Previous Weeks

The steps that lead up to the launch of your affiliate program will play a big part in whether you hit the ground running or start to second guess this whole affiliate-marketing thing. You know that old saying that hindsight is 20-20? Well, this is your chance to do everything correctly the first time around.

The first item is to determine the staffing of the affiliate team. It cannot be emphasized enough—you must have at least one person dedicated to the management of the program, and preferably more than one.

The affiliate team is sort of a figurative term. In addition to the requisite marketing people on the team, you must also go to great lengths to curry favor with a tech and finance person in your company—they will be invaluable to your success and growth. Take them to lunch and extol the virtues of affiliate marketing and how it will be a key to your company’s success. You really need that internal support to prosper.

After the affiliate manager and the rest of the affiliate team have been identified, they should head the search committee for an affiliate solution. Crunch all the numbers, and figure out how much you will be able to budget for your program. Then, research the options: building a solution internally, purchasing an off-the-shelf affiliate software, or working with an affiliate solution provider.

The choice of your affiliate solution is one to be decided with gravity, so do not jump into a contract without checking out all the options, speaking with references, and assessing the technical requirements of your company.

After you have decided on the affiliate solution, you have to determine all the basics of your program and then implement it into your site. In addition to determining the payment model (pay-per-sale, customer, lead, or click, as well as two-tier and residual earnings), you have to decide on the payment frequency (monthly is suggested) and payment threshold (try $25 or less).

Also, implementation of the new affiliate program will require that you have an affiliate agreement and privacy statement (created by a lawyer), a FAQ, and some banners and text links to offer when the program rolls out.

When everything seems to be in place, the affiliate team should exhaustively test all the components of the affiliate program to be sure that every aspect is functioning correctly.

• Determine the staffing for the affiliate team

• Build internal support

• Check to see that your affiliate solutions are implemented properly

• Implement the new affiliate program

• Quality assurance and testing