Top 10 Affiliate Marketing Software Platforms To Maximize Sales In 2024 via @sejournal, @lorenbaker

Affiliate marketing has been experiencing explosive growth in recent years, so it’s essential now more than ever for brands to run affiliate programs of their own.

It involves brands hiring affiliates to promote their products and services and rewarding them with a commission from every sale.

As such, affiliate marketing is an excellent low-cost and low-risk way for brands to drive sales and brand awareness without hiring an in-house advertising and marketing team of their own.

Affiliate marketing spending worldwide is estimated at around $14 billion in 2024 – and the industry is predicted to reach a worth of over $38 billion by 2031.

Affiliate Marketing And SEO

Affiliate marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) both share a common goal of attracting relevant and high-quality traffic to a site with the goal of increasing sales.

As such, both of these marketing activities shouldn’t be perceived as two separate, competing entities.

Instead, you should look at them as one and the same that work together in perfect harmony to increase website traffic and generate more revenue.

The most successful publishers in the affiliate marketing space combine the two to get the best of both worlds.

SEO affiliate marketing involves choosing the right products and affiliate programs that attract the most search traffic and offer the best commissions.

Publishers often make the most of affiliate marketing by creating content that adds real value for their readers and prioritizes their experience.

Publishers often do this by creating “Best of” or “Top X” oriented posts that address their audience’s needs and pain points, while, at the same time, allowing them to monetize their content by using affiliate links throughout the posts.

By adding relevant and contextual affiliate links in such posts, publishers foster an authentic user experience that puts their readers first.

This is one of the most significant advantages of affiliate marketing compared to alternative marketing methods such as sponsored posts.

Today’s consumers are increasingly distancing themselves from heavily business-oriented content, as it’s often perceived as inauthentic and disingenuous.

By focusing on high-quality content that adds value to readers and combining it with relevant and contextual affiliate links, everyone wins!

Additionally, Google rewards publishers who create original content and add real value for their readers.

They reward such publishers by placing them higher in search results and driving more traffic to them.

But, in today’s highly competitive and increasingly dynamic market, how can brands find the time to manage and grow their affiliate marketing program?

The answer is with the help of the right affiliate marketing software that streamlines the entire process.

Once upon a time, running a successful affiliate marketing program meant manually managing every aspect – a time-consuming and inefficient process.

Thankfully, these days, affiliate marketing software and solutions have evolved to offer all the necessary tools in a single place, which simplifies the whole process and enables brands to optimize their programs and focus on growth.

Therefore, brands need to utilize the right affiliate marketing software to stay competitive and maximize ROI in today’s highly competitive affiliate marketing space.

This article will go over what affiliate marketing software is and what makes a great affiliate software platform.

We’ll also review the top 10 affiliate marketing software platforms that brands can use to take their affiliate program to the next level.

What Is An Affiliate Marketing Software?

In a nutshell, affiliate marketing software is a comprehensive tool that facilitates all aspects of affiliate marketing program management.

It allows brands to track, manage, and grow their affiliate marketing campaigns.

Most affiliate marketing software platforms share standard features such as affiliate onboarding, collaboration with affiliate partners, affiliate tracking and reporting, and referral, cost, and commission payment management.

What Makes A Good Affiliate Marketing Software Platform?

Though most affiliate marketing software platforms share many of the same features, what sets apart the good platforms from the bad is what’s important.

For starters, the actual platform must have an intuitive and user-friendly interface.

An affiliate marketing platform can boast all of the best affiliate tools and features available.

Still, it’s a moot effort if the dashboard is complicated for most people.

Additionally, since brands usually utilize a variety of Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms for ecommerce and affiliate marketing, affiliate marketing software platforms need to offer tons of third-party SaaS integrations.

The best affiliate marketing software platforms offer robust tracking and reporting capabilities.

Brands need to be able to precisely track their affiliate sales and access real-time granular data to measure the ROI of their affiliate campaigns effectively.

Additionally, a good affiliate marketing platform will provide brands with all the affiliate tools they need to launch, manage, promote, and scale their affiliate programs, such as flexible commission management and customizable real-time affiliate tracking and reporting capabilities.

At the same time, they should offer their clients peace of mind by providing the highest level of fraud detection and other security features.

Lastly, the best affiliate marketing software platforms mean nothing if there isn’t quality customer service available 24/7 to back it up. Readily available customer assistance is equally important for brands as it is for affiliates.

Top 10 Affiliate Marketing Software

1. Refersion

Screenshot from refersion.com, August 2024

With over 60,000+ registered merchants, 6.6 million affiliates managed, and $2 billion in affiliate revenue tracked, Refersion is one of the leading affiliate marketing software platforms on the market.

Its robust and highly personalized dashboard allows brands to manage all aspects of their affiliate program, such as monitoring all aspects of their affiliate activity with extensive real-time reporting capability.

Refersion offers brands all the tools they need to scale and promote their affiliate programs, such as managing commissions, payouts, and providing simplified tax automation. It also offers easy integration with popular tools like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce.

While Refersion does come with a higher price point than some competitors – starting at $99 per month – it’s hard to find a solution that offers the same level of top-notch affiliate tools, marketplace, and customer service.

Pricing:

• The professional tier starts at $99/month (if paid annually) for up to 50 monthly order conversions.
• The business tier starts at $249/month (if paid annually) for up to 200 monthly order conversions.
• The enterprise tier is available with unlimited monthly order conversions – you’ll need to contact Refersion for pricing details.

2. Impact

Screenshot from Impact.com, August 2024

Impact is one of the biggest affiliate marketing software platforms for cloud automation.

Its signature product, the Impact Partnership Cloud, allows brands to automate their affiliate and influencer marketing campaigns. It offers a marketplace where brands can connect with a network of affiliates, influencers, ambassadors, and other possible partners.

The platform’s tools also include dynamic commissioning, reporting, advanced analytics, and third-party integrations for companies to track and manage their affiliate programs.

However, pricing is not readily available, and you must contact the Impact sales team for a custom quote.

Pricing:

• Custom quotes are available upon request.

3. Tapfiliate

Screenshot from Tapfiliate.com, August 2024

For businesses primarily operating and generating their revenue on ecommerce SaaS platforms, Tapfiliate may be a great choice.

It features a range of automation capabilities, including an autopilot mode that can automate things such as onboarding new affiliates, sharing via social media, or even drip campaigns.

Tapfiliate easily integrates with major ecommerce players like Shopify and WooCommerce, and offers advanced tracking and reporting capabilities. However, most of the features are accessible only through the Pro plan, which starts at $149 a month – nothing to sneeze at.

Pricing:

• The essential plan starts at $74/month for 1 team member and basic features.
• The pro plan starts at $124/month for 5 team members and more advanced features.
• The enterprise plan offers custom pricing for unlimited team members, unlimited tracking requests, a dedicated personal manager, and more.

4. Awin

Screenshot from Awin.com, August 2024

Awin, previously known as Zanox, merged with Affilinet in 2017 to become one of the largest affiliate marketing platforms, providing “unlimited access to over 1M vetted partners.”

It features a handful of marketing and reporting features you’d expect from such an extensive network, like tools for cross-device tracking, real-time reporting, and automated compliance management.

The platform’s Awin Access program is an interesting option for smaller businesses or teams newer to affiliate marketing, as it offers a straightforward setup process and flexible pricing to make joining the network easier.

Registration is free on Awin, but it uses a performance-based pricing model. This means brands pay a predetermined cost-per-acquisition (CPA), and specific pricing details are only available upon request.

Pricing:

• Custom quotes are available upon request.

5. CAKE

Screenshot from getcake.com, August 2024

CAKE is another SaaS-based affiliate marketing platform, meaning you can access it from anywhere (with an Internet connection).

CAKE partners with a bunch of partners to offer a variety of streamlined and automated features. It’s known for its great tracking and reporting capabilities, which enable you to follow and optimize your campaigns in real time.

The platform boasts more than 500 advertisers, networks, and publishers across 50+ countries, and it offers 24/7 customer support to its users. It has customizable features, granular data analysis, and impressive fraud protection to give customers peace of mind.

Unfortunately, CAKE’s pricing is not readily available on its website. It also doesn’t feature any pre-made promotional tools for marketers, which doesn’t make it quite suitable for novice users just starting out with their affiliate program

Pricing:

• Custom quotes are available upon request.

6. ClickBank

Screenshot from ClickBank.com, August 2024

ClickBank was one of the first affiliate platforms, launching all the way back in 1998. Since then, it’s grown to one of the largest affiliate marketplaces with over 200 million customers.

According to the company’s website, there are 300,000+ daily purchases made on ClickBank – and it boasts $4.2B in paid commissions.

ClickBank stands out for its native support for subscription services, which makes it easy for brands to create one-click, repeatable purchases. This allows them to provide monthly products without requiring manual monthly payments.

It also offers some of the standard features commonly found on most affiliate platforms, such as affiliate reporting, payments, commissions management, and third-party integrations. It’s quick and easy to list your products and set up affiliate programs on the platform.

However, compared to some of the other affiliate platforms on this list, it doesn’t offer a demo, free trial, or monthly pricing. Instead, ClickBank charges a one-time activation to list products on the platform and then a fee per sale.

Pricing:

• One-Time Activation Fee: $49.95.
• Transaction Fee: 7.5% + $1 per sale.

7. CJ Affiliate

Screenshot from cj.com, August 2024

CJ Affiliate is a well-known and reputable affiliate marketing platform. It offers access to hundreds of advertisers, publishers, and potential partners in one platform.

CJ Affiliate provides a customizable dashboard and a variety of reports and specialized tools, including advanced tracking and reporting capabilities. Most notably, it offers specialized tools, such as Deep Link Automation and Product Widgets, that enable brands to improve their affiliate program ROI.

While CJ Affiliate is a great choice for businesses of all sizes, it’s worth noting that the company doesn’t provide a free trial or demo, operates on a performance-based pricing model, and you’ll need to reach out for specific details.

Pricing:

• Custom quotes are available upon request.

8. TUNE

Screenshot from Tune.com, August 2024

Designed for companies that require detailed tracking and analytics, TUNE allows brands to build, manage, and grow their affiliate partner networks through its proprietary marketing technology.

TUNE offers a flexible platform, which users can tweak and tailor to fit their needs. Within the platform, you have customizable tools, commissions, payments, and real-time affiliate tracking and reporting.

However, it doesn’t provide affiliate promotional tools like most other platforms, and there is no straightforward pricing listed on the website.

It does, however, list details on its different plans, including a Pro Plan with basic features up to an Enterprise Plan with features like custom integrations, premium support, enhanced fraud prevention, and more.

Pricing:

• Custom quote available upon request.

9. LeadDyno

Screenshot from LeadDyno.com, August 2024

LeadDyno specializes in affiliate program promotion and perhaps offers the most promotional tools available in an affiliate marketing software platform.

LeadDyno offers tools that enable brands to create various promotional campaigns, such as email, newsletters, and social media campaigns, making it a wonderful choice for companies that want to expand the reach of their programs.

It provides a straightforward user experience that makes it easy to onboard affiliates, track your performance, and manage payouts. Extensive real-time tracking and reporting features give businesses the ability to monitor and optimize their campaigns.

Pricing is on the affordable side and LeadDyno offers a free trial – which not all tools on this list do!

Pricing:

• The lite plan starts at $49/month for up to 50 active affiliates, one commission plan, one reward structure, and other basics.
• The essential plan is $129.month and offers up to 150 active affiliates, three commission plans, and one reward structure, as well as other advanced features like a landing page, 1:1 call and video support, and more.
• The advanced plan is $349/month and offers up to 500 active affiliates, unlimited reward structures and commission plans, and many other advanced features.
• The unlimited plan is $749/month and offers unlimited active affiliates, unlimited reward structures and commission plans, and more.

10. ShareASale

Screenshot from ShareASale.com, August 2024

With over 20 years of experience, ShareASale has been around for quite some time. It’s a reliable solution for merchants and affiliates alike, and carries a variety of tools to help boost your affiliate marketing programs.

If you’re looking for an extensive network of affiliates and partners across a ton of industries, ShareASale is a good option for you. You’ll also get access to customizable affiliable management, real-time tracking, detailed reporting, custom banner, and link generation, and plenty more.

One thing to note: like a few of the other tools listed here, ShareASale uses a performance-based pricing model that includes a one-time network access fee and then transaction fees.

Pricing:

• There is a one-time setup fee of $650.
• Transaction fees: 20% of each affiliate commission, with a minimum of $35/month.

Wrapping Up

Great affiliate marketing solutions enable brands to easily launch and manage affiliate programs, as well as track referrals and sales made by their affiliate partners.

The best affiliate marketing software provides brands with all the tools needed to launch, promote, and grow their affiliate program.

At the same time, they provide customizable and easy-to-use reporting capabilities for real-time performance tracking.

Without reliable tracking and reporting tools, brands cannot effectively assess the success and profitability of their affiliate campaigns and partnerships.

More resources:

Featured Image: Panchenko Vladimir/Shutterstock

Part 3: How To Launch, Manage, & Grow An Affiliate Program Step-By-Step via @sejournal, @rollerblader

You’re now ready to get your affiliate program in motion! Before you do, there are pitfalls to avoid and situations you’re going to run into.

In this final section of our series, you will learn the myths, truths, and common pitfalls to avoid when managing and growing an affiliate program.

Professional Tips, Myth Busting, & Common Pitfalls To Avoid

This section is probably the most important and controversial.

Remember that the affiliate industry is based on performance, not whether your company is gaining customers or adding value.

If something doesn’t feel right, or you do not get a clear and direct answer with concise data points and from unbiased tests, chances are you’re being taken advantage of. That’s what this section is about.

There Is No Army Or Group Ready Or Wanting To Promote You

There is no army or group of affiliates that wants to promote your brand or products.

Affiliate programs can take a minimum of a year to start seeing results unless your affiliates are “no-value” and “low-value,” because they intercept your own traffic.

You have to put the work in to recruit top funnel and value-adding partners.

They will be working on their own dime since you’re not paying media fees, and that also means you take a backseat to companies that will pay them upfront.

It is heavy labor to onboard and activate partners; nobody is going to start working for free just because you have a program.

Be Careful Of “Questionable” Advice From Networks And Agencies

Networks make their money based on how many orders are processed, not whether you are profitable or if they’re meeting your company’s goals.

Many agencies do, too. One of the most common recommendations is to work with websites that show up for your “brand + coupons” in Google searches.

If you don’t have an affiliate program, look at your analytics, and you’ll see the coupon site touch points under referrals.

Many networks, agencies, and affiliate managers will tell you that by allowing these sites into your program, you will see more sales, an increase in conversions, and average order value (AOV).

What you may experience is a decrease in total revenue by the amount you are now paying to the affiliate and the network. These touchpoints move from direct referral to affiliate. But don’t count coupon sites out.

Yes, the same touch point moving to a new channel could potentially cause a revenue loss, but there could be revenue gains, too.

Have the coupon site exchange the interception for guaranteed monthly email blasts, monthly social media features, and top placements in lists for shopping holidays like Mother’s Day, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day.

Coupon sites can add value and be worth working with.

That is where you and your affiliate manager need to come in so that your company still grows – and you get to choose who is and is not allowed in your program.

Affiliates Are Not Your Employees Or Your Sales Team

Affiliates are contractors of your company, not employees. They are not held to the same standards as sales professionals, such as hitting sales goals.

Affiliates in your program are working on their own dime vs. getting a guaranteed payment for ad space, promotions on a set schedule, or a media and advertising fee.

If the affiliate has their own traffic and is not intercepting your own, they control where it goes, and you will lose out on customers if you cross this line with them.

Work with your affiliates to get promotions at important times, and ask what they need. If they have a niche audience, create banners and videos that meet their audience’s needs.

If they know a specific word or phrase resonates with their audience, they will use it to get their audience to your website.

If they’re not breaking the law or making misleading claims, let them share their brand equity to build trust for your company. That is where a big value-add happens.

Affiliates Have To Link To My Website Or App

Affiliates do not have to link to your website or app – or exclusively to you. This is because they own their own web properties.

If the affiliate introduces new customers and doesn’t rely on your brand to have its own traffic, it decides who gets the traffic and sales, not you.

One important thing to remember is that Google’s reviews update rewards multiple shopping options. If the affiliate is not creating branded content like coupons, reviews, etc., linking to multiple vendors for the same product will likely benefit them.

This includes shopping content and gift guides, listicles, and even where to pick up supplies for creating a recipe or fixing something around the house.

Affiliate programs take a lot of work and are a high-risk but high-return channel when done in a value-adding way.

If your SEO tanks or social media channels are shut down, your affiliate partners, who have their own traffic, can help keep you in business while you recover.

That’s why it is important to invest in it, but you want to invest in it so that it attracts people to you and does not intercept and counteract your own efforts.

More resources: 

Featured Image: Overearth/Shutterstock

Part 2: How To Launch, Manage, & Grow An Affiliate Program Step-By-Step via @sejournal, @rollerblader

In part 1 of this guide, you learned the terminology used in the affiliate industry, what can add value and potentially cause a loss for your company, and how to forecast profitability.

In this part of the three-part series, you’re going to learn the following:

• Types of affiliates that you can work with.
• Tools they’ll need to succeed.
• Ways to onboard them.
• How to create a communications strategy.

Then, we get more advanced in part 3.

The Types Of Affiliates To Consider

There is no shortage of types of affiliates, and not all are equal. Someone handing out business cards with a coupon code or encouraging a QR code scan can be an affiliate.

Multi-payment solutions that you install in your own shopping cart may be charging you software fees and joining your affiliate program to take a commission without you knowing.

Pro-tip: Use your data to determine which types of affiliates are right for your affiliate program. You do not have to listen to the network, affiliate agency, or your affiliate manager. Your data determines which affiliates are adding value and which are not, and you are the one with your best interest in mind.

Not all affiliate practices will follow the laws where you live. Make sure to familiarize yourself with FTC disclosure, review, and endorsement laws (the EU and UK have similar), CANSPAM, etc.

Note from the author: My affiliate management agency, where we help manage other company’s affiliate programs, does not work with all of the types of affiliates below. I am listing them because the goal of this article is education, not how my company manages an affiliate program for our clients.

Here are the most common types of affiliates you’ll come across and a brief description of each:

Adware

Any type of software that displays an advertisement, forces a click, injects a coupon code, or engages with a user. This can include browser extensions for cash back, displaying logos on search engine results (including PPC ads you pay for or your own branded SEO results), pop-ups, pop-unders, etc.

Apps

Games, social networks, communities, events planning, and other device-based programs. They often run ads inside the app to your site or make in-app purchases, have incentives with bonuses in-game for shopping at your store or using your service, and offer push notifications to users with affiliate links or offers to users.

Bloggers

Content creators who produce articles about topics that can include personal stories, gift guides, product reviews, and how-to articles (recipes, crafts, fixing things, photography, etc.).

Browser Extensions

Software that is installed on a user’s browser where the goal is setting an affiliate cookie or tracking event.

Some intercept consumers at checkout, others right before they enter your website, overwriting your own tracking on your own newsletter subscribers, PPC ads you paid for, SEO results, or other affiliate clicks. Some can be high value and some low value.

Co-Branded Deals

Many times, you’ll find partnerships, perks, or co-branded promotions between two companies.

In some cases, the two companies are using affiliate links, or one company is doing an affiliate deal to test and see if it is a service their audience resonates with before they invest in launching it as a stand-alone offering.

Comparison Affiliates

When you come across a “vs.” post or video content that shows consumers how to choose between brands, products, services, or upgrades and downgrades, you’re likely seeing comparison affiliate content.

These sites optimize for mid-funnel phrases like “X brand vs. Y brand,” “Z brand alternatives,” and “Which company is better, D or E?”

Coupon Affiliates

Searching for a coupon online during the checkout process is when you most often come across a coupon affiliate.

Some pose as content or mass media websites but can be identified by the end-of-sale touchpoint. This exists in your affiliate analytics and may include the following:

• Traffic and sales patterns that match your overall company sales patterns. As you increase and decrease, they match almost identically (the same with some types of browser extensions).
• Higher conversion rates than top-funnel affiliates or your own website traffic.
• Very short click-to-close times.
• Multiple clicks before the sale because the consumer was clicking to reveal codes. Don’t count coupon sites out just yet!
• Coupon sites normally have large newsletter lists; some have engaged social media followings, and others can do SMS pushes. These can be top-of-funnels, and this is why it is important to use your data and determine if the sales being intercepted outweigh the revenue gain if you’re getting the top-funnel pushes, too.

Email Houses

Ever wonder why, where, or how you are getting so many promotional emails? You’ve likely been opted in, sold to, or engaged with an email house. They’re sending you offers via paid ads, sold lists, affiliate links, or any number of other options.

Major Media

Have you typed [best XYZ product] or [legit ABC service] into Google? The news and magazine major sites building shopping lists are monetizing through affiliate marketing using the trust and authority of their domains.

There are multiple benefits here including brand recognition and exposure, some drive their own non-SEO traffic to the lists, and you may be able to use their logo in your PR bar to build consumer trust on your website.

Media Buyers

These are companies or individuals who buy traffic from ad networks and sources and send the traffic to your website or funnel.

Monetization Tools (Also Known As Sub Networks)

These are normally JavaScripts or plugins that a webmaster can install on their website to turn direct links, or user clicks into affiliate links so the publisher, social media site, video producer, streamer, etc., can earn a commission.

Some work as backdoors for affiliates you’ve kicked out, and others allow prohibited partners in, so make sure you have full transparency when working with them, including referring URLs and the contact information for every partner that has access to your brand.

Newsletters

Unlike an email house, which may collect emails through multiple techniques, newsletter affiliates have engaged readers opting into their own lists to get specific types of content from them directly. You can be featured via affiliate links and cut hybrid deals with a media fee + commissions.

Podcasters

You’ll often hear brands being mentioned and have a custom deal or discount using the podcast’s or attendee’s names. Other times, there’s a link in the description.

These are ways podcasters can use affiliate marketing to make money when there are no sponsors or so they can earn from the products and services they mention.

PPC

Pay-per-click marketers may bid on your brand, variations, and extensions of your brand, or do generic PPC marketing.

You can find them on all search engines, from Yahoo to Yandex and Naver to Google, and in countries worldwide. It can be a great way to get a feel for foreign markets if you’re planning on expanding and to enhance your own PPC budget if you’re limited.

Remarketers

This technique can be abandonment emails or pop-ups on exit-intent users. The goal is to bring the person back or prevent them from abandoning. They require you to install their code or code snippets into your system and share your data with them.

Reviewers

Have you ever wanted to watch a review before shopping or seen video results pop up with “don’t shop until you watch this”? These are likely affiliates trying to get a mid-funnel click.

It is high converting because it is someone already in your shopping process, but not necessarily “low-value.” A better option is to boost ambassador content over the review affiliate content and no longer pay commissions on this touchpoint, saving your company money.

Shopping Cart Software

Sometimes, shopping cart plugins and multi-payment tools join affiliate programs.

As your own customers go to their site to make multiple payments, they may be exposed to an affiliate link, and now you pay a commission on that customer already checking out.

Other times, they may tag them with remarketing pixels and try to convert an abandonment that competes with or complements your own remarketing ads.

SMS

Like the email houses above, some affiliates send SMS texts to the masses.

Social Media Influencers

When sponsorships dry up, or there is a product the influencer loves, you may see them pushing affiliate links and affiliate tracking codes.

Just make sure you check the cashback and deal browser extensions as well as coupon websites showing up for your brand + coupons in Google to make sure it is the influencer driving sales and not a leaked vanity coupon code.

Streamers

As they mention consoles, controllers, snacks, fashion accessories, event tickets, and anything related to their niche, streamers are making money through affiliate links based on what they love, where they’ll be, and what their audience is asking for information on.

Technology Integrations And Widgets

If you’ve booked international travel and been asked if you need a passport or visa, this is almost always an affiliate play. The passports and visas you apply for are done through affiliate relationships.

Many destination sites like banks, travel booking sites, and service providers use these as they simplify the process, provide value for their users, and give them data on whether they should offer this.

Webmasters

From forums to destination sites, travel comparisons, communities, courses/classes, and educational resources, webmasters are the original type of affiliate and are still around.

YouTubers

For consumers researching something to do or a gift to buy, finding a hack in a video game, needing to repair something, creating a craft, or cooking a recipe, video content is packed with affiliate links. As the creator mentions a tracking code or you find links in their descriptions, you’re helping to support their channels by shopping through their affiliate links.

Collateral, Marketing Materials, And Assets

Your affiliates are only as effective as the materials you give them. This includes all touchpoints.

Segmenting your partners by niche, touchpoint, promotional strategy, and platform used to promote you makes you more effective. Here’s what many will be looking for.

Banners

Not just for websites, affiliates use social media ad platforms, groups, and apps.

That’s why the standards are no longer enough. Offer sizes for all types of advertising partners, from bloggers and forums to Facebook Groups, Pinterest Pinners, and apps.

At a bare minimum offer:

• 125 x 125.
• 160 x 600.
• 300 x 50 – mobile.
• 300 x 250.
• 428 x 60.

Make sure to offer general banners for your brand and themed ones for niches your affiliates are in.

Text Links

Chances are that you have multiple product lines and services and serve multiple types of customers. Make sure this is represented in your text links. I’ll use a t-shirt store as an example.

You can have a text link for the brand, which is your catchall, and then one each for blue, red, v-neck, and crew neck tees. Maybe you sell undershirts in white and black; have three here.

Do you offer graphic tees in both comedy and vintage?

Why not create a text link for “funny tshirts” and one for “vintage tees” pointing to those landing pages? The same applies to wicking t-shirts for athletes and super comfy for sleepwear.

Datafeeds

This is a fancy way to say you offer a product catalog. It can be created via an XML feed, a spreadsheet, or whatever type of input your affiliate tracking solution accepts.

Datafeeds let affiliates create product grids, insert products into emails, and have access to approved images and descriptions, as well as stock and price data to make promoting you easier.

They can often be automated through the shopping cart and via tools like GoDatafeed (I don’t have a paid relationship with them; I just really like their service and have been recommending it for 10+ years).

Video

Do you have product demos and explanations of how to do things? Let your affiliates access these!

Many platforms allow you to upload video content and place links to your store as products and accessories are mentioned.

Affiliates can use these within their own guides to demonstrate a technique and enhance their content.

Email Swipes And Creative

Newsletter blasts can make and break months.

Provide your partners with blurbs, full emails, and copy-and-paste banners at 600px wide. Make sure to use the wording that converts best for your audience and provide options based on demographic skews.

If people in their 40s click through and purchase more on the word free, label this on the template. And if people in their 20s like shorter content with bullet points and slang, let your affiliates know.

The more data you can give them based on what works using age, location, income, etc., the better they can promote your company, and everyone will make more money.

Vanity Coupons

Vanity coupons are codes that match the branding of the website or influencer. However, there are massive risks associated with them.

If you distribute the code to an influencer and commission them when it’s used, but a cashback browser extension picks it up, the influencer may start earning commissions on sales they did not refer, as the browser extension inserts it into your coupon box at checkout.

And the same goes if it gets submitted to a coupon website that shows up on Google for your “brand + coupon.”

Vanity codes have a purpose and place, but patrol and monitor vanity and affiliate coupon codes for attribution purposes. In many cases, they may not actually move the needle and, in some cases, cause damage to your attribution and revenue.

And always set a life on them based on the lifespan of the promotional method. Instagram promotions fade off in a few days, whereas LinkedIn can last for a few months.

If partners do not take them down, have a plan in your program’s TOS for taking action when they post invalid and non-approved coupon codes.

Other

There’s no shortage of tools you can provide to your partners. There are HTML and JavaScript-based widgets, c0-branded landing pages, and more. Some of the affiliate programs we manage have accountants, lawyers, and consultants as active partners.

For them, we send plaques and awards once they hit certain numbers as a display on their desk. This builds trust and familiarity with the brand when their clients are introduced to our clients’ brands.

If you can think of it and it makes the partner’s life easier, try it.

Onboarding Marketing Series

An affiliate program is a hands-on channel and needs a personal touch. This is where your onboarding experience can help.

Here’s a checklist of things to provide:

• A bonus incentive for their first 30 or 60 days that includes copy and paste links.
• Welcome series that encourages activation and shares strategies for evergreen traffic and success.
• Personalized welcome emails from the affiliate manager that include one or two specific places on their platforms where your company is a fit.
• An activation or re-activation series once an affiliate has stopped sending traffic or has joined your program, but not sent any traffic or sales.
• Tips on increasing conversions, including wording to use, calls to action, and where to place links by space, promotional method, and channel.

And you’re not limited to email for onboarding. You can share:

• Video recordings with demos on getting links, optimizing content, setting up newsletters, etc.
• Powerpoint presentations demonstrating strategies and introducing the brand.
• A company blog where you share promotions, program updates, and ideas on how to make money with your products and services.
• Private groups for top performers to network and share ideas on how to grow together.

One of the most important things to do is provide the affiliate manager’s name and contact information.

If you want the program to succeed, there must be a human being and a face to the name. This builds trust, and that is vital for this channel.

Newsletters And Proactive Management

Sending promo codes, sales, and coupons is not an affiliate newsletter strategy. Your content, YouTube, and value-adding partners don’t need these.

Strategies that grow the affiliates’ businesses benefit an affiliate program, and as their businesses grow, they have a larger audience to send to you.

From time to time, you could send a deal or a promo, but make it link-based and share the deal with content for social media, email swipe copy, and other tools the affiliates can use directly from the email.

When you teach your partners how to grow, you build their loyalty, and they may be more inclined to create new content for your company, too. Here are some topics and newsletters you may want to try:

• 5 SEO phrases that convert over X% and have at least Y,000 monthly searches.
• 3 YouTube topics that convert at X% and have at least Y,000 monthly searches.
• 2 Copy and paste newsletters for X and Y audiences.
• Create an optimized piece of content by ABC and get $XYZ.
• Increase sales by XY% this month and get double commissions next month.

This is only for established partners or up and coming that are already performing.

Your only limitation is your creativity. I survey partners a couple of times each year and track their motivators.

From there, I run promotions based on what motivates them to do more. But keep in mind that not all of these topics make sense for all partners.

If the partner is an Instagrammer or TikTok creator, they may not have a newsletter list. YouTubers may not have blogs, and bloggers have no use for a coupon code unless they become a coupon and deals site, but a Facebook group likely will.

Congrats on making it through part 2!

In the last section of this guide, you’ll learn the myths and facts about affiliate programs, common pitfalls to avoid, and some professional tips that our agency uses to help our clients succeed.

Click here to read part 1 and part 3.

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Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

Part 1: How To Launch, Manage, & Grow An Affiliate Program Step-By-Step via @sejournal, @rollerblader

A value-adding affiliate program is among the highest-value, lowest-risk, and most reliable revenue channels. This three-part series will teach you how to launch, manage, and grow a value-adding affiliate program.

First, we should define “value-adding.” For this guide, value-adding is traffic that does not intercept your own efforts. If you lose SEO rankings, get banned on social media, or your email and SMS lists are destroyed, your affiliates will continue to be able to send you the same volume of customers and sales, helping you stay afloat.

But there are risks to the channel, and it is a heavy labor marketing strategy. Unless you are a major brand, there is no massive group of people who want to promote your product or service and drive sales to you. This is why having a proper plan to launch, manage, and grow your affiliate program is vital, and these three guides teache you how to do that.

Over the last 20+/- years, I’ve helped companies of all sizes and across the world launch, manage, and close down affiliate programs. I’m a two-time winner of the Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Award, which at the time required nominations from the international affiliate community and voting on by their board of directors.

I currently manage affiliate programs, coach companies, and in-house managers. I also managed an affiliate CPA network for a year in the past. I’ve been on all sides of the equation.

This guide is based on my experience and is intended to help you launch, grow, or remove stagnation from your affiliate program. It’s packed with pro tips to help you with attribution and answer your questions when something feels off, and you’re not getting explanations that sit right, like “It’s part of the customer journey or lifecycle.”

So, let’s start with a definition of an affiliate program because there is a lot of confusion between programs and networks. Then, we will go into the rest of part 1. Each part of the series gets more advanced, so if this is too easy, keep reading.

What Is An Affiliate Program?

An affiliate program is a marketing channel in which a company pays a third party on a revenue-sharing basis to promote its products, services, or offers.

The affiliate program is tracked via a software solution known as an affiliate or CPA network or through an analytics platform.

Now that we have a definition of what an affiliate program is, let’s get into the post.

This topic is split into three parts. Use the jump links below to navigate this post, and watch out for part 2!

Definitions

The jargon with affiliate programs can get confusing, the following is how we define each in this guide. Please note the wording can change based on the country and language.

For example, we say “affiliate program” in the USA, but in the UK, you may hear “affiliate scheme.” It’s the same thing.

• Affiliate (also known as a publisher) – The person, company, or entity that promotes a brand, service, or product on a performance basis.
• Affiliate network – A tracking platform that traditionally hosts ecommerce stores with multiple products, single or multiple lead forms for SAAS, service providers, aggregators, or services, and earns their money through override fees on transactions and annual software usage fees.
• Affiliate program (also known as scheme) – A store, service provider, or company and aggregator that pays other people, companies, or groups to promote their offering on a revenue-sharing or mixed payment model.
• CPA network – Similar to an affiliate network, but does single offers or multiple private offers for a long-form, lead form, or landing page type of deal. Instead of ecommerce stores and sites, you may find subscriptions, bundles, and other types of “deals” or “offers” vs. selling individual products or shopping experiences.
• Offer – Normally found on CPA networks, not affiliate networks, an offer is a commissionable service, bundle, or lead gen that pays a fee for a specific action, including downloads, form fills, and completed purchases.
• OPM (also known as affiliate management company, consultant, or affiliate marketing agency) – Stands for outsourced program management.
• Intent to purchase or convert – Commonly used to define where the person is in their customer journey. It is often confused with value-adding, they are not equal or one-in-the same. “High-intent to purchase” or “relevant traffic” can often be used to disguise financially damaging behaviors to the company if allowed in the affiliate program.
• FTC disclosures – These are advertising, endorsement, and relationship disclosures the FTC requires when promoting a product, service, brand, or app in order to receive some form of compensation. Click here and here to learn more.

Value add – The level of influence an affiliate click or interaction has on the decision to purchase:

• High value – Partners that introduce new users to the brand and have their own traffic. Without this partner, the brand would not gain exposure to the audience or have sales.
• Mid value – This touch point can be a review that helps convince a customer to convert or brings a customer back who either did not know the brand offered the product or service or forgot the brand existed.
• Low value – An interaction that likely would have occurred without the partner, but there was at least some level of influence. This could be reviews, some end-of-sale touchpoints, or mid-shopping interceptions.
• No value – When an affiliate has a touch point that does not influence the decision but takes a commission. This includes coupon codes that leak from influencers or partnerships, some end-of-sale and mid-sale touch points via browser extensions, and websites (including mass media) showing up for “your brand + coupons” in Google.

Now that you have the jargon, let’s jump into the guide.

Setting Goals And Expectations

The first step in launching or rebuilding an affiliate program is to set clear goals and expectations. Some companies do not care if their partners add value; they just need to show that there is a program and sales occur in it.

This is most common with large brands, inexperienced affiliate managers, and agencies that use a “set it and forget it” or “automated” strategy.

Other brands want customer acquisition, brand exposure, and new traffic sources so they can increase revenue and win back previous customers. It is up to you to define the goals for your company and program.

Side note: I’ve heard from C-level and marketing executives who say they do not care if the affiliates add value or not; they just want to keep the board or the C-suite happy. Other times, they need to spend their budget to keep their budget, so they turn their heads the other way, knowing their company is taking a loss. The network reps tell me similar things, and that is why low—and no-value partners will continue to thrive.

Based on the goals you set, you’ll be able to define what is needed in a platform and how to locate and recruit partners that meet your goals and see success with the channel. Proper affiliate platform selection is vital.

Not all platforms offer video creative or advanced HTML/JavaScript for advanced tools. Some have a great reputation in your niche but only do offers vs. ecommerce sales, so you won’t be able to grow or scale if you work with them and want traditional affiliates.

If compliance is important, not all networks give you direct access to the partners in your affiliate program, and some block referring URLs. This means you don’t know if your partners are making false claims, including medical claims, not following brand guidelines, or using advertising disclosures.

To pick a tracking platform for your affiliate program, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I want new customers or not?

Will I be ok with revenue losses if AOV (average order value) increases, and can I do a controlled test before I launch?

• This is a common talking point by voucher/coupon and loyalty browser extensions to get into programs. They will say allowing them to interact with customers already in the shopping process increases conversions or AOV.
• You must have an unbiased third party, which means no affiliate networks, affiliate managers, or affiliate agencies running the test. None of these groups is unbiased, as all are incentivized to allow these touchpoints.
• What types of creatives will I need to provide in order to achieve my goals?
• Am I okay with not being able to forecast profitability, as the entire channel is out of my control?
• Knowing this is a labor-intensive channel, can I dedicate the resources and take the financial loss during the first year or two to test its viability? Or will my time and money be better focused on PPC, social media, SEO, win-backs, co-marketing, offline advertising, etc…? If I don’t have the time, can I afford to take a loss on an agency for a year while they try it for me?
• What is the potential market opportunity, and have I tested the conversions from it? This refers to how much traffic is out there that you cannot reach on your own if your goal is a value-adding affiliate program.

Pro tip: Launching multiple networks because access to all affiliates is a bad idea 99.99% of the time. You’ll need to add custom logic code to your shopping cart to prevent paying out to multiple networks and to track all affiliate network clicks with a custom internal attribution system.

If you don’t have custom click attribution, the wrong network will get credit for the sale when two are involved, and you’ll end up choosing the wrong one to stick with. Don’t make this mistake as so many do.

Forecasting If An Affiliate Program Makes Sense Or Can Be Profitable

If all your affiliates are doing is intercepting your own traffic through browser extensions or by showing up in Google or Bing for your brand + coupons, you can forecast affiliate sales based on total site conversions.

These partners grow and fall as your own efforts grow and fall as your traffic falls because they are intercepting your own customers on your own website.

The more customers you have, the more they can intercept and the more they make. The less you have, the less they have to intercept and the less they make.

With that said, you can make a forecast for high-value affiliates that bring sales you would not have had on your own. This involves using data points from other channels. I’ll use non-review and non-coupon SEO affiliates for the example.

• Start by using Google’s Keyword Planner or a keyword estimator from your favorite SEO tool to find estimated search volumes.
• Combine the volume with your own data points for conversions. (For example, if you have a 5% conversion rate from PPC for the phrase “best blue tshirts” and there are 10,000 people searching each month, having affiliates show up for this phrase in SEO lets you forecast potential revenue if they send you the traffic.)
• Combine this with your other data points for a more complete opportunity, including social media influencers, YouTube, and co-marketing.

Here’s A Formula To Use For A Basic Affiliate Program Profitability Forecast

2,000 visitors at 5% conversions with an AOV of $50 = $5,000.

With a 10% commission, 20% network fee, and operating cost of $2 per order, your profit is $4,200 (there is a net cost of $800 in the example above).

Last, add in anything you pay your affiliate manager including bonuses and design costs for banners, etc…

If you pay your affiliate manager $2,000 per month, your revenue will be $2,200 per month or $26,400 per year. The customer acquisition cost (CAC) is amazing!

Bonus tip: Look at how many customers come back and purchase again. If you are not paying on the second or third sale but keep the touchpoint in your records, then each additional sale from this acquisition counts as revenue with a higher ROAS (return on ad spend).

In the situation above you may find that this affiliate traffic leads to a large LTV (lifetime value) customer, so maybe you take a loss on the first sale for the partners with a higher PLTV (predicted lifetime value).

You may lose on the first sale, but you don’t have to pay for that same customer multiple times, and the affiliate continues to send you more like them because your affiliates are being paid fairly.

Move On To Part Two: Types Of Affiliates & Onboarding

Now that you know what the terminology means, how to forecast profitability, and can set goals and expectations for your affiliate program, let’s look at the types of affiliates, the tools they’ll need, ways to activate them, and communications strategies in part two.

More resources: 

Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock