Affiliate Networks can be a great marketing channel if you work it right. Here are some tips to help you out.

Manual Approval

Most affiliate networks give you the ability to automatically approve anyone who applies to your network. While this may save you loads of time, it is better to be safe than sorry and manually approve/deny each application. This will save you from dealing with fraudulent publishers later on.

Communication

It is your responsibility to sell youself and your program to the affiliates. They get hundreds of emails a day and have no clue who who are. You will want to communicate clearly why they should advertise your brand. Once they join your program, it is a good idea to email them updates about your program on a monthly basis.

Data Feed

If you are an ecommere site and have product to sell it is a good idea to utilize a datafeed. Most affiliate programs offer use of a datafeed, some charge a setup feed, in any case it is generally worth it. This gives your affiliates the ability to use your data how they need.

Clear Policies

It is extremely important to have clear program guidelines so that you don’t run into any issues with your publishers. For example it may or may not be in your best interests to allows publishers to advertise your brand name in Google and traffic directly to your site. Whatever your views on such a scenario should be clearly explained in the policies of your program.

Coupon Codes

Coupon code sites are a big part of affiliate marketing. These sites essentially gather coupon codes from all ecommerce sites and advertise coupon codes in conjunction with your brand. If you have the ability you should create exclusive coupon codes for a lot of these coupon sites.

Bottom Line

Keep your offering fresh and make sure that you are giving the publishers the tools they need to work with. Communication is key to your success and have patience while your program builds up.