How to Convert Customers Into Loyal Affiliates

Bringing in new affiliates means opening up your business to an even larger pool of customers. Whether you’re new to affiliate marketing or a seasoned professional, finding people to promote your business is hard work, but it can definitely pay off in the long run.

If your business has existing customers, you already have a group of people you can look to as potential affiliates. Think about it: your customers already have experience with your online business, and they know the value your small business brings to the table. Why wouldn’t they be the ideal people to help you promote it?!

In this post, we'll give you a few tips on how to convert your customers to loyal and productive advocates in your affiliate marketing program.

Tip #1: Get The Word Out

The first step toward bringing current customers into your affiliate program is to let them know you have an affiliate program in the first place. Here are a few tips on how to promote the program to your customers:

1. Use Emails. Send emails out to your customers to let them know about the affiliate program and what they can get out of it if they join.
2. Promote on Social Media. Use your social media profiles to let your customers and other loyal followers know that they can become affiliate partners with your online business.
3. Incorporate Banners. Use banners on your website to emphasize your affiliate program, show people how to join, and show them the benefits of joining.
4. Blog Posts. Write blog posts to announce your affiliate program. You can also use your blog to explain how the program works. Include CTAs within the posts to entice customers to join.

Tip #2: Offer Plenty of Details

Another great way to persuade customers to join your affiliate program is to be completely transparent, and give plenty of details to help them make their decision.

Include information such as commission rate, the purpose behind your program, types of content affiliates will be expected to use, and requirements for the program: Do customers need a certain amount of followers? Do they need to have a certain social media platform? Will there be an approval process for them to join?

Tip #3: Offer Stellar Customer Service

When you start an online business, you quickly learn that customer service is vital to the success of the business. For many customers, great customer service is the factor that helps them decide whether or not to work with your company.

Not only will great customer service get customers on board in the first place, it'll also be another example for your affiliates to use when they refer your company to other customers.

Tip #4: Offer Freebies and Surprise Deals

It’s no secret that all consumers love discounts and free stuff! Customers who have not yet decided to make a purchase with your business are more likely to do so when a coupon is involved. And customers are more likely to make another purchase when a discount is involved.

Not only does this increase your business’ revenue, but it's another excellent way to get people talking about you and how awesome your business is. And that means more potential affiliates.

Tip #5: Personalize Your Business

There’s nothing more attractive to customers than a business that knows who they are. Consumers are naturally attracted to brands that offer a personalized feel and show that they genuinely care about their customers.

Recognizing special events, such as customer birthdays and business anniversaries, and including customers' names in emails are all excellent ways to add a personal touch.

Tip #6: Actively Ask for Feedback

You can’t read minds, so make sure you have methods in place to get feedback from your customers. Asking for testimonials, offering surveys, and having suggestion boxes are great ways to see what your customers have to say about your business and keep the lines of communication open.

And if your customers see that you are asking for feedback and acting on that feedback, they're more likely to stick with your business and want to tell others about it. 

Tip #7: Analyze the Data

The importance of analytics can't be emphasized enough. Any time a customer makes a purchase with your online business, you should have a system in place to see how they found your business, what pages were viewed, which products or services were purchased, and more.

You can use this information to understand the best ways to target and recruit customers. You can also use it to convert them into affiliate partners and help you improve your customers’ experience with your business.

Tip #8: Segment Your Lists

As your email list grows, you'll quickly find that you need segmented lists to serve different purposes in your business. You can create lists for subscribers by subscription level or purchase amount, or you can base lists on how often they interact with your customer support team.

You can use these lists to customize your messaging and cater to your customers on a more personal level, based on their interactions with your small business.

Tip #9: Reach Out

Last but not least, reach out to your customers personally. Watch for interactions with online mentions of your business, and make sure to engage.

Let’s say you wrote a blog post about your affiliate program and created a Click-to-Tweet link for your readers to share on social media. Any time a customer tweets that message out, be sure to like their Tweet and thank them. You can even encourage them to join your affiliate program.

Not only will they be impressed that your company actually noticed their Tweet, but they’ll be more likely to look into your affiliate program and join your team.

Gathering affiliates for your program requires some elbow grease, but it isn't impossible, especially when you already have customers actively participating in your business. We hope you'll keep these tips in mind and build an affiliate program that will take your business to new heights!

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