Choose an Affiliate Network / SaaS platform

Affiliate programs are set-up and run through what are known as Affiliate Networks, SaaS Platforms, or sometimes Partnership Management Platforms. These are technology platforms that serve a few important functions:

• They serve as a meeting ground, facilitating connections between brands and affiliate partners.

• They provide reliable, impartial tracking solutions to track affiliate activities, and allocate commissions accordingly.

• They manage the payment of commissions.

• They provide comprehensive reporting and insights into the affiliate partnerships channel.

Currently, 6 networks and platforms operate in Australia with dedicated local resources. These are Rakuten Advertising, Commission Factory (part of Awin), Awin, Partnerize, Impact.com, and Tradedoubler.
Other notable mentions include CJ, and AvantLink, who cater to Australia, but do not currently have offices here.

Each platform will have its own pros and cons. Suitability depends on your specific requirements and vertical. BlueGum works closely with all networks and platforms in the Australian market, and can help you decide.

Whilst it is possible to run affiliate programs outside of the affiliate networks, this is much harder to do, and only recommended for specific scenarios.

Decide how to manage your program

You’ll need a certain level of account management for your affiliate program, to make sure it’s a success. This includes everything from account administration, communicating with affiliate partners, recruitment of new partners, campaign management, and ongoing optimisation strategies.

There are 3 ways to do this:

• Through the Affiliate Network or SaaS platform.

Most traditional affiliate networks also provide account management at additional cost. You can expect a reasonable level of service, reflected in the chosen price plan.

SaaS platforms are usually more focused on providing the latest technology and tools to help self-manage affiliate programs. Therefore, they usually offer no, or limited account management services. However, this will vary between providers.

• In-house

You can choose run your program in-house, which usually comes with a basic level of technical support from the networks / SaaS platforms. Due to the complex and ever-evolving nature of the affiliate ecosystem, it’s advisable to only manage a program in-house if you have someone with expertise to do this, as well as dedicated resources for the channel.

• Through an agency

Agencies like BlueGum will provide a high level of program management, with a strong focus on recruitment, campaign planning & execution, and will strategically align with your overall business goals.

Engaging the services of an outsourced specialist agency not only ensures a profound depth of expertise but also entails the comprehensive management of every facet of the affiliate program. Certain generalist digital marketing agencies will also offer affiliate marketing management services as part of their suit of products.

Set-up the program

Once signed-up to an affiliate network / SaaS platform, you will generally go through a consultation and have someone assigned to help you through the setup process.

This consultation will go through several questions and settings that will be used to create the program on the network / SaaS platform.

Once the program has been created, you will be provided with a login, and instructions on how to create a profile to display to affiliate partners so that they can apply to work with you. This profile will include an introduction to the company, highlighting unique selling points, and reasons why affiliates should be working with you. You will also want to provide terms & conditions that affiliates should abide by when promoting your business.

Decide on your commission rates

One of the important decisions in your affiliate marketing strategy is what commission to pay out to affiliates for the sales that they refer.

Considerations on what your commission structure should be include benchmarking against competitors, examining margins, and channel KPIs such as Return on Investment.

A basic example would be to pay out 10% of the basket value, across a 30-day referral window.

Commission structures are rules-based, and a more dynamic structure is often recommended. For instance, an advertiser may wish to pay more, or less, depending on variables such as the product sold, customer type, whether a coupon code was used, or the value of the affiliate partner referring the sale.

A good rule of thumb is to make the commission rate competitive, whilst also ensuring you have enough leeway to increase commissions for your best affiliate partners, or for short term marketing campaign.

Integrate the Network / SaaS Platform Tracking

You will need to integrate network or SaaS platform tracking code, so that you can accurately track affiliate activity. This is almost always the biggest step in launching an affiliate program, so it’s worth dedicating technical resources to get this setup correctly as quickly as possible.

With the depreciation of 3rd party cookie tracking, it is strongly recommended that you implement the latest and most compliant versions of affiliate tracking available (first party tracking, Server-to-server tracking).

The network / SaaS platform and/or agency will go through rigorous testing to ensure that tracking is working correctly before launch.

Prepare Affiliate Resources

Affiliate Resources are the assets that affiliates need in order to promote your brand and products.

This includes things like text links, product feeds, banners, logos, coupon codes, offer information, etc.

Launch!

Once all of these steps have been completed, and the tracking has been tested, the program can launch! The program will be set as live on the affiliate network or SaaS platform, it will become visible in the network’s marketplace, and affiliates will be able to apply to join the program. Now the real work begins!