5 tips for lasting success with affiliates

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Affiliate marketing has long served as an important pillar of a balanced marketing mix for many companies. The following tips are helpful not only at the beginning of an affiliate program, but also for already established affiliate programs.



1. The three question marks: Which network? Agency? In-house?
Affiliate networks are available as private or public solutions. The former generally offers cost advantages and a more manageable publisher landscape, but a public solution is particularly helpful for those just getting started in affiliate marketing. Depending on the products/services to be promoted, specialized affiliate networks already exist, and you can also access a broader publisher portfolio and the network's support.

Whether you choose an experienced agency or an in-house solution naturally depends on your internal circumstances and the handling of other marketing channels. The advantage of an in-house affiliate program is often the more personal contact with partners and a more holistic view of all marketing activities and their interdependencies.



2. Commission structure
To get a more accurate picture of costs and target CPOs, it's always advisable to continuously benchmark against competitors in addition to internally set targets. Insights can be found on overview pages such as https://www.100partnerprogramme.de/ or through contacts at affiliate networks.

Instead of fixed CPOs across all partners, individual commission solutions should be implemented. Other cost models (e.g., CPC, CPL, or WKZ compensation) should also be considered to offer publishers a certain level of attractiveness.



3. Publisher portfolio
A major advantage of affiliate marketing is the option of partnering with partners who specialize in certain marketing disciplines (e.g., influencers, price comparison portals, retargeting, cashback sites, etc.). However, it's always best to maintain a balanced portfolio; in addition to cashback and voucher publishers, content-specific publishers should also contribute a certain share to overall performance. This diversification helps ensure a broadly positioned affiliate program.

In addition, mid- and long-tail publishers should be regularly analyzed, or potential publishers should be contacted by networks – is there untapped potential here that could add value to your own product marketing and strategy? Pre-defined test phases can be particularly helpful here. In consultation with these publishers, implementations/promotions can be tested to assess performance and expand your own publisher portfolio.



4. Data Data Data
In affiliate marketing (as in other online marketing disciplines), you need to be pakistan phone number data numbers-savvy. Ultimately, you need to keep an eye on all the key metrics, not just at the channel level but also at the partner level – proper monitoring is part of your daily business.

With a thorough KPI analysis, statements can be made about the value of publishers and, as a result, commission decisions can be made.

In addition to the still frequently used last-click analysis of marketing measures, customer journey insights should also be considered. Some networks now offer touchpoint analyses for this purpose. The problem here is that this is usually only an affiliate-internal analysis. While this is suitable for short-term analyses and approaches (e.g., regarding commissions for individual partners or touchpoints), the most important thing here remains a regular review of your own web analytics tool, which allows for a cross-channel evaluation of traffic.



5. “People’s Business”
While partner acquisition, retention, or reactivation in affiliate marketing can certainly be achieved through targeted incentives and attractive commission models, a long-term, successful partnership is built through a strong, personal relationship with partners. Instead of a "one-size-fits-all" approach, individualized support and optimization of affiliates is necessary in the long run. This also includes open and honest communication about strategies, goals, and changes to achieve overall improvement.