The new year’s first few months have passed with a bang in the affiliate marketing world. And now with Q2 coming up quickly, it’s time to rethink your strategy for the new quarter.
Like every quarter of the year, Q2, which covers April through June, has its special quirks. To help make sure your program manager is getting the most out of their Q2 recruitment efforts, I’ve put together 6 top tips to set up your recruitment strategy for success.
1. Plan Ahead
Prepping ahead goes for any upcoming quarter (and each month) given that each one may have different priorities. This means identifying which recruitments are tied to seasonality, which partners are more active this quarter, and what compensation packages (if available) can you provide to catch your high-priority partners. This also means prepping your list building ASAP, while Q1 winds down, to vet and finalize in advance publishers you see a strategic fit.
You’ll need to have a solid idea of what your list is going to look like and which type of partners you’ll be targeting.
2. Do Ahead
Doing (and not just planning) ahead will serve your recruitment efforts well as Q2 officially pops up. Your team’s strategy could be multi-pronged and this may mean having long vetting processes as your list starts building.
This is a time to work closely with your team to make sure you’re going in the right direction, recruitment-wise. And, to tie everything together, review your overall marketing strategy, brand messaging, and brand presence to make sure a potential partner would be a good fit, and to see where they fit in the program’s overall marketing plan.
3. Revisit Old Conversations
Remember those prospective partners who politely emailed you “Thank you! Maybe next time.” months ago? Now’s the time to revisit those conversations. Shoot a quick “Hello!” and ask how they have been since you last spoke and if they’re open to partnering this season. They may consider this opportunity as perfectly timed for their own marketing plans and will be more than happy to revisit the opportunity.
Bonus Tip: Make sure to keep track of these types of responses as “Opportunities to be revisited” in your recruitment lists and check them before the start of every recruitment campaign or quarter.
4. Maximize Important Holidays
With Q2 comes Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, and the start of summer break. These are just some of the holidays to keep in mind for your recruitment. In communicating with partners, let them know how their brand ties well with the upcoming holidays and your brand.
Each of these holidays may even need recruitment lists of their own of specific partners and publishers who do especially well on those dates.
5. Check on Leads
As your list starts to grow, double-check each partner and publisher to make sure that they align with your brand’s values. Utilize your recruitment tools to make sure that they’re the right fit in terms of demographic, traffic stats, keyword search, Alexa rank, etc. Tidying up your list weekly and as you go will remove the stress that comes with hitting dead ends and partners who don’t fit with your overall brand.
6. Stand Out
Since your contact will be mostly through email and calls, being personable and ready to help will go a long way in communicating with your prospective partners. Partners are used to having their inbox bursting with emails filled with generic greetings; so, take the time to see what you like about their platform and communicate that to them and tie that to how your brand aligns with theirs. That sincerity will make you far more memorable than the hundreds of cold-call emails they get daily.
You may also stumble on partners with great potential but who may not be familiar with how affiliate marketing works. Take the time to help them understand or engage with them on how you could work together to seamlessly promote and have them earn commission. If a partner refuses your proposal, politely inquire if there are any reasons behind them not wanting to join the program. They may have had past negative experiences that could have put them off the affiliate industry, as a whole which offers you an opportunity to try and fix the barriers they have.
At All Inclusive Marketing, we have a dedicated team of seasoned affiliate marketers who understand the barriers of entry for partners and the untapped potential of partners for the growing affiliate market. If you would like to learn more about affiliate recruitment and how to grow your program, reach out to an expert today!
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