An affiliate program is a great way to sell products. It enlists others to do the legwork while giving you the time and freedom to concentrate on making the product better or expanding offerings. It is important to remember that affiliates’ success is your success.

Giving affiliates the tools they need to succeed is of utmost importance. A skilled affiliate could bring in large numbers of sales and leads but only if they have the information and support needed to do so. Here are some things that can help your affiliates succeed.

Get creative
Creative is simply a fancy name for the graphics, links and other tools provide for your affiliates to use. Offering a variety of these things for affiliates to choose from allows them to promote products and services in a way that works for them. Some affiliates may prefer text links while others like graphics better.
Give them numbers that they can use
Affiliates like to know how well they are performing. Most affiliate software provides a way for them to check their stats, including percentage of clicks that result in sales, average sale per click and so on. Making sure they know how to use these features is important.
Provide content
Affiliates usually sell through their websites or email newsletters. In order to have a successful website or newsletter they need quality content. Providing articles for them to use gives them that content while promoting offerings.
Encourage affiliates to write their own articles
Article marketing is a great way to get an affiliate’s links on the websites of others. They can write articles that incorporate their links and submit them to article directories for other webmasters to use.
Have meetings
If you are running an affiliate program online, it is unlikely that you would get a large turnout by having an in-person affiliate meeting. Hold online chats, conference calls, or online seminars. These give the opportunity to connect with and motivate your affiliates. They also give the affiliates a chance to ask questions and share any concerns they may have.
Keep in touch
It’s important keeping in contact with your affiliates. An affiliate newsletter could feature success stories, upcoming promotions, incentives and new creative that affiliates can use. Most affiliates belong to more than one program so keeping yours fresh in their minds and making participation as easy as possible is essential.
Keep your door open
Many affiliate programs lack easy access to management. Being the one that provides that could set you apart from the rest. Don’t have time to answer individual questions and concerns, hire a virtual assistant to help. This will let affiliates know that their success is important to you and that you value their input.

Keeping affiliates informed and giving them tools to enhance their sales may take up some time but it will pay off in the form of increased sales. Helping affiliates succeed is as beneficial to you as it is to them.