Top 3 Reasons Brands Need a Diversified Affiliate Portfolio

The affiliate channel is an ever-changing landscape – your brand must adapt in order to stay profitable. Previously, marketers could get by with just a few high-performing publishers pushing one well-placed affiliate link – not the case anymore. To reach the most qualified consumers throughout the funnel and ensure long-term growth, it is essential for brands to build a diverse affiliate portfolio.

Meet Consumers at Every Stage of the Funnel

Only focusing publisher recruitment on one area of the customer journey, such as awareness, limits the potential of your brand and creates untapped opportunities further down the funnel that your competitors may get their hands on first. For many marketers, solely relying on a few big content publishers isn’t going to cut it anymore.

When working with awareness partners, your brand receives great exposure by attracting new consumers’ interest, however, you may be reaching those who are not ready to commit to a purchase. You must focus on building brand loyalty and a desire for the product or service through engaging, relevant channels by working with consideration partners. Retargeting publishers, such as UpSellit, bring otherwise lost consumers back through email and on-site notifications, providing the information consumers need to weigh their options against competitors and convince them to convert. 

Although conversion partners are often neglected, they are a huge piece of the affiliate channel puzzle. On average, conversion partners deliver nearly 4X the ROAS compared to content or influencer channels. It is the final push marketers must not overlook, as 83% of consumers change their buying habits when presented with a discount code.

Learn how Perform^[cb] helped a popular fashion accessories brand drive a 404% increase in affiliate revenue by recruiting and optimizing with a diversified array of partners.

Reach New Publisher Audiences

If your brand’s affiliate program growth remains stagnant, it may be time to reevaluate your overall portfolio strategy. Focusing too granularly on your desired niche audience may be holding back your brand’s potential exposure. By testing with multiple different types of affiliate channels, you can extend your program to more opportunities, and learn what publishers deliver the strongest customer LTV, all while reaching new consumers and opening up revenue streams. The key to growth is being willing to test new, non-traditional partners, while also maintaining scale with your current partnerships. 

Some examples of top-performing non-traditional partners are:

• Mass Media (i.e. Forbes, Business Insider, Buzzfeed)
• Search
• Cart Abandonment
• Retargeting
• Influencers/Microinfluencers

Learn how your brand can leverage our established partner relationships across all major verticals and channels to help to scale and strengthen your program.

Reduce Economic Risk

Industry and economic changes can significantly alter a brand’s performance at any moment. But, having a diverse publisher portfolio safeguards your affiliate program profitability and prevents one or two affiliates from driving a high proportion of program revenue. For example, let’s say 60% of your program’s success is coming from just one awareness publisher, meanwhile, you’re not testing with any coupon or reward partners. Rather than putting all of your affiliate eggs in one basket and risking your brand’s profit in the channel, spread the wealth across the entire funnel. You could be surprised at the untapped customers that await you in these underutilized partnerships.  

A balanced partnership minimizes this risk and gives brands increased capability to reach consumers at various touchpoints while respecting marketing budgets. Having an agency like Perform^[cb] that is stacked with an in-house compliance team to closely oversee your publishers, enforce your brand’s standards, and ensure you are driving quality traffic, keeps your brand ahead of any potential roadblocks. Reach out to Perform^[cb] today to learn how we can protect and grow your program. 

Figuring Out The Right Mix

By recruiting, onboarding, and optimizing with a diverse array of partners, your brand can reach consumers throughout the funnel, reduce risk, and expand overall revenue. Every brand is different – there is no such thing as one strategy that fits all. So, how do you figure out the best affiliate portfolio your brand needs to reach your marketing goals? It takes careful consideration and planning, and a bit of expertise never hurts.  

That’s where Perform^[cb] comes in to help. Our curated partner marketplace is made up of trusted relationships with some of the biggest publishers in the industry. With over 500 years of collective experience, our team has built success with brands in every vertical, so we surely have the partners your competitors are already harnessing. 

Reach out to Perform^[cb]’s team of outcome-based marketing experts today to develop a custom partnership strategy to achieve your marketing goals.