Despite the advantages that affiliate marketing has offered brands of all sizes and across all segments, there is still a stigma attached that the industry is trying to shake. Unfortunately, there are still fraudulent transactions and tactics that cloud the transparency that so many have been fighting to achieve. And, in a time period where everything is about building an economy of trust, the affiliate industry cannot afford to still have a cloud of suspicion hanging over it when it can be generating incredible benefits for marketers and the brands they represent.
Being transparent in the affiliate industry means having the ability to document all aspects of this performance marketing tactics, including a way to quantify and prove traffic and conversions. While certain information is kept private because it is proprietary, there is still a need to put more clarity to what is involved in each affiliate marketing campaign in order to build credibility and strengthen the bonds between advertisers and publishers to further grow affiliate networks.
Here are some ways to increase transparency in the affiliate industry that can benefit everyone involved:
- Improve the quality of the affiliate campaigns by taking a content-focused approach that delivers valuable information. This approach builds the necessary credibility sought from affiliate marketers because the audience doesn’t have to wonder if they are dealing with something questionable. Instead, the audience has something beneficial that is clearly meant to inform and solve specific issues within a certain target audience.
- Personalize the content for even greater success and transparency in terms of the intended goal. The personalization removes any doubt about the authenticity of the message and affiliate advertising campaign. The personalization adds further credibility and enhances the actual performance aspect of this marketing tactic.
- Take the data from these affiliate campaigns and measure and analyze it for further insights that can be applied to future campaigns. Share this data wherever possible to illustrate the very legitimate reason for this marketing effort, bolstering confidence in the brand behind the affiliate program.
- When focusing on being as transparent as possible, advertisers should provide clear information about who they are, how to be contacted, specific information related to policies and procedures, any international and/or mobile capabilities, and relevant campaigns.
- Publishers also need to offer transparency as part of the affiliate industry by delivering clear information on how they can be contacted, their traffic sources, geographic reach, paid placements, any user-generated content, and mobile traffic just to name a few of the areas necessary for building trust and confidence.
- Affiliate networks can also be transparent with their actions, including holding publishers and advertisers to a higher standard, making all activities available to network members, and offering innovative reporting tools that deliver key insights about account activities like account status and commission rates. Affiliate networks can also utilize account managers who can play a role in strengthening relationships between advertisers and publishers while using their knowledge to improve the performance of campaigns.
Lastly, partnering with new solutions providers that are intent on improving the reputation within the affiliate industry can add to the level of transparency among all activities. These providers like JVZoo, an online software solution that matches sellers of digital products with a massive army of affiliates who will promote those products for a commission, have the ability to do this by using a compliance team that uses a checks and balances system. When a vendor goes to list a new product before it is live, the company’s compliance team goes through a very detailed process to ensure their sales funnel and product are upholding standards of quality and honesty as well as adhering to FTC guidelines.
By making the affiliate channel more transparent through the actions of all those involved in the affiliate industry – advertisers, publishers, and affiliate networks – everyone will win. That’s because performance marketing will become much more effective while bad practices are exposed and weeded out for a greater level of credibility and trust in the value that this marketing tactic can add.