5 Ways to Improve Your Affiliate Relationships in 2013 by Rick Gardiner

Affiliate Management: 5 Ways To Improve Your Affiliate Relationships In 2013

Jan 4, 2013 at 11:53am ET by Rick Gardiner

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If you’ve researched affiliate management and the factors that contribute to a successful affiliate marketing program, you’ve likely read that the relationship is a key component. Like any relationship, you need to start somewhere. Sometimes, you are starting from scratch; other times, you may have a pre-existing relationship that you can build upon and make better.

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If you’re managing your affiliate program in-house and you don’t have much affiliate management experience, you may find yourself in a “first date” situation with your affiliate partners. Like any first date, things can get awkward if you misstep or don’t know how to interact with your affiliate partners.
If your company has retained an Affiliate Management Agency, you can let the agency take the lead to ensure you’re getting started on the right foot and doing things the right way. Regardless of your affiliate situation, I wanted to share some ideas around how you can improve your affiliate relations in 2013.

1. Understand An Affiliate’s Preferred Communication Method & Availability

Many times your affiliates may have a day job or other responsibilities that they need to attend to during the day when they are not available to take a phone call or exchange emails.
While your goal as an affiliate manager should be to help your affiliates earn enough commission to allow them to be a full-time affiliate marketer, you also need to recognize and understand their current situation and communication preferences.
If your affiliate has a 9 to 5 job, understand that they’re likely easier to communicate with via email, and their response is likely going to come late at night or early in the morning. It’s important to respect their communication preferences and the best time(s) to reach them. If you can’t figure it out by how and when they respond to your correspondences, just ask.

To Learn More about Affiliate Marketing go to http://infouneed2know.comAffiliate-Marketing