Are you dating your affiliate network?
With so many affiliate networks, publishers now have a broader selection of companies to work with, more campaigns to choose from, lower margins, higher payouts, and faster payment terms. When presented with all of these choices, how do you decide which ones are right for your business? How does a publisher decide what makes an affiliate network unique? How many are ideal to work with?
One way to answer these questions is to “date” networks until you find the ones you are most comfortable with. Just like people, networks have personalities. They each have a unique brand, a distinct style of doing business, and a specific set of priorities. It is up to you to find the ones that best fit your business.
In addition to matching your company’s “soft” characteristics, think about your business needs. For example, what are your cash flow requirements? Can they be met by a network’s payment terms? Having open and honest dialogues about financial arrangements before you begin your relationship can prevent serious issues going forward.
Another key to publisher success is not just starting relationships with networks, but maintaining them. A “one-night stand” affiliate who strays away from the network to make a few more cents on a similar campaign is not appreciated. Networks prefer the opportunity to meet or exceed your expectations and want to be given the chance to do so. Loyal network/affiliate relationships are most often the ones that prosper in the end. For example, if a committed affiliate promotes an offer and the advertiser’s site goes down unexpectedly, the valued publisher will often be compensated for the lost revenue caused by the outage (even if it comes out of the network’s pocket).
In an ever changing and fast paced industry such as ours, publishers also need to consider factors beyond their control. For example, there will be a number of networks merging, being acquired, and going out of business. Although there is no magic way of knowing what company will do what or when, it’s important to keep up to date on industry trends and align yourself with companies you have confidence in.
It is also important to remember that for a relationship to work, it must go both ways. While publishers have the luxury of choosing among many networks, affiliate programs also have the opportunity to decide who they want to work with. Some recruitment strategies are broad, while others are more selective. Regardless of the network’s approach, all are trying to find synergistic relationships to value.
So, with all these choices and factors to balance, how many networks should you get involved with? “Date” as many affiliate networks as possible to start. Then narrow down your associations to as many as your business can handle. Continuing to “date” a select few will allow the relationships to develop, thus strengthening the communication that will afford you many opportunities to make money together.
To summarize, feeling good about who you are working with and being part of a community of like minded professionals will bring prosperity to all those that cooperate. Just like dating people, dating affiliate networks can get complicated and tricky. But, when you find the right affiliates and networks for your business it will be a wonderful experience that will make you feel great about the solid relationships that you have established. Here at Rextopia.com we take great pride in our business and cherish the partnerships we have made to date. We always welcome like professionals to join our ever growing family.
