Chapter 6. Step Three—Getting the Word Out

Chapter Summary

Once you have your program model and your plan, your next step is to get the word out to potential affiliates about your program. Your task is to first craft a message that will get potential affiliates to sit up and take notice. Your message should clearly state the benefits of your program and how it differs from your competitors. Inform them how they can make money but provide a realistic revenue potential—even provide testimonials from existing affiliates if you have a program already in place. Show potential affiliates that you offer a fair, credible, and quality program.

Build your list of potential affiliates by using search engines, affiliate solution providers, and affiliate marketing directories. Consider whether you will ship internationally and state that to attract international affiliates from around the Web. In addition to the directories, use the affiliate announcement services available and consider an affiliate management consult to help with your program promotion. Don’t ignore the power of PR to promote your program. Well-timed and targeted press releases will help promote your program with little cost.

Looking at the millions of Web sites that are potential candidates for your affiliate program and considering how to recruit them into your program can be discouraging. And then there’s the fact that you must compete with thousands of affiliate programs that are already in existence. Building your affiliate base may seem like an impossible task, but like most things in life, a long journey starts with just the first step, and in the case of recruiting affiliates—several steps.

Building an affiliate network relies a lot on building momentum. In the case of small to moderate size businesses, image is everything. A small to moderate size business on the Net can gain more than an increased customer base with an affiliate program.

One result of an established affiliate program is the name recognition it supplies. Once a business name begins to appear on high-profile sites around the Net, users may begin to perceive the company as something bigger and more established than it really is. This image building has a multiplying effect that helps you recruit even more qualified affiliate sites. If you are a large business with an image of major standing on the Net, an affiliate program is a way to maintain that standing in the eyes of those who use the Internet.

But before you set out on your recruiting program, the first step is to craft the message that you will be e-mailing to potential affiliates. That is to say, why should a Web site join your affiliate program in the first place?

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