Affiliate Growth Strategies

Affiliate marketing is a business model that is still strong and growing. If you’re an affiliate marketer and have a sound affiliate program, now isn’t the time to sit back and relax. Now is the time to focus on growth.

Here are five ideas on how to grow your affiliate program.

#1 Reward Affiliates Who Recruit New Top Performing Affiliates

If you don’t have a tiered affiliate program, consider adding one. This simple step will help you attract more top performing affiliates. Make sure you offer a good incentive to your current affiliates to recruit new ones. And of course make sure that all of your affiliates have the materials they need to promote your products or services.

#2 Hire an Affiliate Manager to Recruit New Affiliates

Consider taking the big step of hiring a recruiter. This person can contact people via social networking sites or email to provide the opportunity to them personally. It’s a great way to connect with top selling affiliates and to help sell your affiliate program.

#3 Join an Affiliate Directory

If you don’t already have your affiliate program listed with a directory or network, then consider adding it. A directory listing may cost money; however, it’s often the place where new and experienced affiliate marketers go to find new products, services and companies to represent. For example, you might join the Google Affiliate Network.

#4 Launch a Huge Promotional Campaign

One way to really grow your affiliate program is to reignite the excitement for your products or services with your existing affiliates. If you don’t have a new product or service on the horizon, then consider launching a new promotional offer for your affiliates.

For example, if you normally pay $10 per sale then consider doubling it for a week and pay $20 per sale. This will of course reduce your profits per sale. However, it will likely pay off in volume of sales and it will help motivate your affiliates to promote you.

#5 Place an Ad on Social Networking Sites

Facebook is a great place to advertise because it lets you target a highly specific audience. You can promote your affiliate program for a few short days and measure the results. You may find that a Facebook ad does more to help your affiliate program grow than any other tactic.

Finally, if you really want to grow your affiliate program, consider brainstorming a new product or service. Providing your existing affiliates with new promotions, products and services is a great way to get renewed interest in your company and to motivate sales.