Blue Gorilla Media has been my go-to website provider for years, and I regularly refer friends and clients to them for hosting, development, and maintenance.

Today’s pleasant surprise: they’re launching an affiliate program as a thank-you for future business.

Such programs pay a small percentage of each sale attributed to a referring source. If you have enough of them, it CAN add up.

Getting individuals or businesses to promote your products or services in exchange for a commission may make sense for you, too. Here’s how to start:

• DEFINE YOUR GOALS. More sales, for instance.
• KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. You already have relationships with customers and prospects, so start there.
• SET THE COMMISSION. How much will you pay per sale?
• STRUCTURE THE FREQUENCY. Will you pay monthly, or when minimum thresholds are reached?

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy advised “Don’t Panic.” That’s good advice.

Several off-the-shelf affiliate platforms are available, including ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, AffiliateWP, and Tapfiliate.

Whichever platform you choose, ensure it offers unique tracking links, fraud prevention, an affiliate dashboard, and integrations with PayPal, Stripe, Venmo or Zelle.

Or if you’re cutting corners, plan to use a spreadsheet and your checkbook.

Next, create a sign-up landing page, a dashboard login portal, and promotional materials, including banners, email templates, social media copy, and product images.

Then write out your rules, prohibited activities, payment details, and essential terms and conditions.

Position yourself to provide ongoing support by sending updates on new products or promotions. You should periodically run contests or offer bonuses to motivate affiliates, and ensure you can respond quickly to questions or issues.

Finally, list your program on affiliate directories and forums like affNext, Affbank, and Offervault.

NOW you can recruit affiliates. Your best bet is to reach out to your email list, existing customers, bloggers, influencers, and industry partners. To make this effort work well, monitor your top-performing affiliates and promotions and adjust your commissions or terms based on performance.

Mom always said if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right. Set up your affiliate program correctly, and your customers will become your sales force. You’ll make money, they’ll make money, and everyone will be happy.

Pretty slick trick, huh?

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing. Get more smart marketing ideas. https://amzn.to/4hoslft.