome email will offer an initial impression of your brand whilst establishing a relationship with your affiliates. It should offer all the information needed to get started with the program and can be automated to save time.
Follow-up newsletters will let your affiliates feel like they are part of something exciting. They will allow you to keep your affiliates up to date on anything happening within your brand. Advancements on an existing product or service, a new product, exclusive offers, etc. can all be expressed in a newsletter. It will keep your products at the forefront of your affiliates’ minds.
However, try not to offer canned messaging to use in their promotions of your products or services. This will cause an affiliate to sound inauthentic. They will sound like they are reading off a script, and your customers will pick up on it. Your affiliates should know what they are doing and will do best when they are themselves.
But you don’t need to just offer affiliate marketing. You can offer company news or exclusive discounts and offers, allowing your affiliates to try out products they may want to promote. You can also offer surveys, with questions surrounding collaboration between your marketing team and product teams. This will allow for feedback and the sharing of ideas.
Offer regular emails to less active affiliates to either encourage them to participate with the program properly, or to indicate that your resources should find a new home elsewhere.
Flexible payment
As much as you’d like your affiliates to care for the product as much as you do, their first priority is likely to be their commission. Offering flexible commission prices will be extremely beneficial for your brand in the long run, since it will attract more affiliates to work with you.
One way of keeping your finances flexible is by allowing more money to some affiliates. Affiliates that are bringing more sales to your brand. Essentially a bonus, allow for a number of sales in a certain amount of time and see what numbers are produced. Your affiliates will feel appreciated and will be more encouraged to offer your brand the best marketing they can offer. Make sure your goals and targets are realistic so that your affiliates will push forward towards new ones.
However, make sure that you always pay on time. Late payment will display unprofessionalism and create distrust in affiliates. This will make them less eager to work with you again.
Visibility
Make sure your brand stays in your affiliates’ minds by remaining visible. Conferences and industry events will offer networking opportunities. Make sure you are as visible as possible at these events. Inform your affiliates beforehand of any panels you hope to be attending so they know how to find you. Plan a few in-person meet-ups with your affiliates to discuss your brand and marketing strategy.
Make sure you have access to a forum or social media board where you and your affiliates can discuss aspects of the program. Be as visible as possible on these platforms. Make posts and interact with the affiliates. This ensures they are satisfied they have somewhere to access you if they need some guidance.
A step further than a regular newsletter or a social media board is to consider arranging regular catch-ups through video conferencing. It is an option for your top affiliates or affiliates who need a little extra help since they can be difficult to arrange and time-consuming. But the idea offers one-on-one support and allows for a more open conversation and personal touch. You will come off as a real mentor rather than a name and face anonymously sending demands. Make sure you offer your affiliates full support with open access to your time and knowledge. If they contact you via email, LinkedIn, Whatsapp, etc. you should be available to help them as needed. Although on the other end, try to not hold their hand through every step of your marketing strategy.
If you are a retailer looking for ways to engage your affiliates, take a look at this guide for more ideas. For more assistance, book a free call with a member of our team!
