6 Simple Strategies for Outreach to Affiliates

6 Simple Strategies for Outreach to Affiliates

If you’re an affiliate marketer, you know that, like with any marketing type, there are challenges and demands (and of course, rewards).

And if you’re thinking about becoming an affiliate marketer, you might have an idea of where to start, but want an edge.

Without question, this is a growing industry worth billions that we don’t want to miss.

Luckily, there are some uncomplicated strategies that are right for novices and seasoned pros.

These strategies all have one thing in mind: overcoming the challenges and strengthening the fundamental aspects of your affiliate program.

And really, that’s where we should start.

A bird’s eye view shows us that, in actuality, many affiliate programs suffer from only 2 main issues.

And those are an offer that’s not correctly connecting and an offer that’s simply not being seen by enough affiliates.

What this means is that we can use our toolkit to devise strategies that completely remove these difficulties.

And to get you started, these strategies will address both issues, all while giving you that much needed affiliate edge.

This way, you can start sharing in the success.

Push More Eyeballs to Your Affiliate Program

If you’re affiliate program isn’t being seen by enough potential recruits, what good is it doing?

It’s an age old problem for many marketing campaigns.

You just need to get more attention for your program, so that affiliates are aware of what you have to offer them.

  • Set Up a Pay-per-Click Campaign

And just like with any other brand, you can set up a PCC campaign dedicated to marketing your affiliate program to… that’s right, affiliates.

There’s plenty of evidence to show that this method is a popular way to get eyeballs to your program (or any product or service you’re marketing).

  • Launch an Awesome Blog in Your Niche

You’ve probably seen some amazing blogs out there. In fact, chances are, you probably read a few of them yourself. And when it comes to getting attention, they’re one of our favorite traffic sources here at ClickFunnels. Affordable, easy to start, and a great way to get people interested in what you’re offering, from affiliate programs and beyond.

  • Hang Out on the Affiliate Sites

Muncheye, Warriorjv, Clickbank. If you’re not already on them, these are the sites to get active on. Like right now! And that doesn’t mean just one of them. To get more attention for your affiliate program, get on all of them. Seriously, right now!

Protip: Getting those people looking works the same as any marketing campaign you’d normally undertake. In fact, there’s nothing stopping you from creating a funnel for your affiliates. Now there’s a thought!

Get Out and Really Network

I’m not talking about just showing up at some conferences and handing out your business cards.

We’re talking about truly building relationships with the niche of your affiliate program.

By doing so, you’re not just meeting potential recruits, you’re establishing an authentic rapport for a powerful connection.

  • Send Invitations to Influencers in Your Niche

Every niche has influencers, people who are central in the influence sphere. Why not send them an invitation to join forces? But skip the mass email, and opt for something more personal. Because there are fewer influencers in industry, you have a chance to get to know each one a little better before sending a highly-customized invite.

  • Create Relationships at Affiliate Events

You are attending affiliate events, right? If not, get started! When you’re at these events, you have a chance to rub elbows with potential recruits to your program. When you attend, participate and join in the fun, so that you have a chance to get to know plenty of people.

  • Help Other Affiliates with their Programs

As you get to know potential affiliates, give them a hand! By offering marketing tips or guest blogging content, you’re showing them that you’re a get-thing-done sort of person who loves helping others in their efforts. This creates a stronger bond and sets up the future potential to join forces.

Use ClickFunnels Email Management Platform, Actionetics, to send out your invitations and schedule them at your convenience. What’s more is that you can build professional-quality emails to make your invitations click-worthy. The best thing about this is that the email builder is designed to be just as easy to navigate and control like that of ClickFunnels editor.

Protip: Remember, a subtle touch is often the way to go here. You can still be direct about your intent, but if a potential affiliate just isn’t right for your program, that’s okay too. There will be plenty more opportunities out there to recruit others.

Entice Them to Be Your Affiliate

You probably have an amazing, unbelievably cool affiliate program.

And that’s worth talking about, but keep in mind that people need extra incentives sometimes.

Potential affiliates are no different.

In our busy everyday lives, we sometimes need something extra to get us to stop and look, really look.

  • Offer a Free Gift to Potential Joiners

Who doesn’t like free stuff? Whether you choose a promotional product to make an impact or some other gift, it’s very hard to pass up a free item for joining a program. This is an absolutely excellent way to draw them in and get them started.

  • Consider Your Commission Offer

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a commission offer that just wasn’t correctly aligned to the potential affiliate. It’s one of the main incentives to being an affiliate, yet so many programs don’t take the time to consider how their own really factors in. Take an extra minute to see if this element of your program needs tweaking.

  • Make the Value to Them Perfectly Clear

Another big pitfall of many programs is that the value isn’t made completely clear to the potential affiliate. There’s research to show that in some cases, we’re exposed to up to 10,000 marketing messages a day. Too many of them don’t convey their value as clearly as they could, and so they get lost in the noise. Instead, ensure yours is being conveyed fully.

Protip: For any of these, don’t be afraid to ask a potential affiliate or two what usually entices them to a program. You’ll find that many of them are perfectly willing to tell you exactly what they need.

Create a Real Movement to Show Support

It probably isn’t hard to figure out that people like what other people already like.

It’s sort of human nature.

So when you’re able to show an affiliate program that’s already got some support, you’re doing yourself a big favor.

Doing so makes convincing affiliates that you’re the program they want to choose.

  • Generate an Insane Amount of Followers

Taking time to boost those social media followers is a good way to prove your program has traction. We’ve even seen before how social proof like this and other methods is a sure way to increase your brand.

  • Put out a Winning Book

White papers or other longer form content is one way to show support and lend legitimacy to your program. Imagine it for a second: a potential affiliate is browsing Amazon, and suddenly, they stop. The title of your book has their attention… and those reviews! They’re definitely going to check your program too.

  • Craft a Lifestyle Marketing Campaign

With the power and popularity of lifestyle marketing campaigns, what better way to show your program has existing support? This one might take a little extra work, but it’s practically guaranteed to snowball into opportunities.

Protip: Creating a movement behind your program or product usually takes some time. Be patient and use this one in addition to our other strategies here.

Make it About You… and Them

Affiliate marketing is about partnerships where people are acting and vouching for others.

These partnerships are between you and your affiliate, your affiliates and their connections.

Leveraging all those partnerships, putting them center stage in your recruitment program, is a strong way of picking up more affiliates.

  • Put Your Story Front and Center

Your past successes are a story that your affiliates need to hear. Through these, they’re able to see that you’re a serious force in the industry. This attracts people and increases their desire to be part of your next award-winning endeavor.

  • Find Promising and Emerging Sources

This part of our strategy plan is a bit different than just hooking up with influencers. Instead, you’re attempting to identify who might be an influencer in a niche… and then fostering their brand and the relationship. Take men’s lifestyle authority GearPatrol, for instance. Imagine being the affiliate programmer that saw the potential of their brand before anyone else… and helped them build it.

  • Start a Referral Program

The referral program. It’s one of the tried-and-true methods of relationship marketing. Through this one, you’re not just offering your affiliates something for bringing in another affiliate. In reality, you’re actually letting them show off who they know in a way that people love to do.

Protip: Some of you might feel that this strategy is a little boastful or noisy. Yet, you’ll discover that with many affiliate programs, it’s been incredibly successful, and affiliates loved being included in these ways. Trust me here.

Nail the Finer Points of Affiliate Marketing

Finally, let’s look at the finer points of having an affiliate program.

These ones are a bit more of the nitty-gritty. But they remain important points to address for a leading program.

  • Ensure Your Product or Service is Up-to-Standard

What’s an affiliate program with an inferior item at its center? In some cases, a minor shift can correct any issues with this one. Maybe a different supplier is in order. Or perhaps a minor change in the process is called for. Either way, minor changes like these can add up and change your program’s appeal.

  • Review and Refine Your Terms

You can bet that a potential affiliate is paying close attention to your terms. Take a moment to go through them and ensure that they make sense for what your affiliates are expecting.

  • Create a Criteria for Measuring Your Success

If you’re just going with the flow with your program, you’re probably missing out. But when you create a plan, a plan with measurable milestones, you’ll get some amazing insights into where, how, and even when your outreach is working best. Then, you can maximize those points.

Protip: Affiliate marketing is part science, but also part art. It’s also still a young type of marketing. If you’re seeing somewhere where you can refine the finer points, even more, go for it. You never know what you might find.

Did I miss anything?

What other outreach strategies would you share with an affiliate program wanting to kick it up a notch or two?  

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