Affiliate Marketing Tips: How To Deal With Inactive Affiliates

Affiliate marketing can be a highly effective sales channel for an online business. When utilized correctly, affiliates can ensure the right messages get to the right people at the right time by capitalizing on the following they have. But, a common issue many businesses face with affiliate marketing is inactive affiliates.

Why Do Affiliates Become Inactive?

• They are missing the tools they need to promote your product
• They didn’t receive information to get started with your affiliate program
• They found another product that’s easier to sell or an affiliate program with higher commission and/or special promotions

It can be tempting to just remove inactive affiliates from your program. However, this is one of the worst things your business could do. Instead, focus on creating, growing, and maintaining good affiliate marketing relationships by:

Providing Affiliates With Necessary Resources
In order for your affiliates to promote your products successfully, you have to ensure you are providing them with up-to-date links, banners, text campaigns, landing pages, product data feeds, and so on. Making these resources available to new and existing affiliates can make it easier for them to ensure they’re always promoting current offers and products. This also shows affiliates you are committed to providing them the tools to make them more successful.

Actively Communicating With Affiliates
Actively communicating with your affiliates provides a foundation for stronger, more productive relationships. Make sure you are giving affiliates all of the information they need to fully participate in your program and the product details they’ll need to make sales. This will not only give your affiliates important information up-front, but it can also ensure the right affiliates are applying for your program.

Keeping Affiliates Motivated
Keeping affiliates motivated is arguably the most difficult part in affiliate marketing, but it doesn’t have to be. Performance incentives are an excellent way to get affiliates motivated and even improve their performance in your program. Your business can organize affiliate contests or compensate them with tiered increases in commissions. You can test several options to see which one increases engagement the most.

Affiliate marketing relies on relationships, and relationships need to be maintained. Having inactive affiliates can be discouraging. But, with some motivation and initiative on your end, you can actually convert them into productive partners that drive your business forward.