Step One—Crafting Your Message
When presenting your program to potential affiliates, your message should include the following value propositions:
State the benefits of your program clearly and without hype.
State clearly that you sell a quality product or service.
State that your offer will fit well with the audience of their site.
Show how your program compares with your competition.
Inform them of your method of tracking their sales and earnings—how it’s done and who will do it.
State that by affiliating with you, their site will gain added credibility.
The most obvious benefit of your program to a potential affiliate is the ability for them to make money by simply referring their site visitors to your product or service (see Figure 6.1). Your message must be very clear—they will earn a specific commission or referral fee for each action their visitor takes. So at the very top of your message is the ability to make money.
Figure 6.1. eToys has a good example of a one-page, easy-to-understand, direct message about their affiliate program.
Keep in mind that most people will see through hype, so don’t promise that they will make thousands of dollars a day and be able to retire when they’re 30. Provide a realistic revenue potential—and if you have a program already in place—provide testimonials from successful affiliates who have actually achieved the revenue numbers you say a hard working affiliate can earn.
Your next value proposition should state clearly that you sell a quality product or service within a quality program. A quality product or service does not include get rich quick schemes or multi-level marketing (MLM) programs. It also means that you have a program that will stand behind what you sell.
Do
| DO craft a clear and concise message to use when promoting your program to affiliates. Don’t hype your program with unrealistic revenue projections for the affiliate or promises of quitting their day jobs. |
Having affiliate programs usually means that affiliates are selling the same products that you sell on your own Web site. That’s the nature of the beast. But this is changing. Affiliate programs are in their infancy, and more and more variations on the program are appearing everyday. One example is the storefront and boutique affiliate programs like vstore, where the affiliate site can build a complete online store that looks like their own. Program, like vstore do not compete with their affiliate since they don’t have a Web site that they sell from. Another example is giving affiliates exclusive product offers that you do not sell to shoppers that visit your site. If you can tell potential affiliates that you will, in some way, not compete with them, that will strengthen your message considerably.
The next element of your message should explain that your offering fits well on their site and would be of interest to a potential affiliate’s Web site visitor. This in-context approach can show potential affiliates that your offering will add a valuable service to their site that will enhance the experience of current visitors to their site.
Show how your program compares with your competition. The more beneficial differences your program offers an affiliate, the more likely it will join your network. Summarize your competitor’s benefits and show why your program is the best choice.
Do
| DO keep your program competitive by watching for changes in your competitor’s program. Determine the reason for his or her changes and how you can respond. Affiliates do shop around. |
Another important element in your message is to tell potential affiliates how you track visitors and sales and the reports available to them. You want to make it clear that you have a program in place that records every resulting sale or referral and that the sale is credited to your affiliate member. In addition, if you offer a two-tier program, explain that the affiliate can earn a commission for each sale that results from the referral of an affiliate site that they recruit for you.
Finally, impress upon the potential affiliate in your message that by affiliating with your business they can gain added credibility for their site. If your program recruits quality affiliates and doesn’t take the tack of building an affiliate network by piling them high and stacking them deep, you can tell potential candidates that they belong to an exclusive club, and that their site visitors will see this.
The key to a good message is telling a credible story. Give affiliates your qualifications as a business and explain the quality of your offering. Above all, watch the tone of your message. Stay away from any technical jargon—keep it simple, credible, and to the point.
Do
| DO consider joining LinkShare’s B2B affiliate network. If your company sells to the business community, you can create an affiliate program with sites that cater to businesses. LinkShare (www.b2blinkshare.com) has created an affiliate management program for companies that want to create and manage a B2B affiliate network (see Figure 6.2). Figure 6.2. LinkShare offers an affiliate management program for companies that have a B2B affiliate network.
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Also, keep in mind that potential affiliates can be generated in every part of your specific industry. Affiliates, while generally created in the business-to-consumer channel (B2C), may also be formed in the business-to-business (B2B) and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) channels.