Step-by-step Guide to Implement Affiliate Program Into Your B2B Business

Affiliate marketing is a process when another brand, person, or site promotes products of other businesses. It is a great fit for both B2B and B2C. If you look at the statistics, you can tell that affiliate marketing is taking over the business. 38% of marketers believe that it is a top acquisition channel. Affiliate programs become as popular as email marketing

If you take into account all the benefits that affiliate marketing brings to the table, you will not be as surprised by such statistics. By using this marketing strategy, you can broaden your audience, boost your traffic in no time, and invest your money effectively. Moreover, it helps businesses to improve their brand image, gain customer loyalty, and build brand loyalty because consumers trust influencers or respectable sites, and consequently, they trust the brands that these information sources promote. 

In order to enjoy all the benefits, you have to go through three steps. In this article, we will discuss how to create an affiliate program for B2B with the help of these steps and you can gain valuable tips that we have included in each section. Sit back and see the affiliate marketing world unwrap in front of you.

Source: heficed.com

#1 Find a Proper Affiliate

Overall, it is not hard to set up an affiliate program. The main and the hardest task that will secure the success of your efforts is to find an acceptable affiliate. 

First things first, you have to choose the affiliates that reach out to your target audience. For example, you are the top UK graduate writer at a personal statement writing service and your target audience must refer somehow to university applicants. Do not try to promote UK offline services on US sites. Both you and your affiliate will gain nothing from this – it is nearly impossible to get customers in such a way and affiliates will not get any money from it which will prevent them from giving a shout-out to your business ever again. To analyze the audience of the chosen person or brand or ask them about it before the start of your program. You can find affiliates in the following aspects.

Analyzing Your Competitors

What sites do they use? Is there a way that you can beat them out of that site or are there any similar pages? 

A good example is the SEMrush affiliate program which initially started as an underdog to Ahrefs’s affiliate program. Fast forward a few years to today, SEMrush affiliate program is one of the most popular in the internet marketing industry, while Ahrefs have retired its partner program a few years ago.

Engaging Your Personal Network

You probably know quite a lot of people who work in your niche or who are interested in its benefits. You can even leverage social media networks to build your audience, many online entrepreneurs today use Instagram Affiliate Marketing to scale their income.

Reaching Out to Influencers

Many businesses are subscribed to influencers to get new ideas or tips. Why don’t you be the tip that other businesses can benefit from?

Becoming a Part of the Affiliate Community

Since the popularity of affiliate programs started to grow, new communities were created so it will be easier for you to find a perfect affiliate. 

We also recommend choosing highly-respected affiliates who have proven themselves to be trustworthy. Keep in mind that it is not as easy to get promos from such sources. You have to make them excited about what you have to offer. 

Source: digitalmarketingskill.com 

#2 Negotiate about Affiliate Programme Payment Model

It is a fact that affiliates are paid not for putting a promo on their website but for consumers’ interactions with the ads. The interaction range is quite vast, so choose among the next points:

Pay per Click

If a consumer clicks on the link, you have to get your money ready. However, this type of payment is quite rare since clicks do not mean any kind of conversion

Pay per Lead

Every time a customer sign-ups for the email newsletter fills out the forms initiating the chat or calls after they saw information about your services or products on the affiliate`s site, you have to pay. However, it is good to remember that lead does not mean sales. You can end up paying for the affiliate program and not getting any sales. It is still more secure than pay per click

Pay per Sale

After you make your sale based on your affiliate program, the affiliate gets the money. It is the most common payment system since you get a guaranteed profit out of it. 

#3 Track the Results

Even though affiliate programs are known result-payment schemes, it is good to compare how good those results are. It is especially important if you have many affiliates. Try to analyze whether some of them get you more sales and whether it is better to invest more in some especially successful affiliates and cut out floppy ones. If you see that some affiliate is not working at all, do not hesitate to start looking for other platforms. 

Conclusion

As you see, only three steps are between you and getting the amazing benefits of affiliate marketing. All you have to do is to find an affiliate, decide on what is important for your business, and keep an eye on the success (or the lack of it) of your programs.

If you start today, you will get a shiny reputation and a surprising increase in sales, while using less money. So what are you waiting for – start looking for affiliates now!

Jared Freen
 

Jared is a dynamic and driven journalist with a passion for uncovering the truth and sharing untold stories. With over a decade of experience reporting from the front lines of some of the world's most volatile regions, Jared has a reputation for fearlessly pursuing the facts, no matter how challenging or dangerous the situation.