This week we are taking a little time to talk all things affiliates.
What is an affiliate?
An affiliate is someone who promotes your course in exchange for a cut of the sale.
An affiliate has a unique tracking code, so that you can see who they have sent to your website and who has converted.
You could also use a special discount code at the checkout which also allows your to see which sales have come from which affiliates.
In return for promoting your services and driving traffic to your website, they get a cut of the sale.
In the online world, it’s not uncommon to see an affiliate commission of up to 50%.
In fact, if someone is selling a digital product, sometimes commisions go up to 90%.
That’s huge
I don’t recommend that for a course where you are going to be putting effort into supporting your students as it’s just not sustainable. If you are selling a digital product like a pdf download, and there is no effort from you then 90% is fine, but not when you need to support students throughout the process.
Should you use affiliates?
I see people create amazing courses and then think affiliates will do all of the sales for you. It’s not always the case.
Sure, you can sign up affiliates and they MAY do really well.
BUT
Don’t rely on just affiliates to sell your course. They are a great option for reaching a wider audience and building trust, but it’s not a complete solution.
Your affiliates may well be promoting other services,
YOu don’t know who is on their list, or how they engage their list.
So, if you are going to use affiliates as part of your sales strategy, consider the following points
You affiliate commission is beneficial for both you and your affiliate partner.
You want to make this win/win, so make sure you come up with an commission rate that suits you and your affiliates, so that you are both rewarded for the work and effort you put in.
I don’t have a “right” answer for how much commission you should offer… sorry, I’m not just going to give you a number. Really think about your profit margin, your expected sales, how much you want to make, and how well you want to reward your affiliates.
Be selective about your affiliate process.
You want to be careful about who is promoting your products and why
Consider that you only want affiliates who you would like to be associated with… they are spreading your brand and your message.
I see people gather as many affiliates as they can, figuring the more people promoting their stuff, the more sales they will get.
But what if that person isn’t really the kind of person you want talking about your stuff. What if their values and message don’t align with yours.
Affiliates are great, but to ensure you’re not damaging your brand in any way, you may want to be selective about your affiliate partners. Make sure that your affiliates are a good fit for your course.
Don’t rely on affiliates as your only marketing strategy.
While they can be a useful part of your strategy, it is important that you consider other avenues at the same time. You need a well rounded marketing and sales strategy.
Sure, affilaites may play a large part in this, but if you rely solely on them you are likely to be disappointed.
Make sure your strategy involves growing your own list and reaching out to your list. This way you have control over what you say and when you say it.
So, if you are planning on using affiliates to promote your course, make sure you get really clear on your strategy and commissions, before you get stuck in.
P.S
Here are some Affiliate plug-ins that you can look at using… (no, these are not affiliate links – just thought they might be helpful for you)
WP Affiliate Manager
Affiliate Royale (included with Memberpress, if you decide to build that way)
Affiliate WP