As the affiliate marketing space has its time to shine, brands are increasingly investing in the channel. However, being both time-consuming and challenging, more brands search for expertise outside of their in-house marketing team regarding affiliate marketing. If you’re at a stage where you’re looking to partner with an agency or a freelancer, you may be feeling overwhelmed with the options available to you, particularly if affiliate marketing is a relatively new concept to you.
In this blog, we will share our top tips on choosing an affiliate marketing agency that will deliver consistently good results and a healthy return on investment.
Key Considerations When Choosing An Affiliate Marketing Agency
Overpromise, underperform
While affiliate marketing offers low risks and high rewards, you should approach any agencies promising you instant results with caution. While it doesn’t take long for a program to begin generating a positive return on investment, it doesn’t happen overnight. Realistically, you should expect it to take around three to six months to see solid, consistent results from your affiliate program.
Existing partners and contacts
Affiliate marketing is all about relationships. Therefore, when you’re selecting an affiliate marketing agency, one of the key considerations should be the network they already have in place. From affiliate platforms they work with to specialist partners and influencers, an affiliate agency that has a broad and loyal network is worth its weight in gold.
Dedicated account manager
Granted, once you’ve successfully launched an affiliate program, you can switch to “auto-pilot” mode, doing just the bare minimum and still garner results month on month. However, doing this will prevent your program from growing. As mentioned, affiliate marketing is centred around relationships, and you’ll want a dedicated account manager in place to nurture them.
Reporting
While some forms of marketing aren’t always quantifiable, affiliate marketing is. Therefore, you’ll want to partner with an agency that offers regular reporting, at least monthly, along with access to a live dashboard so you can see results in real-time. If an agency cannot provide comprehensive reporting, see this as a major red flag.
Ongoing optimisation
In addition to having a dedicated account manager and regular reporting, you’ll want an agency dedicated to optimising your program at every opportunity. Before signing with an agency or freelancer, quiz them on how often share new opportunities and potential partnerships. With tens of thousands of affiliate publishers at your fingertips, you want an agency utilising them as much as possible.
Case studies and client retention
As mentioned, affiliate marketing is quantifiable. So, an agency or freelancer should be able to provide plenty of case studies from previous projects. Case studies should showcase sales figures, ROI, partnerships and more.
In addition to case studies, you should also consider client retention before signing on the dotted line. We’re proud to have achieved a 96% client retention rate at Conversion, and you shouldn’t settle for anything less.
Be prepared to pay for quality
The average ROI for our clients is 900%, a figure that is often significantly higher than other marketing channels. With affiliate marketing being a low-risk, high-reward strategy, you should expect to pay well for the results you’ll soon see. If an agency or freelancer is offering prices that seem too good to be true, they likely are. Remember, in addition to paying for the hours taken to manage your program effectively; you’re also investing in software, experience and those golden ticket contacts.
If affiliate marketing is relatively new to you, our blog is filled with advice, industry tips and more – check it out here. In addition, if you’re keen to discuss working with Conversion Digital on your affiliate strategy, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. While we may be a little biased, we’re the type of agency you can trust to generate real, long-lasting results.