Motivate Your Publishers
Money is the biggest motivator for Publishers.
If you need a permanent boost in leads referred by Publishers, either recruit more Publishers or raise the CPA (Cost Per Action) you're willing to pay. However, if you need only a temporary surge in referred leads, then offer special incentives or start a contest.
Typical monetary motivation techniques include:
- Tiered Pay Scale: Pay your top-performing Publishers a higher commission rate than your lower-performing Publishers. Amazon.com, for example, pays their lowest-performing Publishers a 4% commission and their top-performing Publishers an 8.5% commission. You can do this by creating "bronze," "silver," "gold," and "platinum" groups, each offered a higher commission than the group below it. This tactic will encourage "bronze" Publishers to seek "silver" status, and so on.
- Incentives: Offer special incentives and bonuses for high-performers. Incentives could be given for improving their number of leads month-over-month, promoting a particular public service ad, or recruiting a new Publisher to work for your team.
- Contests: While incentives can be earned by meeting individual goals, contests put Publishers into direct competition with each other. Many of your best performing Publishers are wealthy, so find a creative prize that will get their attention. In order to motivate all of your Publishers, consider offering an award to one Publisher in each of your tiered groups.
Ironically, if you run a pro bono Affiliate Program that doesn't compensate Publishers monetarily, "rewards" actually become even more important to their continuing motivation. So, keep in touch with your Publishers. Send out regular newsletters that celebrate Publishers' successes and update them on any incentives or special programs you are running. Acknowledge the top performers and include tips about what is working and what isn't. If there are any banners or links that are especially successful, let your Publishers know. You should also send out an auto-respond message to your Publishers each time they bring in a substantial number of leads during the month. A simple note such as "Good work! You just encouraged 1,000 more people to sign the Stem Cell Research petition!" will encourage Publishers to keep-up the advertising. Some Advertisers also provide a regularly updated Affiliate blog and a forum to keep the lines of communication open.
A common mistake made by new advertisers is failing to provide a face behind the organization. Instead of requiring Publishers to contact your organization through a generic no-name email address (AffiliateHelp@YourOrganization.org), give them the email address and phone number of a real person who is ready and willing to answer their questions and address their concerns. This person, typically the Affiliate Manager, should review Publishers' websites and marketing campaigns regularly and offer them encouragement and suggestions for how to improve. When the Affiliate Manager is on vacation, there should always be a back-up staff member available to answer questions and solve problems.
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