Affiliate marketing offers a unique chance to scale a business using nothing but a laptop and an internet connection, and eventually have the time and money to do whatever you want in life. Getting your campaign off the ground can be a challenge, but if you have the vision and the drive, then you can make it happen.
To help you supercharge your efforts, take a look at this quick 5 minute read so you can hear the tips the pros don’t want you to know about. Read them, apply them, and get busy taking your network global.
Get to know your local audiences better
What sells in one country won’t necessarily sell in another, that’s just common sense. Cultural barriers, consumer choices, and different tastes all combine to give each country and region its own sales profile. That said, the mechanisms by which you sell with an affiliate program are universally applicable.
This means that all you need to do is get to know your local audience, make the necessary adjustments, and really start growing your network.
Be honest: add disclaimers so you can build trust
If you want your campaign to go from strength, there are a number of best practices you need to follow from day one. As you get bigger and bigger, you’ll naturally come under more scrutiny. It’s easy to become complacent, and then to feel bitter when someone objects to something you’ve done. After all, you’ve put in all this work, who are they to criticize you?
Unfortunately, that attitude isn’t going to get you very far in the affiliate world. Something as simple as having disclaimers on your posts as standard will help create a reputation for honesty. As long as people feel you’re being upfront about what you’re promoting, they won’t mind you doing it.
Check the products and services are suitable to the local area
This one really ties in with the first, but it’s so important that it needs restating. If you want to sell, you need to ensure you have a captive audience. Look up sales figures, buying trends, and price points to check that what you’re doing is economically viable.
If you find that it’s not, don’t give up. The region you’re looking to expand into isn’t off limits, you just need to find a better product range to enter with.
Hire a professional so nothing is lost in translation
Online services like PickWriters allow you to search for expert translators so you can ensure that your content is properly localized. If you want to run an affiliate in China it’s no good only having text in English. Some people will read it, but hundreds of millions of people won’t. Take the time to localize every aspect of your content the right way, and it’ll be your revenue figures that reap the rewards before you know it.
Segment and localize your mailing lists
A key part of localization is realizing that you need to apply the process of mailing list segmentation in every region you expand into. Treating each of your regions as separate isn’t enough — you need to target and identify key demographics within each region.
This is where it gets a little tricky, because it’s not a given that the demographics in one region are going to translate straight across to those on the other side of the world. Keep things simple, and identify the people most likely to buy the things you and your affiliates are promoting. And once you find them, target them.
A/B testing works in any country around the world
Every affiliate program, big or small, should be making use of A/B testing. If you’ve never heard of it, you may know it by another name: split run testing.
It’s the commonsense approach of running two slightly different ads, seeing which one converts better, changing something again to find further improvement, and repeating the process over and over again. Stick at it, and you’ll be amazed at the difference you’ll see after half a dozen iterations.
Offer everything in the local currency
This is such a simple thing to do, but so many people don’t build it into their campaign from day one, and suffer endless headaches and lost sales as a result. If you were going to buy something, you would want to know how much it costs right?
Not how much it costs someone in another country, plus some virtually impossible to decipher conversion and shipping fees. If you want people to buy, just tell them how much it costs. It’s really that simple!
Build localized affiliate networks
Finding affiliates who will work with you who are from the countries and regions you’re targeting is essential. Engage them as much as you can, and make use of as much of that all-important local knowledge as possible. That way you’ll be able to make the subtle adjustments that will make huge changes to the success of your new venture. Just what you want when you’re working hard to grow your business.
Create Facebook groups to stay in touch with your affiliates
If you want to create a loyal affiliate network, you need to be open and approachable. Be readily available through chat windows and social media, and treat every question, query, and complaint just as seriously as you would if that person were standing in front of you in person. It’ll make such a difference to the morale of your network, trust us.
Provide a content pack to get new affiliates earning, fast
When you move into a new region and take on new affiliates, you need to train them. Some will be able to pick up what you give them and run with it, but most will have full-time jobs, and be in need of some direction. By creating a content pack of images, logos, links, and templates, you can bring them up to speed much quicker than answering questions on an ad hoc basis.
Network with experienced affiliates in new areas
No one says you can’t look to partner with successful affiliates in new areas. If you find someone who seems to know the region inside out, but works with different products, reach out and see if they would be interested in joining forces.
Ask your affiliates for conversion data
To optimize your campaigns; ask for data from your top affiliates. Which content, page, locations, devices or times are converting well?
If they can’t provide you with this conversion data, recommend them to use We Can Track.
Lead with a complimentary pitch where you’re offering mutual cooperation, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can build a new local network.
Create a global promotional calendar
When you want to manage a global affiliate program you need to have structure. A global calendar that everyone can see should be the basis for your content generation. From there you can have tabs that include local offshoots and sub calendars. Getting everyone on the same page right from the start will make the world of difference.
Final Thoughts
Be ambitious, be strategic, and be creative. These are the 3 things that will make all the difference as you look to take your efforts global. Don’t rush it, get everything in order, and give yourself a solid foundation on which you can continue to build as you go from strength to strength.
