By Rachel
Although I wasn’t in charge of marketing my first product, I definitely understand the value of having a strong affiliate system in place. In fact, the affiliates drove the majority of sales for that first product.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, an affiliate is a person or company who ‘affiliates’ with another to sell products or services for commission. Many online marketers have affiliate programs in place, and these programs typically offer commissions of 25% to 40% of the unit price.
I was hesitant to institute such a program for my second product only because affiliate program software can be expensive. One well-known program is Infusionsoft, which costs about $300/month. The fee is a fraction of cost of other programs and it appears to have most of the same capabilities.
I put Amanda in charge of the affiliate program for this upcoming product. In the coming weeks, she’ll be reaching out to the 120 people I’ve selected as potential affiliate partners.
We are planning to offer a generous commission of 40% on all products sold by affiliates, with no cap on commissions. Affiliates will also receive the product free of charge after they’ve sold just one copy.
We plan to make the process “easy breezy” for our affiliates by sending pre-written email and letter templates, social media content, and resources for marketing the product with no fuss. If you have an interest in becoming an affiliate, please contact Amanda. We would be happy to answer any questions you have and/or get you set up!
Have you ever used or participated in an affiliate program? What can you share about your experience?
"Developing a Product" Blog Archive:
September 19: Lessons Learned from My First Self-Hosted Webinar
September 12: Brain Drain is in Content
September 5: Marketing & List Building
August 29: Marketing & Content
August 22: A Fun Ride
Many, many moons ago, I was an Amazon affiliate! I have no idea if they still do this, but it was probably in 1997 or 1998?
I am sure they do! It seems all internet companies institute affiliate systems anymore! Guess I'm actually behind the times just starting one nwo!!
Agreed. Affiliate programs can be a great way to extend your reach. The profit margins on "digital products" can be very high, so there's low risk in offering large commissions. They also have SEO value because of the back-linking opportunities they create.
I'm still finalizing my own site, but I've received good affiliate advice from some successful online entrepreneurs. Even though I haven't personally tested it yet, I'll share it as it's just plain common sense.
1) As an affiliate, be judicious and sincere about the products you promote. Promote only products and services you've used, believe in, and can endorse personally. Your reputation and credibility relies on it.
2) Promote products and services that are complementary to yours, or that add direct value to your audience. The internet is full of "Affiliate Marketers" who push anything and everything for a commission. You can't trust their recommendations.
3) When selecting affiliates, be very selective. Choose people you know who will represent your product / service as you would. Again, your credibility and reputation relies on it.
Finally, have you looked into ClickBank for an affiliate management system? It's seems to have a solid reputation among internet marketers.
No, I'm not a Click Bank affiliate 😉
Hey Marshall,
I hadn't considered the SEO-value, so good point there!
Thank you for the tips - these are very helpful!
I am aware of Click Bank, however, my current accounting software integrates best with Paypal. Although the fees are a little higher, I find a lot of other advantages of using them!
Rachel