A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating and Launching a Successful Affiliate Program

Identify your target market.

In this case, think about your target market in terms of website owners with the best potential to sell your products. Don’t think of customers. Rather, think of potential partners - people who can help you boost your product sales and whom you can help in return by providing them an additional source of income.

People who will typically make up your target market are those who know your product category best and those who excel in Internet marketing. The first kind is made up of those who share your interests, skills, and expertise. If you are selling fashion accessories that you’ve personally designed, you can depend on bloggers with keen interest in fashion, designers of accessories that don’t compete with your product line, and the likes as potential affiliates.

As for the second group, these are simply the experts of Internet marketing - they require no niche to succeed. They’re just so good at what they do that they can create an almost instant follow-up for anything they choose to affiliate themselves with.

Set up your compensation plan.

How will you pay your affiliates? How much will you pay them? Identifying your target market should also let you know the average pay they may expect from being an affiliate. It is then up to you whether you wish to match industry standards or go beyond it.

Take as much time as you need when setting up your compensation plan because this is one of the greatest attractions of joining affiliate programs. People are unlikely to join your program if they don’t think you pay them enough for their efforts. Of course, your compensation plan should also be structured to protect your interests: formulate clear-cut terms and conditions on who gets paid what and when as well as who gets fined for doing what.

Create a starter’s kit.

Not everyone who’s going to join your affiliate program will be experts in affiliate marketing. It will be such a waste, however, to turn away website owners who lack experience but possess great potential. It is thus for the latter’s sake that you must also create a starter’s kit.

A starter’s kit should include guidelines for first-time affiliates. It must detail what the common tasks and activities an affiliate must perform or involve himself in to succeed in affiliate marketing, what your expectations may be of each other, and the various methods he can employ to attain his goals.

Having a starter’s kit may also allow you to mold your affiliates into your liking: you can train them to think your way and ensure uniformity and success rates for all your affiliates.

Set up a website for your affiliate program.

It may be a page found in your existing website or a separate one entirely. What matters is providing potential affiliates the chance to find enough information about your affiliate program. Secondly, your affiliate program website must also give your members a chance to talk to each other. In most cases, a forum is the best medium to set up as it will encourage your affiliates to get to know each other better. Forums will allow them to share their problems and help each other in solving them.

Keep in touch with your affiliates.

Your affiliate program website will also let you keep in touch with your affiliates. Do this as much as you can. While there’s no need to closely monitor everyone’s progress - some may actually find that insulting or disturbing - it wouldn’t hurt if you maintain friendly relations with your affiliates and provide them a constant stream of encouragement and support.

Never forget your role as coach.

In an affiliate program, the merchant is the coach and the affiliates are the players. As coach, it is your responsibility not just to act as mentor, confidante, and friend to your team, but you should also continuously find new ways to help them achieve their goals. After all, their success means your success as well!

By Nathalie Fiset