Affiliate Marketing is well established as an extremely effective marketing channel. Does this mean every single online retailer has what it takes to find success with an Affiliate Program? Of course not. While it’s very difficult to predict success in any marketing channel including Affiliate Marketing, we have over time found that the 5 indicators below have those most profound impact on determining whether or not a retailer is “ready for their closeup” in Affiliate Marketing.
5. Website.
You’ll need to have a website with a shopping cart or there has to be some form of online action taking place on the site. This sounds like a no-brainer but there are plenty of people out there selling products on sites like Amazon or Etsy that think they are ready to get into Affiliate Marketing.
If you have a website and can take orders or have a place for people to perform an online action such as filling out a form or signing up for a membership, then you can check this one off the list and move on to number 4.
4. No limits or caps on sales/leads.
You have a website and you’re selling products…great! But do you have a large inventory of products to sell and can you constantly replenish as products are sold? You can’t have an Affiliate Program with a cap on the amount of sales or leads you can accept. If your plan is to sell off a limited supply of excess inventory via your Affiliate Program, this is not best option for you. If you can only handle a small or limited number of orders at a time, you’ll have to look elsewhere. If you run out of products it’s not possible to pause your Affiliate Program while you wait for your inventory to catch up. You need to be ready to fulfill those orders and keep the doors open for Affiliate referred sales that are rolling in.
3. No Leaks.
What are leaks? Anything on your site that will take people away from your site is a leak. Links to Amazon or eBay, links to other sites that carry products you don’t carry, ads, etc. These are all leaks and you simply can’t have any if you are serious about your Affiliate program and wish to attract Affiliates. Your site needs to capture visitors and keep them on there shopping around and buying YOUR products.
2. Time/Resources.
You need to dedicate time to establishing and maintaining your Affiliate Program. Affiliate Marketing and auto-pilot do not mix well. This is a channel that truly fits the mantra of “You will get out of it what you put into it.” Yes, if you don’t have the time or resources for proper management you can hire an out-sourced management team to handle everything, but you’ll need to have a well established Affiliate Program and/or e-commerce site before any management firm will consider taking on your program.
1. Proven history of success online.
This one is very simple and it’s also by far the most important piece of the puzzle. Affiliates have loads of choices when it comes to Merchants they can promote. If you are brand new to the e-commerce world or just have not had success selling products via other marketing channels, an Affiliate Program is not going to be the magic bullet. You need to have solid history behind your site/products with a proven track record online. You should also know your important site metrics including unique visitors, conversion rate, average order value(AOV), and profit margin.
One exception here would be products that have done well in the offline world that are now ready to be transitioned online. Even then, there are no guarantees. Other than that, I have on very rare occasion seen a site that breaks this unwritten rule. I’m talking about an incredible product or service that is going to knock peoples’ socks off because it’s just so unique, useful, and incredible that everyone has to have it. This is something we only see here once in a blue moon though, so please tread carefully if you think you fall under this rare designation.
If you have these five basic but essential elements covered, your Affiliate Program will have the proper foundation on which to launch. This will give your program the best chance of reaching it’s full potential, adding a powerful punch to your bottom line just as you envisioned when you first set out to research Affiliate Marketing for your online business.
Stephanie Robbins says
June 10, 2013 at 4:23 pmIt’s the last one that small business can really struggle with. I always remind people it is not an affiliates job to brand your product. New sites have other visions some times.
Regina says
June 13, 2013 at 2:43 pmRegarding #2, What are some of the most important activities to perform for an affiliate program on a regular basis? We are a small business willing to put what needs to be done into the program, but not sure where to start and what to do on an on-going basis. Any tips?
David at ShareASale says
June 20, 2013 at 4:54 pmRegina – thank you for your comment. Please feel free to contact the ShareASale sales team at sales@shareasale.com and we’d be happy to help you with your questions regarding starting an affiliate program, what’s required to manage it, tips, etc.
ALPHONSE B. says
November 5, 2013 at 2:06 amHi, I just would like to ask how -in the past the travel industry ranks compared to other industries, at which % do they succeed with you, compared to other merchants?
Rgds,
Alphonse
Brian Littleton says
November 6, 2013 at 12:09 pmAlphonse,
We have quite a bit of success in the travel industry – most of the Merchants in this industry utilize some of our advanced tools to make sure to capture “leads” at the time of reservation, and payout “sales” at the time of travel/stay/rental etc…
JOHN says
December 9, 2013 at 11:43 pmWhy would anyone use affiliate marketing if they have proven history of success online. If I am already making money doing what I am doing, I would invest more into the marketing strategies that are making me $$$$$$$$s. #1 does not make any sense.
Brian Littleton says
December 10, 2013 at 10:42 amIf you are already making money in other channels, that is great and it doesn’t mean you have to stop any of those efforts. Affiliate Marketing is as channel… much like search, email, display, etc… The point of #1 above was that you were more likely to see success in the Affiliate Channel if you have already seen success in other channels. Affiliates are more likely to pick up and promote your program if there is proven success shown.
Brian says
December 13, 2013 at 6:04 pmThis is exceptional advice. Startups have a lot to prove as suggested before the plunge into affiliate marketing.