1. Commission rates



Let's face it at the end of the day we are all driven by rewards and remuneration. So if you want your affiliates to perform to their best ability you need to provide substantial commissions too. Usually in the case of high-end goods like digital products, you can provide a 70-30 percent commission break-up. That means you get to retain the 30% commission and provide the affiliates with 70% of the profits. That will surely keep your affiliates motivated and encouraged to work well.

2. Long term commissions

On a long term basis, you could consider even providing a 100% commission to your affiliates. Once they know that they are going to get a substantial profit, they will tend to work harder and promote your products heavily. While such an approach is sure to eat into your profit margin, it will ensure retrieving more customers onto your database. So although you might not earn much initially due to the 100% commission package, you will make up for it with an influx of good quality customers in the long run.

3. Ready, pluggable content

The good quality affiliates always like affiliate merchants who have ready available content. It enables them to work immediately and start on promoting and earning commissions. So if you want to start getting headway into sales and product promotions, make sure your affiliates have instant access to good quality promotional material.

4. Imbibe best practices

There's a reason why some affiliate programs are really successful. It might help if you were to sign up for such programs as an affiliate. That way you get to see firsthand how the programs get managed. You can look at their business model up close and even use parts of it for your own affiliate business as well.

5. Realistic goals

Nothing de-motivates an affiliate more than unachievable goals and unrealistic expectations. When it comes to your affiliate products, make sure you have lain down some definite criteria and goals which are perfectly achievable. That way, once those goals are achieved, the confidence and morale of the affiliates will be boosted.

6. Don't ignore the smaller ones

One mistake affiliate merchants make is to focus on the motivated performing affiliates and completely ignore the smaller revenue earning ones. This is a big mistake because although they may not be performing as well as the others, they are still bringing in a certain chunk of revenue. If you ignore them, they might get de-motivated enough to leave your affiliate program. That will result in a huge setback to your business.

7. Establish a 2 Tier program

Two tier programs are very much sought after these days. They not only allow an affiliate to capitalize on the actual sale but also when they recommend and include a new candidate one level below. This is a double incentive kind of program which is sure to keep your affiliates motivated. Plus, it also gets you more promotion and sales.

8. Train them adequately

It is essential to train and educate your affiliates as much as possible. It's only when they have a fair understanding of the product that they can propagate and promote it effectively. So make sure to conduct workshops, training sessions and seminars to provide as much information and practical know-how of the product.

9. Create tools which affiliates like

Another tactic which really helps is to develop tools and resources which affiliates like to use. This way you get to attract more top quality talent. Plus, it's essentially a win-win situation where both you and the affiliate get more commissions and sales. While your affiliates will promote your products better, you will earn more profits and they will earn more commissions.

10. Targeted affiliates

One of the tricks to keeping your affiliates always motivated and happy is by finding affiliates who are interested in what you are selling. If they aren't interested, you cannot possibly expect them to promote your products effectively. Therefore, you could try searching in relevant sites and even in competitor websites to search for affiliates who promote similar products online.