This is a common problem. A vendor sets up an affiliate program, they recruit a whole bunch of affiliates and then…
Nothing.
The affiliates don’t promote.
Or sometimes they promote – but only for a few days. Then they move onto something else, and all but forget about your product.
So let’s avoid that. Check out these five ways to motivate your affiliates…
1. Train Your Affiliates
Sometimes people who are new to affiliate marketing don’t promote simply because they’re not really sure where to start.
You can help them by creating a step-by-step, day-by-day training guide that shows them how to get their affiliate link in front of as many people as possible.
Next…
2. Create Marketing Materials
Another reason many affiliates don’t promote is because it takes too much time for them to create emails, reports and other advertising materials.
That’s why you’ll want to stock your affiliate center with promotional content that your affiliates can cut, paste and profit from instantly.
Here are some of the materials you might consider putting in your affiliate center:
- Solo emails
- Autoresponder series/ecourse
- Rebrandable report
- Blog posts
- Social media posts
- Rebrandable videos
- Graphics
- Pay per click ads
In short, it should be “cut and paste” easy for your affiliates to start promoting.
Next…
3. Create a Sale Event
The beauty of running a sale is that it motivates affiliates as well as stirs up excitement in the niche among customers.
Here are three examples of different types of sale events:
Launch or relaunch event.
The launch week is a great time to offer introductory sale prices to your customers. If your product has been out on the market for a while, you can update it (Version 2.0), and relaunch it for another burst of sales.
Flash sale.
This is a sale you run for less than a day. There is a great sense of urgency associated with it, which of course really boosts conversions. Be sure to give your affiliates plenty of advance notice so they can plan to run promos.
Holiday event.
This might be a Christmas sale, Halloween sale, or any other holiday event. You might even run more personal sales, such as the anniversary of you launching your business.
Next…
4. Run An Affiliate Contest
This is a great way to stir up excitement among your affiliates, and it works even better when you run your contest alongside a customer sale.
Here are tips for making the most of your affiliate contest:
Offer good prizes
Cash always tends to be welcomed. You should offer prizes for at least three to five of the top affiliates.
Send out daily leader boards for the duration of the contest.
This stirs up competition and keeps people excited.
Provide random draw prizes.
Sometimes your small affiliates don’t promote during contests, because they figure they have no chance of winning. You can stir up excitement among ALL affiliates by offering random-draw prizes.
Simply put, anyone who makes at least one sale during the contest period will be eligible to win a random-draw prize.
Next…
5. Send Out An Affiliate Newsletter
Another really good way to motivate affiliates is to send out a weekly affiliate newsletter. You can use this newsletter to announce affiliate contests, new marketing materials and more.
TIP: If you really want to motivate your affiliates, then interview and showcase one of your successful affiliates at least once per month.
When people see that it’s possible to make a lot of money with your affiliate program, they’ll be inspired to start promoting again.
And finally…
Summary
If you employ these five ways to motivate your affiliates, you’re sure to see a nice boost in traffic and sales. But don’t take my word for it – try them out to see for yourself!