3 Tips for Starting an Affiliate Marketing Program

Look After My Bills, an action-oriented energy bill comparison service, has been acquired twice in the last two years. The upward trajectory has been fueled by a couple noteworthy opportunities including an appearance on BBC’s Dragon’s Den, which tripled their customer base in just three months. 

When Everflow’s Zach Measures caught up with Sam Frost, Director of Marketing Strategy at Look After My Bills, Sam explained that it all started with affiliate marketing which continues to drive a significant portion of their success today.

Here are three takeaways for starting an affiliate marketing program:‍

Give yourself (and your peers) some credit! At the end of the day, affiliate marketing comes down to effectively managing relationships. With a couple of quality, dependable partnerships, you can find your groove in the market and refine the appeal of your offering to generate a flood of word-of-mouth referrals. The more direct relationships you bring into your business, the greater your opportunity to diversify your spend, while staying close to the traffic. All of this leads to bigger margins plus greater transparency and control.

Developing trust is a required stage of growing an affiliate relationship. Setting expectations in an affiliate partnership is critical, but you also must be willing to assume any risk is associated with your offer. However, there is no need to rush here. Move at a pace that works for your program, but remember that most affiliates are genuinely trying to earn your trust.‍

Develop a community-based mindset. Building a program that is truly mutually beneficial for you and your affiliates is crucial. Many performance marketers lose sight of what matters as their profits increase, but Sam reminds us that it’s important to share wealth appropriately in this space.‍

Hands-on, personable relationships are likely not going to fit inside a one-size-fits-all payout model, so consider your affiliates’ differences. Investing in quality media typically demands cash up-front, so consider being flexible with payment structures and customizing each arrangement in order to support your affiliates’ operations.‍

Set yourself up for success. Really think about the kinds of tools you’re going to need, and invest in a level of quality that will serve you and your affiliates well. Having the right tools in place allows you to reduce your workload so you can focus on things that support growth. And most importantly, be sure that support is available when you need it.

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If you’re interested in Look After My Bill’s affiliate program, feel free to reach out to Sam at sam@lookaftermybills.com.