If you’ve decided that affiliate programs are so 2016, then you’re missing out.
The affiliate marketing industry is expected to surpass $15.5 BILLION (with a B) in 2024, making it one of the most economically beneficial marketing platforms for creators, businesses, and the average person.
Through this case study I’ll share how we increased net sales from affiliates by 100%+ in one year, generating a $500k+ revenue stream for the business.
Project Overview
In 2020, HarperCollins Christian & HarperCollins Focus decided to focus their efforts on growing six direct-to-consumer e-commerce stores. These stores each have a specific audience, and they offer a curated selection of resources for those audiences.
One of the major roadblocks with an online store that has many direct competitors is standing out in a sea of sameness. This roadblock was apparent for these stores, as well.
Through a major brainstorming session, our team decided to spend time optimizing and re-igniting an affiliate program that was created in 2006 and left mostly to it’s own devices.
The problem?
Optimization would take an overhaul, including reviewing the thousands of affiliates to see who was still active, who was making sales, and more. This meant time spent on something with no clue if it would pay off in the long term.
With these pieces of information in mind, we created a re-launch strategy to engage active affiliates, start building a personal relationship with them, and open a clear line of communication (so we can share about promotions and the like!)
Project Breakdown
The affiliate marketing program had been around for about 17 years, but there wasn’t much focus or strategy behind it’s creation.
Through our initial review, we found a program of 1,60+ mostly-coupon-sites that weren’t helping us build brand awareness, weren’t engaging their community with creative content, and weren’t converting at a rate on par with our own e-commerce stores.
We had a lot of work to do.
Program optimization began with a clear checklist:
- Research & Analysis – review the past 17 years of affiliate activity and identify trends, opportunities, and friction points
- Prep & Planning – Inform affiliates that changes are coming, then build a timeline and a list of action items to accomplish the optimization
- Affiliate Updates – remove any inactive affiliates and properly tag those affiliates remaining in the program based on your business goals
- Program Updates – review your program details, legal, commissions, bonus rules, commission rules, and description or profile to align with your new vision and strategy for the program
- Creative Updates – remove any outdated creatives and upload an abundance of new creatives related to current campaigns and initiatives
- Messaging Updates – establish a pattern of regular communication via email, SMS, or other platforms so affiliates begin to expect and engage with messages from the brand program
- Outreach efforts – infuse the program with new high-value affiliates that will help build brand awareness and create UGC
…and after only 30 days we saw a spike in clicks, conversions, and sales from our affiliate program.
Over nine months we slowly checked off each item on the list, working out the details so that our affiliates would have a 5-star experience and litter their digital footprints with links to our stores.
Project Impact & Analysis
This optimized affiliate strategy led to:
- an Increase in Retargeting Audiences – 159k affiliate link clicks, up 490% from previous year
- an Increase in Transactions – 5.6K, up 155% from previous year
- an Increase in Revenue – $500k+ in sales, up 103% from previous year
Conclusion
Affiliate Marketing isn’t a strategy to be written off as “not worth the effort.” With just a few items checked off a list any affiliate program can begin generating revenue for your business.
Want your own affiliate results like these?
Hey there! I’m Carlisle Russell, a seasoned marketing strategist with 10 years’ experience in social media marketing for e-commerce businesses. Tap here to learn more about building a profitable, predictable, and seriously engaged social media community.
