Tactics to Supercharge Your Affiliates

Remember those days when you used to work a 9 to 5 job at a corporate office? You were paid every two weeks, plus you got all these extra perks like pizza Fridays, business stuff, and maybe even a Christmas drunk cruise. These extra-curricular benefits, which you received in appreciation for your work above and beyond your salary, kept you motivated and fulfilled.

Maintaining a positive relationship with your affiliate partners beyond their commission should be a priority as your affiliate marketing business expands. These are seven strategies for keeping your affiliates content and productive that you may not have considered.

1. First Sale Surprise Bonus

The first positive impression is the best possible impression. When they close their first deal, sending them a surprise bonus is a terrific way to get your partnership off to a strong start.

It need not be substantial; instead, keep it in line with the sale's proceeds. A bottle of wine, a cheese tray, an iTunes or Starbucks gift card, and a mug with a brand on it. This is your chance to have some fun and get creative with a thank-you present that isn't just money.

Why? It’s the difference between getting a five dollar bill as opposed to  bacon-flavored gumballs  ($4.97): the latter is more personal and more memorable. Especially since your new affiliate isn’t expecting the bonus, it’s a better way to go than a few extra dollars.

2. Branded “Team Rep” Package

Our recent client spotlight with Blenders Eyewear mentioned the idea of sending a branded package full of goodies to partners who have hit a certain amount of sales. Two reasons why this is a good idea:

One, it shows that you don’t just consider them a lead factory, but as a valued member of your extended team, which is exactly how you should view your affiliate partners. Branded hats, shirts, bags, etc show that they’re part of the squad, and a sense of belonging is a powerful incentive for loyalty and happiness.

Two, it never hurts for your brand to be on display! Again, it’s your opportunity to get creative. And yes, fidget spinners are played out.

3. Virtual VIP Lounge

Reddit has a “super secret community” for members who have been gifted (or purchased for themselves) Reddit Gold.

It’s nothing special, but even the illusion of being a VIP is enticing (and it does make Reddit some money). In the same way, having a virtual place for your affiliates to congregate can impart the same sense of belonging to something exclusive.

The easiest way to do this is to create a Facebook Group just for your partners. Here, they can stay engaged with your brand by communicating with other affiliates, and it’s an easy way to quickly get a notification across if you need. You, or a member of your team, should be an active participant here to answer questions, hold contests, and keep discussion going.

4. Occasional Meetups or Webinar

Yelp’s official events/meetups are pretty legendary and go a long way in cultivating a sense of loyalty among their elite contributors. While you may not have Yelp money to throw a bash for the ages, if your network has a high enough concentration in one area, you should hold a simple meetup perhaps every month, quarter, or year. There’s nothing better than getting actual face-to-face time to develop a lasting relationship with your partners.

If a physical meetup isn’t feasible, a regular virtual meetup can still have a large benefit. One idea we’ve seen from successful merchants is to hold a monthly webinar with a dedicated time for Q&A. For additional virtual face-to-face time, try Google Hangouts (max 25 people) or Facebook Chat (max 50 people). These apps make it easy to see and interact with your partners without being in the same room.

Your webinar can cover new features, products, or affiliate tiers, then give way to general conversation. In fact, this is a great segue for our next tip…

5. Hold Office Hours

Not being available and accessible by your partners is a rookie mistake. By holding regular “office hours” each week (just 1 hour a week is enough) so they can ask questions and resolve issues will go a long way in providing an excellent experience for your affiliates.

You can let them know that you are instantly reachable at a certain time each week, or at the end of a webinar as mentioned above. Sure, sometimes an affiliate will want to speak privately, and you can schedule time for that, but holding regular office hours will show that you’re committed to being there for your extended team.

6. Beta Access to New Features

Another way to convey a sense of a VIP society among your affiliates is to give them early-access to anything new from your company. Have a new product? Let them know before it goes public and give them a change to pre-order. Your software has a new feature? Let them have free access to it first for a week or two.

This is an easy way to provide a special service, but also to get feedback on your new launches. Affiliates won’t mind being beta testers; after all, it’s completely optional for them. See what works and what doesn’t while building loyalty at the same time.

7. Hot-Streak Bonus & Commission Bumps

At the end of the day, money still speaks the loudest. You probably already have commission tiers built into your affiliate program. But here are two other commission boosts you can implement for extra incentive.

One, a “hot-streak” commission bonus can add a little gamification to your program, which is a strategy proven to increase business. An example: 5 sales in a 30 day period “unlocks” a higher commission bracket for the next 60 days.

Anytime you feel like it, you can experiment with "random" commission bumps. This is clearly advantageous to you (as it could increase sales), but it also keeps your affiliates interested because they never know when a “limited time commission bump” might occur. This can be announced at any moment and with little warning.

Naturally, you want to maintain these's rarity. It is not a good idea to teach your partners to only convert during these hiccups. Having a second surprise period of higher commission rates can get your affiliates to pay notice, even though these bumps usually occur during the holiday shopping season.