With the right approach, you could quite easily double your revenue by starting your own affiliate program. And it’s something that can be done for free, making the idea even more appealing. You can learn more about the different options open to you if you’re interested in starting your own affiliate program by reading the information below. Starting an affiliate program is a big step to take but it might just be the right one for your company.
Setting Up Your Own Affiliate Program Using Established Software
There are various established platforms you can use to create your affiliate program, however they are not free. These include software like HasOffers or Post Affiliate Pro. They’re used by many businesses all over the world and they have a reputation for offering a quality user experience, so they shouldn’t be dismissed, it just depends if you have the money to invest in a platform like one of the below.
There are pros and cons associated with using established affiliate software in order to create your affiliate program. As we’ve already mentioned, these platforms are trusted and established, and that’s important when you’re looking for software that your business will be reliant on and limited to. They tend to offer a comprehensive package, including tracking and data analysis options. We’re going to talk about a couple of the best options next before looking at free alternatives to setting up an affiliate program.
Post Affiliate Pro
The flexibility offered by Post Affiliate Pro is what makes it stand out. You can access a range of features that allow you to tailor your marketing program to your specific wants and needs. It’s relatively affordable (at the time of writing pricing starts from just $97 a month) and it’s known for having good support on hand to help you.
iDevAffiliate
With strong security and good reporting options in place, as well as a comparatively low price for users, it’s not hard to see why many people still turn to iDevAffiliate. It’s been in the industry for more than 15 years, so it’s highly established and offers a range of good plugins.
HasOffers/TUNE
HasOffers is extremely good at tracking leads and making sure your data is up to date and accurate thanks to its real-time analysis capabilities. HasOffers is probably the biggest player of the three mentioned here and also the platform that powers this network, WOW TRK. This disadvantage of this platform is the cost, compared to the others the cost is much higher. If you have the money to invest in using a platform like this though it can be a great option.
The Disadvantages of Using Software to Create Affiliate Programs
It’s not free to create these kinds of affiliate programs as we mentioned. It’s also important you consider the alternatives as well and weigh their pros and cons against one another. The best alternative is joining an affiliate network and benefit that way. Not only can you avoid the upfront cost and potential monthly fees if find a network (like WOW TRK) where they don’t charge you any fixed monthly fees, it also takes a lot of the work out of the affiliate management process. Plus a huge benefit with working with an affiliate network is they already have an established affiliate base.
Using an Affiliate Network to start an Affiliate Program for free
When you decide to join an affiliate network, you’ll be making life a whole lot easier for yourself. For a start, you don’t need to worry about spending hug amounts of time recruiting affiliates because affiliates will find you instead. There’s a wide range of benefits and it’s an option that should definitely consider if you want to find affiliates but you don’t have much time or a lot of money to spend on the process.
Rather than paying an upfront fee followed by monthly fees, you’ll only pay the cost per sale or conversion when working with a network like WOW TRK. This makes it a lot more affordable for most businesses and a more realistic prospect when you’re just getting started. At WOW TRK we have more than 15,000 affiliates already signed up to our network ready for you to tap into.
You can get started with affiliate networks right away and there’s not much of a learning curb that you’ll have to contend with. That’s another major benefit of this option over starting an affiliate program with an option like HasOffers. Whilst they will provide you support with their platform they are not going to provide you support with how to effectively run an affiliate program in terms of optimisation, keeping affiliates on board etc. There’s not much work involved when working with a network that gives you account management and the things you do have to do aren’t complicated at all. It’s why so many people opt for the ease and convenience of affiliate networks.
Starting an affiliate program might turn out to be the best thing you do for your business this year, and it doesn’t have to be complicated or costly. Be sure to consider which route forward is the best one for you based on the information about the various options discussed above.
