In today’s guide I show you how to promote your site with an interesting system: create an affiliate program.
Let’s start with the concept of conversion rate , i.e. the percentage of people who complete a purchase starting from a sales page.
According to several studies, the average conversion rate is 2.35%.
Basically, out of a hundred people who visit your sales page, at least two complete the purchase.
However, this percentage is only an average, a statistic, and you can certainly work to increase sales on your website in various ways, for example by improving your landing page, your own product or by developing targeted strategies and offers.
This is where i come into play affiliate programs: they are a great tool to increase the number of people who learn about your products.
If what you sell:
- it is of quality;
- responds to a real need or desire;
- is priced in line with how much people want to spend …
… through the affiliation you could be able to increase the visits on your page and above all to obtain a greater number of sales!
THE Affiliate programs are a great way to promote your site, even if it is a rather complex strategy. So let’s continue one step at a time.
What is an affiliate program
A affiliate program provides that you pay a commission to your affiliate (that is, to those who recommend your product) every time a customer buys thanks to his suggestion.
So, the system is actually very simple:
- an affiliate promotes your products;
- following that recommendation, purchases are made by users;
- for each purchase, you pay the affiliate a commission (either a fixed or a percentage of the sale).
This is the basic model. Commission rate and terms vary from program to program, but we’ll look at that later.
THE affiliate programsthey are extremely popular on the web. The benefits you can derive from it vary depending on many factors, for example, the type of products you sell.
You want to find out why create an affiliate programis an excellent idea? Then let’s go ahead!
Why create an affiliate program
As we saw in the introduction, the number of people who visit your site is important in generating a satisfying number of sales.
Create an affiliate program it allows you to make your business known to a larger number of users, quite quickly.
In fact, your affiliates have the same goal as you, and that is to sell your product. For this they will engage in promotional and advertising activities.
Not only that: a affiliate program it also allows you to extend your field of action to people who do not strictly fit into your niche, but who still have related interests.
For example, if you are a wedding photographer you could partner with a wedding dress atelier.
The main interest of the people who visit the atelier website is to buy a dress, but surely they could be interested in the services of a photographer for their wedding day.
Additionally, users receive a recommendation from a person they already follow and appreciate.
This is already a first guarantee on the quality of your product.
Finally, i affiliate programs they are a promotion strategy that has an excellent return on investment.
In the initial phase, you will undoubtedly have to invest time and some resources to create the structure.
Once the program is launched, however, you will only pay commissions for actual sales.
Therefore, you will not find yourself in the position of making an investment “in the dark”.
Things to consider before setting up an affiliate program
Are you ready for the challenge? Yes, because even iaffiliate programs present pitfalls and mistakes to avoid.
But here we are, don’t worry!
First of all, here are the precautions to be taken before starting.
Margins and commissions
First, think carefully about the cost of your product and the commission you will offer to affiliates.
In fact, you will need to make sure that you maintain a sufficient profit margin even on purchases made by customers who have arrived through a recommendation.
This is precisely why affiliate programs are particularly successful on the web and in the world of digital products (such as graphics, info products and WordPress themes).
In fact, digital products don’t cost per unit. Rather, those who sell them bear a cost only in the creation phase of the product.
In addition to minimal administrative costs, selling an ebook or selling ten thousand will cost the same for the writer.
In this case, the commission that can be offered to affiliates is very high.
I happened to see several times programs that offered commissions equal to 70/80% of the cost of the product offered.
In cases like these, affiliates will obviously be highly motivated to promote the site.
However, if you sell physical products, you will need to be very careful not to file your margin too much.
Duration of the program for new customers
You will also need to decide how long or how many purchases affiliates will be eligible to receive commission.
For example, you could offer a percentage of the sale only on the first purchase, on all purchases made by the customer in the first twelve months, or even forever!
Terms and conditions
The next step in creating a document where they are described terms and conditions of the affiliate program.
Here, include information on how affiliates will receive payments, where links to your site may be posted, what behaviors are prohibited and will therefore result in exclusion from the affiliate program, etc.
Contact potential affiliates
Create a list of the people you would like to collaborate with and contact them.
If, on the other hand, you receive spontaneous requests, carefully consider whether to accept them.
Obviously, the goal is to aim for more and more affiliates.
At the same time, however, the sites that promote your products should be of quality and in line with the image of your business.
So avoid offering exorbitant commissions so as to blurt out the link to your sales page on every corner of the web.
This type of trick will also help you avoid Google penalties due to incoming links from low-quality sites.
Get organized to handle administrative tasks
Before start the affiliate program, also think about whether you will be able to manage all the administrative tasks that will derive from it (the tools that I will present below will surely help you in this).
For example, you will need to approve payments to affiliates, offer them support, etc.
Test and collect product feedback
Finally, be sure to test the product repeatedly and, if possible, offer affiliates a free trial as well.
If they know it better, they will also know what are actually the characteristics that enhance it and therefore it will be easier for them to promote it.
At the same time, they can offer you valuable feedback. Plus, you won’t run the risk of working with affiliates who don’t really like what you sell.
Tools to implement the affiliate program
There are many software to create the structure that you will need for implement the affiliate program.
Broadly speaking, you will need a program that generates unique links for each affiliate and tracks traffic and conversions (for a period of time of your choice).
In this guide I propose two WordPress plugins, one premium and one free.
Both tools allow you to manage your affiliate program directly from the WordPress Dashboard, without having to rely on external sites.
1. AffiliateWP (Premium plugin)
AffiliateWP is a plugin developed by the same team of Easy Digital Downloads .
It is installed directly on WordPress and offers a complete platform for monitoring and managing affiliate links.
AffiliateWP allows you to create a screen for registering for the program, generate reports (also filtered by individual affiliate) and monitor traffic and conversions in real time.
In addition, even affiliates can independently access a screen with the report of their earnings.
AffiliateWP is translation-ready (i.e., it supports .po / .mo files to be translated into Italian) and is compatible with all major WordPress eCommerce plugins.
Among them: WooCommerce, JigoShop and, of course, Easy Digital Downloads.
This plugin is really great but it’s not free. Pricing starts at $ 99 annually for a single site (with support and updates).
Some features (for example, the “forever” commissions, which I mentioned earlier and the payment to affiliates via PayPal) are available as extensions only for those who subscribe to the Professional ($ 249) and Utimate ($ 499) plans.
2. Affiliates Manager (free plugin)
Affiliates Manager is a plugin that has gained some success in the industry.
It has many useful options and features for develop an affiliate program, between these:
- affiliates can register, generate their own unique url and monitor sales independently;
- allows you to have an unlimited number of affiliates;
- you can offer a commission with a fixed amount or a percentage;
- you can create custom banners and links;
- is compatible with many eCommerce tools, including WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads;
- you can pay all affiliates using PayPal, with a single click;
and many other features.
Maintain the affiliate program
Creating the structure for the program and entering into agreements with affiliates is only the first step in an effective affiliate program.
You will need to continuously monitor sales trends and keep an eye on whether your conversion rate (which we talked about at the beginning of the article) is actually increasing.
It is also useful to check which affiliates are that allow you to sell more and from which you are not getting great results.
Plus, you’ll want to make sure everyone has the right tools to best promote your product.
So here’s how you can manage affiliates and make sure you get the most out of their work.
First, always keep in touch with them.
You could create a list within your newsletter program, such as MailChimp.
Send them regular newsletters, in which you can include tips, product news, special offers, even dedicated and already perfectly configured banners that they can simply place on their website.
Also, offer them a dedicated support service: always be available to provide them with advice and answer their questions.
Finally, make sure all payments are processed correctly.
There is nothing worse than a affiliate program with non-working payments!
To get the most out of your affiliations, I suggest you sign up for the WordPress video course , the simple and practical course to learn how to use WordPress effortlessly and carry out your online business project.
Conclusion
We have reached the end of the guide: I hope you have found interesting ideas to promote your site.
Obviously, creating and managing an affiliate program takes work but, when put to use, it is definitely a really powerful marketing tool.
As usual, I pass the word to you:
Have you ever thought about using an affiliate program to promote your site and increase sales?
Do you think this would be a valid tool in your case?
Would you already have a list of affiliates in mind to work with?
