Identifying The 5 Gaps In Your Affiliate Marketing Strategy

Since 2017, there has been a 52% increase in affiliate marketing spend in the United States, and the channel’s consistent growth is not forecasted to slow down anytime soon. If you’re looking to establish or grow your affiliate program, there are many key factors to consider. With the constant innovation of affiliate marketing, brands need to keep up with trends and changes in the marketplace.

Don’t get caught wondering if your brand’s affiliate program is being left in the dust – read on to discover the five gaps that may be leaving your affiliate program open to suspicious traffic, lost ROI, and unproductive partnerships.

1. You Haven’t Defined Clear Goals

Your affiliate marketing program needs clearly defined goals to guide your strategy. Knowing what you want to achieve is easy, but you need to know what to do to get there. Defining your affiliate program’s goals will help you develop actionable campaign strategies by determining attainable KPIs. Be specific, time-oriented, and data-driven. For example, your goal for your program is to earn more money, but how much more money? And why? When? How will you earn more money? Are there promotions you can offer consumers to entice them to engage more with your brand? Share the specific goals you establish with your affiliate partners and publishers to provide greater visibility and help them define goals for their traffic as well.

Interested in learning more about the potential ROAS you could be earning when starting an affiliate program? Craig McGlynn, EVP and Managing Director of Agency, shares his knowledge on how you can navigate the affiliate channel – check out Episode Two of the series!

2. You Aren’t Building Relationships With Your Affiliates

Your affiliates are an important part of your brand. They spend time sharing your promotions and bringing you new, qualified customers. Affiliates require the assets necessary to help them drive sales and conversions for your business; without these assets, you cannot expect them to be successful on your behalf. Provide them with your promotional calendars, various creatives, and marketing compliance guidelines to make sure they can promote your brand properly. If there are any changes to your brand or affiliate program, make sure your affiliate partners are kept in the loop so that they are promoting the most up-to-date information about your brand.

3. You’re Not Prepared to Combat Fraud

With ad fraud looming while promoting your brand digitally, it’s imperative to have a strong focus on marketing compliance. You’ll want to ensure you’re consistently monitoring your affiliate program for any suspicious activity – it requires 24/7 monitoring. Consider partnering with a trusted network or affiliate marketing agency, such as Perform^[cb], who prioritizes brand safety and employs a dedicated in-house compliance team. Learn more about how you can enforce your marketing compliance guidelines to improve your program’s brand safety in the affiliate channel.

4. Your Affiliate Portfolio is Too Limited

Marketers don’t want to pigeonhole themselves by only focusing on partnerships in one level of the buyer’s funnel. Limiting your partner portfolio keeps you from maximizing your conversions and sales since your brand won’t be reaching as many interested consumers as it could be. Utilizing a full-funnel strategy for your affiliate program will provide you with a broader stream of revenue. Branch out and expand your reach – try teaming up with deal and coupon publishers, content partners, and review sites to ensure your program is present throughout each step of the buyer’s journey.

Craig McGlynn, EVP and Managing Director of Agency, dives into the importance of maintaining a full-funnel approach and the channels marketers should have their eyes on – check out Episode One of the series!

5. You’re Leaving Money on The Table

If you aren’t leaning on industry experts to help you scale your affiliate program, then you may be leaving money on the table and missing out on ROI. Don’t get lumped into the 72% of marketers who feel “slightly” or “mostly” in the dark about their campaign performance. Partner with a network or affiliate agency that is equipped with an experienced account management team, like Perform^[cb]’s customer acquisition experts. Take advantage of a team of seasoned affiliate marketing professionals on your side to help guide your program and optimize your campaigns while tapping into their already established affiliate relationships. Learn more about the benefits of a full-service affiliate marketing agency here.

Does Your Affiliate Program Have These Gaps?

Not every affiliate program is built the same, and your program needs a strategy that is custom-built to achieve your marketing goals. Partnering with a network or affiliate marketing agency can help you develop an affiliate strategy that avoids these gaps while also maximizing your ROI.

Do any of these gaps sound familiar to your program? Reach out to Perform^[cb]’s team of affiliate marketing experts for a free program audit to see how you can improve your program’s performance now.

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