If you run an affiliate program, the effort put forth by your affiliates impacts on your profits. They more they market a website, the more views your links will get. This should lead to increased sales. Although an affiliate has some control over the money they make, not everyone puts forth that extra effort. For that reason, you may consider offering bonuses to your affiliates. It seems like a good idea, but is it? Familiarize yourself with the pros and cons of affiliate bonuses and then make the decision for yourself.
The Pros of Offering Affiliate Bonuses
Your options. Affiliate bonuses come in a number of different formats. You can decide how you want to offer this reward. For example, you can do a onetime commission increase for top performers. Increase their commission from 2% to 3%. You can opt for a short-term commission increase. For example, increase all of your affiliates’ commission levels from 2% to 4% in the month of December. There are also year-end bonuses. You can opt for bonuses for all affiliates or just those who made a certain amount of money.
They serve as a good source of motivation. As previously stated, not everyone is motivated when it comes to affiliate programs. Yes, it seems silly. An affiliate is in control over how much they make, but some rarely do any work. In fact, you may have affiliates on your program list that don’t even have your links displayed. These individuals will be motivated when they hear about a bonus. For that reason, announce all bonuses ahead of time. Give your affiliates a goal to work towards. If they meet that goal, they are rewarded. If not, it is their loss.
They impact your profits. Your one concern about offering affiliate bonuses is the extra money it costs. Yes, you will spend more, but consider the end result. Your affiliates are going to put forth extra effort to promote their website and your links, especially if they know there is the chance to get a great year-end bonus! Where to want to be cautious is with under performers or those that do not even have your links displayed. Don’t offer bonuses to these individuals, as you automatically lose money.
The Cons of Offering Affiliate Bonuses
They can be difficult for you to implement. As previously stated, if you want to do a year-end bonus, make sure your top earning affiliates get the most. After all, they did the most work. This means going down through the list of your partners and calculating bonuses. This can take time. It may be better to opt for an increase in everyone’s commission for a month or two. This involves changing a few settings in your affiliate tracking software and nothing more.
Your affiliates may come to expect these bonuses. Yes, bonuses do serve as a source of motivation, but your affiliates may come to expect them. If you cannot afford to give a bonus next year or raise commissions, you may have a disgruntled bunch. If you offer year-end bonuses, tell your affiliates it is a one-time thing. If you can afford and choose to give a bonus the following year, good. If not, there isn’t a big loss or uproar.
Some of your affiliates may get angry if they did not get a bonus. You should have a terms and condition contract that your affiliates agreed to. If not, make one. In that agreement, should be information concerning compensation. If not, update. Your affiliates should not disclose their commission rates or bonuses. Healthy competition is good, but discussing bonuses when not everyone got one often leads to trouble.