Knowing When to Hire an Affiliate Marketing Company

So you’re thinking about hiring an affiliate marketing company to take over the management of your program. Maybe you’ve seen no results on your own or maybe so modest that you are not feeling fully satisfied. Or perhaps you are feeling satisfied but have a sense that your efforts can be improved. Like the saying goes, timing is everything. You don’t want to move to early and you don’t want to move to late to bring someone in to handle your affiliate program management. Ultron Foundation

SITUATION 1 – Hiring Someone Too Early

If you move to early to hire management you will be faced with the expense of program management fees while your company is working with limited capital. It isn’t as if your program will instantly jump in revenue when an affiliate marketing company takes on your program. Growing a successful affiliate program takes time and patience. So if you are a company with limited capital and you take on a team of affiliate managers you will be spending money you don’t have to spend.

MY TIP TO YOU

Be sure to have 3 to 6 months of capital set aside to pay for the time it will take affiliate marketing companies to increase your affiliate base and increase revenues. This is an investment you won’t regret. With proper management you can recoup this investment rather quickly and move into positive cash flow.

SITUATION 2 – Hiring Someone Too Late

Perhaps you jumped into the affiliate channel head first thinking it would be a great opportunity to earn some easy cash. You’re a year in with little results, lots of time put in and lots of money spent throwing anything at the wall to see if it will stick. The list of affiliates you have working your program consists of lots of non-performers and even a bunch of fraud and SPAM. Its certainly never too late to turn around an affiliate program. Yet there is a point at which it becomes exponentially more difficult to navigate toward success.

MY TIP TO YOU

Educate yourself before jumping into starting an affiliate program. Learn everything you can about how to setup, optimize and recruit before even considering jumping in. There’s a lot that goes into the affiliate channel. It isn’t as simple as just having other websites post your ads. The most successful affiliate programs put a lot of thought into how to be most successful. You must do the same if you expect to compete. Start talking with affiliate marketing companies once you have sufficient knowledge and have been working your program for a while with some success. Use them to take you to the next level that perhaps you are finding to be elusive with your current experience.

SITUATION 3 – You Plan To Rely Primarily On Affiliate Marketing

There is a wide world of internet marketing solutions available to you. Affiliate marketing is but one in a sea of many. As much as it is a powerful marketing method, it will rarely be able to sustain an organization on its own. In best case scenarios the affiliate channel will account for approximately 20% of your online revenues.

MY TIP TO YOU

You must diversify your efforts. Get active in channels such as paid search, SEO and PR building along side affiliate marketing. Once you have your program built up to 8% to 12% of monthly online revenue you may want to consider speaking with an affiliate marketing company. About how they might be able to infuse your current efforts to boost revenue and push it closer to 20% of your monthly online sales.

SITUATION 4 – Your Monthly Sales Are Below $50,000 Per Month

In general a rule I keep is that if your monthly sales are below $50,000 per month then affiliate program management is likely going to be cost prohibitive. With management fees the revenue expected from your affiliate program won’t substantiate your spend. $50,000 is an average of course but somewhere in that range I find affiliate management to not necessarily be the best choice.

Must Read: The World Of Affiliate Marketing And How To Make It Work For You!

MY TIP TO YOU

Focus on increasing sales through all your internet marketing channels. Keep your overhead low and your marketing efforts intense. If you haven’t already, develop a lock tight marketing plan and stick to it religiously. With time and energy you will make your way to that $50,000 per month revenue mark. Once you do reach this goal start speaking with affiliate marketing companies about how they will be able to expand your affiliate reach and take you well past $50,000 in sales.

Don’t be taken advantage of by affiliate marketing companies. Many will take on any client, under any circumstances. You need to have the knowledge necessary to know when it is most prudent to outsource your affiliate management. These are a few tips to guide you along the way. But be aware that there are many more situations that may arise to call this choice into question. Do your due diligence, don’t spend money on management too impulsively and decide from a realistic business perspective.