An affiliate program is nothing without good quality partners. You need to have affiliates driving traffic and referrals to your offer so that you can make sales and earn commissions. But the question is: how to get affiliates that sell your products?
You want people who are going to be passionate about your product or service and who will be able to reach a large audience. You also want people who are experts in your niche and can educate potential buyers. Here are seventeen strategies you can use to find affiliates.
1. How to get affiliates from your existing customer base
These customers are already familiar with your brand and product, so they should be relatively easy to convert into successful affiliates. You can reach out to them directly and offer them a commission on sales they generate.
Here are some tips for on how to recruit affiliates from your customer base:
- Use an email list or customer database to identify potential affiliates.
- Send a personal email or letter to each potential affiliate, explaining the benefits of joining your program.
- Offer a commission on sales generated, or a discount on future purchases.
- Make it easy for them to sign up by providing a link to your affiliate registration page.
2. List your program on online affiliate directories
There are a number of online directories that list affiliate programs. By submitting your program to these directories, you can reach a wider audience of potential affiliates.
Here are some tips for listing your program on affiliate directories:
- Choose the right directories. Make sure they are relevant to your industry and have a good reputation.
- Create a detailed program listing. Include all the information potential affiliates will need to know about your program, such as commission rates, terms, and conditions.
- Include a link to your affiliate registration page.
3. How to get affiliates from social media
Social media is a great way to connect with potential affiliates who might be interested in promoting your products or services. Try searching for relevant hashtags on Twitter or LinkedIn, or posting about your affiliate program on relevant industry forums.
When reaching out on social media, keep the following in mind:
- Personalize your messages as much as possible.
- Be clear about what you’re offering and what you expect in return.
- Make sure whomever you are targeting makes sense as an affiliate for your program.
4. Attend relevant trade shows and conferences
Trade shows and conferences can be great places to meet potential affiliates who are interested in promoting products or services in your industry. If you’re planning on attending any relevant events, be sure to bring information about your affiliate program to distribute to potential partners. You can also use this opportunity to network and build relationships with other industry professionals.
When attending trade shows and conferences, keep the following in mind:
- Make a list of the events you’re planning on attending beforehand.
- Do your research to find out which events would be most relevant for your business.
- Bring plenty of information about your affiliate program to distribute.
- Try to find out who might be in attendance that could make a great affiliate for your program. This can help you prepare for potential meetings in advance.
5. Connect with influencers in your industry
Influencers are individuals with a large following on social media or other online platforms. They can be an effective way to reach out to potential affiliates, as they already have an engaged audience that may be receptive to your message.
Don’t only reach out to large influencers. Micro-influencers, those with followers in the thousands, can actually be more effective. One study by Markerly found that micro-influencers have 22.2% engagement rates, while influencers with 1 million followers or more only have 4.69% engagement rates.
When connecting with influencers, you want to:
- Do your research to find relevant influencers in your industry. Not every influencer will be a good fit for your business.
- Reach out and introduce yourself and your business. Be clear about what you’re offering and what you expect in return.
- Offer incentives, such as exclusive discounts or product samples.
- Try to build long-term relationships. Influencers who have a strong relationship with a brand are more likely to promote that brand.
- Consider working with several influencers as it can help you reach a larger audience than working with just one.
6. How to recruit affiliates and content creators
Another great way to reach out to potential affiliates is by contacting bloggers and other online content creators who are relevant to your industry. For SaaS businesses, for example, you could reach out to tech bloggers and offer them a free trial of your product in exchange for a review.
As with influencers, don’t limit yourself to only contacting the biggest bloggers and content creators. Smaller bloggers and content creators can be just as effective, if not more so. That said, you still want to make sure they are reputable and knowledgeable.
7. Create an attractive affiliate program landing page
Your affiliate program landing page is the first thing potential affiliates will see when they learn about your program. Make sure it’s well-designed and provides all the information they need to make a decision about whether to join.
To ensure your landing page is attractive and does its job:
- Make sure the page is easy to find from your website. Include a link to it in your main navigation or in your footer.
- Including a clear and concise description of your affiliate program.
- Using engaging visuals, such as images, videos, or infographics.
- Making it easy to find the sign-up form and get additional information if needed
- Including testimonials from satisfied affiliates or customers.
8. How to get affiliates through partner webinars
Affiliate webinars are a great way to connect with potential affiliates and provide them with information about your program. They’re also an opportunity to build relationships and trust with potential partners.
If you decide to host a webinar, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Make them free to attend.
- Try to keep them under 60 minutes.
- Record them so they are available to those who can’t attend live.
- Include a Q&A session at the end of the webinar.
- Regularly update the information you present.
9. How to recruit affiliates through paid ads
The internet is incredibly crowded, not to mention competitive. As a result, sometimes the only way to get noticed is by paying for it. If you have the budget, consider using paid ads to drive traffic to your affiliate program landing page.
One advantage of using paid ads is that you can target a specific audience. Another is that paid ads tend to result in immediate results.
Of course, there are also some disadvantages to using paid ads. First, they can be expensive. Second, there’s always the risk that your ads will be clicked on by people who have no interest in what you’re selling, which can waste your money.
10. Use data from Google Analytics
Google Analytics can be a valuable tool for finding potential affiliates. You can use the data to identify websites that are sending traffic to your website and reach out to those individuals. You can also do this with tools like Semrush and Ahrefs. Besides checking your own traffic sources, check those of you competition. And see if you can find any potential affiliates there.
11. Consider influencer seeding
Influencer seeding involves sending your products or services to influencers in your industry in the hopes that they will promote it to their audience. This can be a great way to reach out to potential affiliates and introduce them to your products or services.
Influencer seeding can be pricey, but if you have the budget, it can be a great way to get your products or services in front of potential affiliates. Not sure how to find affiliates in your industry?
If you decide to try influencer seeding, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Choose influencers who have an engaged audience that would be interested in your products or services.
- Reach out to the influencer whose content shows that they regularly promote products or services.
- Don’t expect them to promote your products or services for free–be prepared to offer compensation.
- Find out if the influencer can work through your compensation model vs just working on influencer incentives (pay for product placement etc).
12. How to recruit affiliates through contests or giveaway
Contests and giveaways can be a great way to get people interested in your products or services. They can also be a great way to find potential affiliates.
To run a successful contest or giveaway, there are a few things you need to do:
- Choose a prize that would be of interest to your target audience.
- Make the entry requirements simple and easy to follow.
- Promote the contest or giveaway on your website and social media channels.
13. Check out the competition
Wondering how to get affiliates that work with your competitor? Keep an eye on your competition through tools like Semrush and Ahrefs to see who they’re working with. You can find a lot of competitors from other companies in your industry, so this can be a valuable exercise.
To find out who your competition is working with, do a Google search for “your industry + affiliate program.” Once you find a couple of companies, check out their websites to see if they have an affiliate program. If they do, take a look at backlinks through marketing tools and see if there are any affiliates that would be a good fit for your company.
14. How to get affiliates through an recruitment agency
There are a number of companies that specialize in recruiting affiliates for businesses. If you’re having trouble finding potential affiliates, you may want to consider hiring an affiliate marketing agency.
One advantage of using an affiliate recruitment agency is that they can help you find affiliates that are a good fit for your business. They’ll also be able to provide you with guidance on how to structure your affiliate program and what type of commissions to offer. At Partner Nova we are happy to help you make your affiliate program successfull.
14. Write guest blog posts on relevant websites
Guest blogging is a great way to reach out to new audiences and build relationships with potential affiliates. When writing guest blog posts, make sure to include a link to your affiliate program landing page in your author bio.
When choosing a website to guest blog for:
- Look for websites that are relevant to your industry.
- Make sure they have a high domain authority. You can use a tool like Moz’s Open Site Explorer to check this.
- Check out the website’s content to make sure it’s high-quality and well-written.
- Make sure the website allows guest bloggers to include a link to their website in their author bio.
15. Participate in relevant online forums
Online forums can be a great place to connect with potential affiliates who might be interested in promoting your products or services. Try to participate in relevant discussions and include a link to your affiliate program landing page in your signature.
Make sure the forums you join are relevant to your industry. You can find forums by doing a Google search for “your industry + forum.” Once you find a few forums that look promising, take a look around to see if there are any active discussions going on.
If you can’t find any relevant forums, you could also try joining a general marketing or business forum. These types of forums usually have a section where people can post their affiliate links.
16. Add an affiliate invitation link to your emails
If your company is sending out a lot of emails, why not include an affiliate invitation link? This is a great way to promote your affiliate program to a wide audience with very little effort.
17. Offer incentives to current affiliates to how to recruit others
If your program has been up and running for a while, you may o consider offering incentives to your current affiliates to get them to recruit new affiliates. For example, you could offer them a commission for each new affiliate they bring in, or a bonus if they reach a certain number of recruits.
You can find more tips on running an affiliate program in our Ultimate guide to starting an affiliate program for SaaS.
Conclusion
There are a number of strategies you can use to find potential affiliates for your affiliate program. The best strategy will depend on your industry, products, and target audience. Try out a few different strategies and see what works best for your business. You may be able to use multiple strategies to find the best affiliates for your program.
Once you have found affiliates you also want to activate them. Read our article on how to get affiliates to sell your products.