How To Build Your Own Successful Affiliate Marketing Organization
Thursday, May 8, 2008
An affiliate marketing organization can be an extremely valuable resource for the thousands of affiliate marketers in the industry. Having an organization devoted to the affiliate marketing industry can help those new to affiliate marketing better understand the business and keep those who have been doing it for a while vested in the overall health and profitability of the industry.
“Affiliate marketers are fiercely independent, so you will have to win their trust and their admiration before any will choose to take your affiliate marketing organization seriously.”
Tip No. 1 -- Get Involved In The Affiliate Marketing Community
The first thing you will need before pushing your idea for an affiliate marketing organization will be to get yourself involved in the affiliate community. You can accomplish this by creating a popular blog about the industry and through valuable comments posted on many of the most popular forums dedicated to it. However, more than anything else, you need to be a success at affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketers are fiercely independent, so you will have to win their trust and their admiration before any will choose to take your affiliate marketing organization seriously.
Tip No. 2 -- Seek Advice From Experienced Affiliates
Be open and welcome any comments or advice from those who have been in the affiliate marketing business for a while. Many of them were around in the days of iAfma, the previous big-name affiliate marketing organization. These experienced affiliates may be able to help you avoid many of the pitfalls that eventually put an end to iAfma.
Tip No. 3 -- Select Who Will Run The Organization
Next, you will have to choose a board of directors. Common sense says to ask those who are most respected in the industry to serve on the board, but just be aware that this initial group should be temporary. Once you get membership numbers, there should be an organized vote as to who should represent the organization. Ideally, the board should comprise a varying demographic from affiliates who specialize in a number of sectors.
Tip No. 4 -- Become A Resource For Affiliates
The affiliate marketing organization should have its own website that offers its members plenty of informational content and value that they can't get anywhere else. Through membership support and a freethinking forum, members can get the answers to their questions. They have a place to find the resolutions for many of the industry's problem areas. Over time, affiliates will look to the organization as their premier source of industry news and resources.
Tip No. 5 -- Remain Dedicated To The Cause
The affiliate marketing organization should be dedicated to not just its members, but to the affiliate marketing industry as a whole. That's the only way for the organization to get a foothold and become an institutional force within the industry.
Tip No. 6 -- Build Relationships With Affiliate Merchants
Ideally, the affiliate marketing organization should build relationships with a wide range of affiliate merchants. This will help matters when it comes time to handle affiliate and merchant complications. If possible, you may even want to include a few merchants on the board of directors to keep an even keel on the industry.
Creating your own successful affiliate marketing organization takes a wealth of time, resources and help. It won't be successful over night, but by providing fair treatment to your members and by giving them the tools they need to increase their standing in affiliate marketing, the success will eventually come.
