Binary options are booming, everybody knows this, a cursory Google search will quickly reveal the extent to which this is true, with the more general keywords returning millions of results. Most binary brokers already have some kind of affiliate program, and we’re not here to tell you how to do your job, but with no prescribed recipe for success there are so many approaches to how to run an affiliate program that inevitably many are either getting wrong, or not maximising the results they could be getting from their affiliates. To this end we have put together the 5 most overlooked aspects of the game that can really make a difference to a binary broker’s affiliate program.
Find them, don’t wait for them to find you.
From a purely financial standpoint it’s better for you to be doing your own research and bagging a potentially rising star before he makes it big. This is just common sense but you’d be surprised how many affiliate managers end up paying more than they need to for the services of an affiliate. You need to be monitoring those analytics daily, and isolating the sites developing into real contenders from the duds. If you can manage to do this, not only will you get in at the ground floor, when a site is not yet generating revenue, and will be able to offer less to them, but you can also cement that relationship later when they blow up by having worked closely with them and supplied them with promotional material before they made it big. It’s a simple idea, but one that can be time consuming and need a bit of a feel for analytics. Nevertheless it’s vital if you want to bag the sites on their way to the top before they get there. After all, there’s a reason why teams are so focused on recruiting college players. Take this same philosophy to your affiliate marketing and over time you will have a significant edge over the competition.
Supply them with content.
Many affiliate managers regard it an affiliates problem where they get their content from. This is a dunderheaded approach to online marketing. You should be seeking to kill two birds with one stone. Get a site to send you customers, while using their already improving page rank as a reputation management tool. As such you ought to have unique content and lots of it ready to go at all times. Any changes in your company’s policy should immediately be reflected on all of your affiliates’ websites so make sure you keep on top of this. It makes good sense purely from a reputation management standpoint but it will also increase the productivity of your customer service team. This is because when affiliates are given free reign over the way they represent your company they often get things wrong. This leads to tons of disgruntled customers saying they found this and that offer on this and that site and expecting you to honour it. Be clear from the outset, and make sure all of your affiliates are reading from the same hymn sheet.
Loyalty is the best policy
Take the long view with any relationships you build with your most successful affiliates. They should be mutually beneficial and carry on for as long as possible. Many brokers chose the wrong areas to cut costs from when things are not going their way and one of the first things they cut are the amounts they pay out to affiliates. Be upfront at all times and follow through with any promises you have made to the letter. Your affiliates are just as, if not more important than your sales staff. Not only is this because they have the potential of generating more revenue for your company, but also because they bring you new clients every day. A great deal time and hard work goes into building the sort of website that can rank highly enough to bring you an impressive number of new clients each month. Treat your affiliates like business partners and respect them in the way you would respect any other kind of journalist. They are, after all, where your most important publicity comes from, more people see a first page ranked website than probably read your local newspaper. They hold the power to promote you, but they also hold the power to demote you and this should be borne in mind at all times. A lot of companies get this wrong and are constantly having to bring in and work with new affiliates in order to regain purchase in the market. Keep your top guys few in number, be fair and generous to them, and you will constantly be in top sop.
Be flexible
Finally, it is of the utmost importance that you tailor your affiliate agreements with your affiliates where necessary. The cookie cutter approach may work for some, but it doesn’t work for all. And indeed the ones you probably should be looking at bringing into the fold are usually the ones you should be trying to meet half way. Hone your negotiation skills and be prepared to negotiate arrangements on a case by case basis. This is a very competitive industry and chances are, if you’ve stumbled on an affiliate who wants something you haven’t introduced into your program, somewhere out there is a rival broker who will be willing to take their terms seriously. It’s always easier to have a cut and dry approach that you apply to all affiliates, but this is not always the best way forward.
Be patient
Don’t just straight in whenever you stumble across a high ranking site that looks pretty too. Monitor the progress of the sites you have narrowed down to a shortlist. Page rank is a notoriously fickle mistress, not all the sites you see today will be there tomorrow. So make sure you take your time and monitor a site for at least a month to see its progress before you commit to anything. Plus monitoring page ranks for key words over longer periods of time really demonstrates which of the sites you are looking at are going for broke and which find themselves in a certain position that is a result of a glitch, or beginners luck, or tricky SEO techniques and may be demoted tomorrow.
That’s it for now. Good luck and may all your affiliate relationships live long and prosper.
