Affiliate management provides scalability for affiliates, cohesion in marketing strategy, and brings execution to a brand’s vision. Since 2010, affiliate marketing has exploded into a multi-billion dollar industry due to reach $8.2 million by 2022, according to Statista. Further fueled by the Coronavirus and the upsurge of people trying affiliate marketing to make ends meet, it’s safe to say that affiliate marketing is at an all-time high.
Given the increased opportunity and rising competition within the industry, one service that makes sense to capitalize on is the influx of participants in affiliate marketing—all-around affiliate management (from A to Z). Today, we’ll dive into the pros and cons, FAQs, types of affiliates, roles of an affiliate management network, the definition of affiliate management, and the key traits that compose successful affiliate management companies.
Key Takeaways
- Affiliate marketing is projected to reach an industry value of $8.2 billion by 2022.
- Top, middle, and bottom funnels are the main type of affiliates.
- Recruitment, activation, policy, communication, and optimization are the pillars of affiliate management.
What is Affiliate Management Software?
Affiliate management software is a solution that helps affiliate managers and network operators manage affiliates, measure traffic, drive revenue, and optimize campaigns. More often than not, affiliate management companies provide their services in the form of software as a service (saas). For example, Getlinked.io is a scalable affiliate management service provider. While choosing an affiliate management solution depends on your business model, budget, and offers, these are fundamental tools that you should ensure your solution provides:
- Unique affiliate tracking links and codes.
- Affiliate performance tracking (volume, clicks, and conversions).
- Referral traffic source tracking.
- Fraud detection and strengthened log-ins (two-step, multi-factor authentication, or SSL).
Roles of an Affiliate Network Manager
One of the most challenging obstacles that affiliate networks face is scalability and autonomy within the business model. It’s just simple math. The more extensive your affiliate network, the more challenging it will become to stay up-to-date with the latest tasks efficiently. Outside of macro-management, network managers need to ensure that affiliate campaigns are being optimized, that campaigns are performing, and that analytics is being provided around the clock. Keeping your affiliates and clients happy is a core priority for affiliate management companies, which is why Getlinked.io supports in-house billing, custom invoice creation, and automated billing features – as the only angry affiliate is an unpaid one.
What Make Successful Affiliate Management Companies?
Solid Recruitment
Finding invaluable partners who bring real value to a brand and targeted audience is the foundation upon which startup affiliate management companies become wildly successful. Having an appropriate mix of bottom, top, and middle funnel affiliates committed to adding value to your targeted demographics and company mission tends to make the best long-term partners.
Activation
The ability for affiliate networks to grow and the speeds at which they grow tends to dictate whether an affiliate management startup will be successful or not. In a highly competitive industry that is expanding swiftly, with established veterans and new competitors, if you cannot scale and grow an affiliate network quickly, you need to consider delegating more (more on this below).
Policy
The most successful affiliate management companies reflect a sound cohesion between the company’s vision and work environment. Procedural policies are respected, based on principle, and valued. By ensuring that your company policies are being followed, you limit your network’s exposure to wrongdoing.
Communication
Affiliate management companies need to offer in-house communication through the network. At Getlinked.io, we support in-house messaging in real-time through a secured and private platform. In addition, some networks support in-house email, messenger chats, comments, and pipeline feeds, depending on your provider.
Optimization
Running an affiliate management brand is an endeavor that requires constant optimization. Some general optimization metrics to consider include increasing brand exposure, auditing commissions, recruiting, and networking.
Pros & Cons of Affiliate Management
Pros
- A multi-billion marketplace.
- Thousands of niches and opportunities.
- Can replace your IT, Finance, & Marketing departments.
Cons
- A highly competitive industry.
- Scalability can be challenging to achieve.
- Finding a reliable network can be difficult.
3 Types of Affiliate Management Approaches
- Delegate – Affiliate organizations, small and large, sometimes hire advertisers as marketing project managers. However, more often than not, advertisers lack the experience and expertise needed to groom an affiliate program objectively. This is why hiring a professional is key for growing, building, protecting, and optimizing your platform’s affiliate programs. That’s why at Getlinked.io, we operate as an extension of your business – as your success determines our success.
- Outsource – Also known as outsourced program management firms, OPMs are affiliate management agencies that provide affiliate program setup, affiliate onboarding, company compliance enforcing, affiliate program optimization, and competitive analysis. The core advantage of outsourcing is that it requires minimum training, less company capital (usually), and you don’t have to pay payroll taxes.
- Automate – Automated affiliate management is more of a set and forget about it type of approach. Optimization occurs on a routine basis, and collaboration between advertisers and program supporters (publishers) is minimum. While the minimum contact may appeal to some, it has more disadvantages, like limited or poor customer support services, unfair marketplace recognition, and little technology customizations (limiting the scope of your company).
The Types of Affiliates
Three types of affiliate marketers appear during different stages of a customer’s journey. Understanding which type of affiliates works for you and their content model is essential for creating long-lasting business.
Top-Funnel
Top-of-the-funnel affiliates are the most valuable affiliates for organizations because they provide a unique traffic source that shares interests with what an organization is involved in. Without TOF affiliates, it would be vastly more challenging to reach your target audience, and given the inherent advantages of top-funnel affiliates, they tend to be the best compensated.
Middle-Funnel
Middle funnel affiliates can provide a tremendous amount of value if given a little direction. They play a critical role in aiding consumers with valuable information about your company, product, or service.
Bottom-Funnel
Bottom funnel affiliates have minor responsibilities and pass through the network regularly. Most of the time, BOF affiliates used paid search to send traffic to their website, which means that they don’t have a loyal audience of like-minded readers but rather a semi-broad audience (depending on how much retargeting has taken place). Additionally, bottom-of-the-funnel affiliates provide access to tools and resources like coupon sites, browser extensions, and on-site activated mobile applications.
The Final Thought
Your success is largely influenced by the network you create. Surrounding yourself with experienced professionals who want the best for your vision, know their industries, and have the experience to back up their claims will help you bring the most of your brand possible. Recruiting top, middle, and bottom affiliates alike to support your network through various stages is where we can make onboarding seamless while our technology customizations and tools can help your program succeed.
FAQ
What is affiliate program management?
Affiliate program management aims to provide a marketplace to advertisers, publishers, and affiliates. This marketplace covers hundreds to thousands of niches (marketplaces) worldwide and operates in the heart of affiliate marketing, a multi-billion industry.
What is the best software for managing affiliates?
Here are the top 5 performing software affiliate management:
- Getlinked
- Capterra
- Impact
- PartnerStack
- iDevAffiliate
How can I use an affiliate network for management?
Affiliate networks are created to help program managers better market, maintain, and optimize their marketing campaigns. However, ensuring that your marketing efforts aren’t cannibalizing your budget and resources is where tried-and-true affiliate management solutions change the game. For instance, here, we provide the technology, resources, customer and IT support, platform customizations, in-house marketing and accounting capabilities, and more tools to help you build and grow your network.
Can using an affiliate management service help me reach my goals?
Without a doubt, although some service providers are better than others. Before joining an affiliate management service, consider which type of affiliate management approach is most optimal for your business needs. Consider the following:
- You are new to affiliate marketing and program management but have a great idea. Reach out to us at Getlinked, at we’ll consider your pitch. If we like your angle, we’ll provide you the technology, customizations, tools, resources, and know-how needed to build, grow, and optimize your next-level affiliate network.
- You are semi- or extremely competent with affiliate program management and are looking for minimum collaboration so you can focus on your program offers, recruitment, and network vision. As an extension of your business, Getlinked can provide you with an Expert Affiliate Program Manager to help you quickly scale and innovate your brand at large.
To hear more about the services we have to offer, connect with us!
How do I start an affiliate program?
At Getlinked, we provide you with the technology and all-in-one affiliate program management services needed to start, grow, optimize, and scale an affiliate program. So send us a pitch today!