Last Updated: October 2024
Affiliate Marketing has become one of the prominent channels to leverage the sales and revenue of businesses worldwide, and understanding how to find affiliate marketers is crucial for expanding reach and driving success in this field. In fact, around 65% of merchants (globally) reveal the size of their annual revenue ranges from 5% to 20% through affiliate marketing.
Even though developing the right affiliate program for your business is crucial, finding the best affiliate marketers for your program is the key. Because they will be the ones to promote or advocate for your products and benefit financially from you. However, finding the right affiliates for your business can be quite tricky. No need to worry! This post is intended to give you insights into:
How to Attract Affiliates To Your Program?
Before digging into ways to find affiliate marketers for your program, let’s analyze “Is your affiliate marketing program good enough to attract affiliates?” There are certain criteria that every affiliate will look into before joining you. What are they? Let us have a quick look:
- “Long” Cookie Duration – Each affiliate will be offered a unique link with a cookie duration. Only when the customer makes a purchase through the link, the affiliate gets the commission. It is the cookie that tracks the purchase. So, you have to make sure the length of the cookie has enough duration and it does not expire too soon. For best results, the cookie duration should be in a range of 30-90 days.
- Attractive Commission Structure – Low commission rates can drive away affiliates. However, as per studies, on average, the commission structure is provided in a range of 5% – 30%. But, your commission should be within a range of 25% to 30%for better conversion rates. In addition to this, you can offer bonuses and rewards for affiliates who deliver you better results.
- “Multiple” Payment Options – Rather than sticking to single payment methods, to make your program affiliate-friendly, provide them with multiple payment options such as PayPal, prepaid debit cards, gift cards, checks, or direct deposit bank transfer payments.
An ideal example of an affiliate program is Systeme.io. They offer a range of services in automation such as building sales funnels, sending unlimited emails, creating and managing online courses and blogs, running affiliate programs, and building websites. Additionally, they offer a cookie duration of 180 days. The commission structure is 40% recurring. Furthermore, they also provide a 5% commission if referrals earn through the referral program.
If you need help creating a good affiliate program (referral program), read our post about 10 Effective Ecommerce Referral Marketing Strategies in 2024 and carefully look through the examples provided.
Now that you have got an idea regarding how to attract affiliates to your business, let’s dive into details of how and where to find affiliates for your business:
9 Ways To Find Affiliate Marketers For Your Business:
- Leverage Your Website
- Make Use Of Social Media
- Turn Customers Into Affiliates
- Make Use Of Google Keywords
- Sign Up With An Affiliate Agency
- Hire An Affiliate Manager
- Make Use Of SEO Tools
- Join Affiliate Networks
- Publish Ads
1. Leverage Your Website
If you’re wondering where to find affiliate marketers, indeed, your website is the most reliable and in-hand tool you can use to connect with potential affiliates. Those who are interested in your products may also have an inclination to promote you. So the chances of getting affiliates are also quite high.
However, even though 83% of consumers are willing to refer to a brand after a positive experience, only 29% actually do. So, how do we close this gap? Making your website more user-friendly so that customers can easily share it with their friends and family is one solution you can rely on.
Now, let’s see how to find affiliates through your website:
How does it work?
- Provide a link – Always make sure your website has a link to your affiliate program, and that too, is in a significant position on the home page. There is no use in having an affiliate program that is hard to find.
- Separate Landing Page– Make sure to create a unique landing page for your affiliate program with all the details like the commission provided, sign-up forms, payment options, and most importantly, a link for easy signup. Furthermore, here is an example of the landing page of the “Amazon Affiliate Program” with all the details we mentioned above:
- Publish ‘How to’ blogs – It is an informative way for getting the attention of affiliates. Additionally, they will always be interested in knowing ‘ How to start as an affiliate? How to earn from the affiliate program? How to maximize earnings from affiliate programs?’ etc. So, make use of their curiosity and drive them towards your affiliate program. You can also make use of 5 Expert Tips to Increase Your Blog’s Traffic and thereby attract more affiliate marketers through your blog.
Now, let’s go through the pros and cons of choosing this method to attract affiliate marketers.
.
Reasons To Opt To | Reasons Not To Opt to |
Attract people who are naturally interested in your products & services. | Not a good idea if web traffic is low. |
It is a cost-effective method since you already have a website and data of your customers. | Additional promotions may be needed, which can result in high expenses. |
Organically generated results. | Quality leads cannot be guaranteed. |
2. Make Use Of Social Media
With a surge in social media users and its influencers, finding affiliate marketers can feel like a walk in the park. As per data, 78% of U.S. online consumers’ purchase decisions are influenced by the posts of the brands they follow on social media. You can also rely on influencers to promote your brand. The influencers can join as affiliates, provided that they and your business share similar niche interests. For example, if you are selling a beauty product, an influencer who is into fashion and related stuff can help you generate sales by suggesting your products to their audience. This will definitely give you leads because 49% of people say that they rely on influencer recommendations.
Let’s see how to find affiliate marketers to promote your product on each platform:
How does it work?
- Instagram – You may have seen the influencers with the bio “DM for promotions”. That’s exactly what you have to do. Message them and ask for a paid partnership. But the question is how to get affiliates for your product? Every influencer out there may not be suitable for your business, right? So, narrow down your options to the ones with the niche you need. For example, if your business is related to cosmetics, search using specific hashtags – #beautyproducts, #makeup, etc. When you have a handful of options, reach out to the ones with an audience willing to try the products they suggest.
Below given is an example of Erica Ligenza, a famous fashion and beauty influencer promoting Colleen Rothschild Beauty to her 90000+ followers.
To know more about the benefits of Influencer marketing, have a look at our blog on 10 Reasons Why Influencer Marketing is Important For Your Business in 2024.
- Facebook – Facebook has a lot of product-oriented and affiliate-oriented groups. There, you could find affiliate marketers suitable for your business. Reach out to them and welcome them to join your affiliate program. This way, you could build a relationship with them. For example, if your business is related to shoes, the possible groups you may find on Facebook would be like this:
Join the groups you find relevant and keep an eye on the influencers who might join as an affiliate with you.
- Twitter – Searching for affiliate marketers on Twitter is based on keywords and keyword phrases. You can search using the words and keywords that are related to your business. From the search results, you will get a bunch of people. The next step is to reach out to them and ask them to join your affiliate program. This method is of high relevance because, when it comes to your sales, 40% of Twitter users say that they bought a product based on a tweet.
Now, let’s see the pros and cons of choosing this method for finding affiliate marketers:
Reasons To Opt To | Reasons Not To Opt to |
High relevance since the prospective affiliates of a similar niche may be interested in your product | Time-consuming. |
Cost-effective | Unable to use tracking links as the reach is often measured through comments and shares. |
Ideal for gaining niche affiliates. | Have to contact a lot to receive lower replies. |
3. Turn Customers Into Affiliates
Your regular customer may always love to advocate for you. They are the people who are impressed with your products and services. So, if you turn them into your affiliates, they will share your business with their friends and family. In fact, 77% of consumers are more likely to buy a new product when learning about it from friends or family.
The commission or incentives you provide for them will be seen as a reward for their loyalty. Moreover, 75% of consumers say they favor companies that offer rewards. In addition to that, their opinion is always valued high since they have a personal experience with you.
Let’s see how to find affiliate marketers from your customer database:
How does it work?
- Email – You may already have the details of your regular customers in your database. Why not use them to share with them the details of your affiliate program? Since they are already impressed with your services, there is a high chance that they will encourage others to try them. Send an email, welcoming them to join your affiliate program as affiliate marketers. Always add a personal touch and enlighten them about the policies and rewards of your affiliate program.
- Phone Calls – Make direct contact with your most trusted customers. Initially, thank them for choosing you and say that you have contacted them to inform something that would benefit them. You can then share the details of your affiliate program in a friendly manner.
Now, let us move on to the pros and cons of choosing this method to find affiliate marketers for your business.
Reasons To Opt To | Reasons Not To Opt to |
A lot of time can be saved as the contact details are in your database. | Have to provide basic details about affiliating as many customers may be new to this field. |
Cost-effective | Have to study the customer behavior before reaching out to them. |
No need of explaining the products to the affiliates as they already know you. | Quality leads cannot be guaranteed. |
4. Make use of Google Keywords
Google is always a one-stop solution for many of your business needs. You can find affiliate marketers for your business by simply typing in and searching for the keywords relevant to your business.
Let’s see how to find affiliate marketers through Google keywords:
How does it work?
- Relevant keywords – Try typing in the keywords that have a connection with your business. For example, if you are selling pet foods, try searching for “pet shop, pet supplies, nutrition for pets, veterinary dieticians near me, local pet shops”, etc. From the search results, filter the sites that may be interested in teaming up with your business. Complementary businesses of similar niches are a good source for recommending your business to their customers.
- Contacting the prospective affiliate – After finding the person or business suitable for your niche, the next step is to contact them. From the above example, if you sell pet foods and you come across the profile of a veterinary dietician near you, reach out to him and ask if they are interested in partnering with you. Moreover, always be clear regarding the commissions and rewards offered. Consequently, in such cases, it would be beneficial if you try to create a professional relationship with them.
Have a look at the pros and cons of opting for this method for finding affiliate marketers for your business:
Reasons To Opt To | Reasons Not To Opt to |
Helps to get in touch with businesses related to you. | It is quite struggling to find handle reach and contact details. |
Cost-effective | You will need to contact a number of people and only a few may actually show interest in affiliating with you. |
Highly relevant | Time has to be invested in brainstorming keywords. |
5. Sign Up With An Affiliate Agency
Don’t have much time to invest in finding affiliate marketers for your business? With enough funding, teaming up with an Affiliate Agency is the better option for you then. These agencies will do the legwork of hiring affiliates and making your affiliate program a hit by running all the campaigns and related events for you. Let’s see how it is done:
How does it work?
- Get Access To A Large Network – Affiliate Marketing Agencies have established relationships with influencers, brands, ambassadors, and publishers, in a variety of niches. So, you don’t have to worry about establishing a personal relationship with them. The agency will do this on your behalf.
- Takes Care Of Legal Matters – If you hire an Affiliate Marketing Agency, not only will setting up the affiliate agreements, commission structures, and legal obligations be taken care of by their experts.
Examples of some result-oriented Affiliate agencies are OAK Digital, PartnerCentric, Daisycon, Hamster Garage, and Grovia. Below given is the home page of PartnerCentric:
The homepage clearly highlights the services they offer , including influential partnerships, a rapid onboarding process, and the analytics they offer.
Now, have a look at the pros and cons of choosing this method:
Reasons To Opt To | Reasons Not To Opt to |
---|---|
Gives you access to expert opinions and strategies. | Less control over choosing affiliates. |
A large number of affiliates with less effort. | Can be costly. |
Easy to monitor. | Less relevancy. |
6. Hire An Affiliate Manager
Most businesses give the responsibility of their affiliate marketing to their Marketing head. But, since they have a lot of responsibilities to deal with, there are chances that affiliate marketing can get sidetracked. If you hire an Affiliate Manager who has a thorough knowledge of your niche and has connections with affiliates, consequently, you can achieve high conversion rates.
Let’s take a look at how an affiliate manager can assist you if you’re looking for affiliates:
How Does It Work?
- Wholesome Expert Support– An Affiliate Marketing Manager can help not only with finding the right affiliates for you but also with other duties related to it.
Have a look at the following illustration of how affiliate managers can be beneficial to your business other than hiring affiliates:
Now, let’s go through the reasons why you should and shouldn’t opt for this method:
Reasons To Opt To | Reasons Not To Opt to |
Get more expert opinions. | May take time to set up the whole process of hiring affiliates. |
Easy connection with affiliates. | Can be costly. |
Separate attention to monitoring affiliates. | You may need a separate team and other tools to manage the whole process. |
7. Make Use Of SEO Tools
SEO Tools can be of great use; particularly, if you are confused about how to find affiliate marketers for your business. Since you may already have a marketing team, you must be aware of SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMRush, and Moz.
Now, let us see how to get affiliates to promote your product using SEO tools:
How does it work?
- Backlinks of your competitors – Type your competitors’ domain names into any of the SEO tools provided above, and analyze their backlinks. Some of these backlinks may lead to affiliates they are working with. Once you get the data, reach out to them and inquire if they are willing to work with you. Since, they are already working for your competitor, make sure you offer them a more lucrative deal.
Now, let’s have a look at the pros and cons of opting for this method:
Reasons To Opt To | Reasons Not To Opt to |
Automated process | Not a good option if you don’t have hands-on experience with SEO tools. |
Relevancy is high | Can be expensive, since SEO tools are not free. |
Improves the reach of your affiliate program. | Have to handle a lot of data and reports. |
8. Join Affiliate Networks
There are a number of affiliate networks that can help you in finding the right affiliates for your business. In fact, many brands join affiliate networks rather than creating an affiliate program for themselves. Because businesses don’t have to set up systems to collect data and ensure that the correct people are hired. That’s why 83% of advertisers vote for affiliate networks as the preferred method for sourcing affiliates. Since your competitors may also be present in these networks, make sure your commission rates are attractive.
Let’s see how to find affiliate marketers by joining these networks:
How does it work?
- Easy Brand Discovery – Affiliate networks are a platform that acts as a bridge between businesses and affiliates. Furthermore, it can actually act as a low-cost advertisement for your affiliate program; showcasing its benefits to a wider audience. By joining a network, your affiliate program gets access to thousands of affiliates at the same time.
Some top-rated affiliate networks are Refersion, FlexOffers, Pepperjam, and Rakuten Marketing.
Now, let’s have a look at the pros and cons of opting for this method:
Reasons To Opt To | Reasons Not To Opt to |
Can get access to thousands of affiliates. | Takes time to find affiliates of similar niches from the vast data. |
Pay the network only if results are seen. | Networks also demand a commission of sales. |
No need for an individual relationship with affiliates. | Not adequate for complementary business discovery. |
9. Online Ads
Publishing paid ads is always a technique that works well when it comes to finding affiliate marketers. Since affiliate marketers mostly work online, these ads may easily attract their attention.
Let’s see how ads give you results for finding affiliate marketers for you:
How does it work?
- Google Ads -To successfully run your ads, leverage the power of Google Adwords and the expansive reach of the Google Display Network. Google AdWords assists you in reaching the greatest number of people possible; furthermore, the Google Display Network aids you in running YouTube ads.
- Facebook Ads – Facebook is a platform where a lot of affiliates can be seen. Creating a Facebook ad neither requires expertise nor a huge budget. Start by creating a Facebook page for your affiliate program. While posting Ads, make sure you use the tool ‘Boost the Post’ to achieve greater reach to affiliate marketers.
- LinkedIn Ads – LinkedIn is a platform designed especially for professional relationships. So, it is a rich source for finding affiliates and influencers in your niche. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn gives you the facility to post ads in groups. LinkedIn is also the best option to get quality leads. Furthermore, it provides a $50 credit to your account, which you can use for ads.
- Print Ads – Despite the fact that it may appear old-school, print media still has a captive audience. Just make sure that you post your affiliate marketing ads in relevant magazines and publications relevant to your niche. Additionally, some of the major magazines dedicated to publishing articles related to affiliate marketing are iGB Affiliate Magazine, GPWA Times, Pages SEO Magazine, etc.
Now, let’s move on to the pros and cons of choosing this method for finding affiliate marketers for your business.
Reasons To Opt to | Reasons Not To Opt to |
High-quality Affiliates | Can be costly |
Time-saving | Have to narrow down affiliates according to the niche. |
Easy to monitor and measure leads. | Ads do not always run audience-specific. |
To Sum It Up:
During the budding stages of your affiliate program, you may have questions like how to find affiliates and where to find them. In this post, we have provided the answer to both these questions. Furthermore, with the right affiliate marketers, your affiliate program is guaranteed to generate increased sales and better leads. The tricky part is choosing the right ones. You can try all these methods, or choose the right one that is best for your interests.
If you still feel overwhelmed finding affiliates for your business, you should try Happine.cc, a marketing platform that can help you with finding, collaborating, and managing affiliates efficiently.