Now that you’ve decided to start an affiliate marketing program for your business, you need to recruit the best affiliates to boost sales. But what does a good affiliate look like? How can you identify them, and once you do, how do you get them onboard? These are the questions we’ve set out to answer here.
Table of Contents
What is affiliate recruitment?
Who makes the best affiliates?
5 strategies to recruit top affiliates
Final thoughts
What is affiliate recruitment?
Affiliate recruitment is the process of finding, engaging, and onboarding new affiliates into your affiliate marketing program. It typically involves several steps:
- Identify potential affiliates and reach out to them to explain the benefits of your affiliate marketing program.
- Onboard the affiliates into your affiliate marketing program and provide them with marketing materials they can use for promotion.
- Build ongoing relationships with affiliates to keep them engaged, support them with any issues, and recognize and reward top-performing affiliates.
Many companies use an affiliate network or affiliate software to recruit new affiliates.
Who makes the best affiliates?
Before discussing recruitment strategies, let’s discuss who makes the best affiliates to help you consider the types of people your business may want to reach out to.
- Existing customers: Existing customers who are already satisfied with your products can be some of your most effective affiliates. Their genuine enthusiasm and firsthand experience make their recommendations highly authentic.
- Influencers: Influencers with a highly engaged audience are a great fit for endorsing products, as their audience trusts their opinion.
- Bloggers and content creators: Similar to influencers, bloggers and content creators have a dedicated audience that trusts their opinions, so they can be great partners. Bloggers with a dedicated readership can be especially helpful partners, as they likely understand SEO and can write an honest review of your product.
- Industry experts: Recommendations from industry experts are seen as trustworthy and credible and connect deeply with a specific audience. For example, a well-known chef endorsing kitchen gadgets could be a highly effective affiliate for a home goods store.
5 strategies to recruit top affiliates
Here are some strategies your business can use to recruit affiliates:
1. Share your affiliate program on your website
This may sound simple, but you’d be surprised at how many businesses don’t share information about their affiliate program on their website.
Here are some ways you can share on your website:
- A dedicated page on your website
- Banner or button on your homepage
- Footer links
- Landing page for specific campaigns
- Blog post (or even blog widget)
2. Email marketing
We already mentioned that existing customers can be some of the best affiliates, so reaching out to those customers directly is a great strategy for recruiting affiliates.
There are two major ways you can approach recruiting affiliates through email marketing:
- Specific email marketing campaigns that call for customers to learn about and engage with your affiliate program.
- Including information about your affiliate program at the bottom of emails to customers.
3. Promote your affiliate program
This one might seem obvious, too, but it’s important to let potential influencers know that your program exists. Take the time to consider where your top affiliates are and share promos and stories about your program on those platforms. Generally, this would be on social media; however, you could also consider paid ads.
Share content about your affiliate marketing program, how it works, its benefits, and success stories. Engage with your audience, and consider hosting a Q&A.
4. Reach out to influencers
Influencers can make great affiliates if their target audience and values align with your business, but an effective outreach strategy is critical to forming a positive working relationship.
Reaching out to influencers should be personalized, so before starting to draft any messaging, ensure that you take the time to do your research. Learn about the influencer, their values, and the type of content they post. This will help you gain a better understanding of the influencer and how your product fits their brand.
Some examples of personal touches to add to your outreach include:
- Influencers name
- Mention of specific pieces of content of theirs you enjoyed or resonated with
- Explain why you think your brands align and why your product would be a good fit for their audience
Next, clearly articulate the benefits of joining your affiliate program; this may include commission rates, exclusive offers, early access to new products, and other perks.
Finally, make it easy for them to join your program by providing clear instructions on how to get started.
What if they don’t respond? It is acceptable to follow up and reach out if you haven’t heard back from an influencer in a few weeks. Ensure the message is short and polite, and let them know they can ask questions.
Don’t reach out too often or quickly after your initial outreach.
5. Target competitor affiliates
Some of the best affiliates out there might already be affiliates for your competitors. There is no reason you can’t reach out to them directly, and oftentimes, affiliates will work with multiple companies.
Here are some tips for finding and reaching out to these influencers:
- Identify your competitors who have existing affiliate programs
- Identify affiliates who have created content about these competitors’s products
- Analyze the performance of these affiliates by considering their reach and engagement rates
- Determine what sets your affiliate marketing program apart from your competition
- Personalize your outreach
Remember, don’t say anything negative about your competition in the outreach; highlight the advantages and benefits of your program and/or emphasize how it could be a good addition to their current strategies.
Even if you aren’t able to bring over affiliates from your competitors initially, looking at what they’re doing well can help you build an effective recruitment strategy.
Final thoughts
Now, you’re ready to search for the best affiliates for your business. Remember to take your time to do your research before reaching out to affiliates, and ensure your messaging is personal.
Feel like an affiliate program might be a good fit for your business to help you manage your program and recruit top affiliates? Learn more about affiliate programs here.
