11. How To Join An Affiliate Network
With both individual and affiliate networks, the application process and selection will either be automatic or, in many cases, submitted for manual approval. While some programs accept anyone, others may ask you to submit more information about your brand and your audience so they can see if you are a match for them.
How To Apply For Affiliate Programs
Most affiliate programs will require you to have an active website or some form of online presence and the ability to receive commission payments. Many make payments through PayPal, but some will pay by bank transfer too.
In some cases, it may be possible to join without a website, but usually, this is only possible for influencers who already have a large and active following.
Filling In Your Application
While each program will have a slightly different application process, many are very similar in what information they require from you.
User Profile
Your profile has the details of your business and usually your different promotional methods, such as your website URL and social media channels.
Description or Summary
Many programs are interested in a summary of your website/niche and your target audience. They may also want to know some statistics about your site’s performance, such as monthly views, social media followers or target audience demographics.
Here’s an example of my description that I use in the comments/description section:
Wild Connections Photography is a multi-award-winning photography brand empowering couples to have a completely unique wedding day. Despite being based in Europe, the majority of our clients are in the USA & Canada. We feature content on lifestyle, weddings, adventure, and travel.
Example post: https://bit.ly/2OK6ZNa
Target Country(ies): US, UK, and Canada
Target Language(s): English
Affiliate Statistics:
– 13k monthly page views
– 535 email subscribers
– 6.9k Instagram followers
– Average age 25-45 Years
Placement Opportunities: Blog, Newsletter, Instagram feed & stories
Contact: email address
Choosing The Correct Promotional Methods
Many affiliate programs want to know how you will be promoting their products and sending traffic to them. When you apply to join a new affiliate network, you will be asked to confirm how you are promoting them.
If you are a photographer, you should only be using the following methods:
- Organic Search – Traffic is coming to your blog via SEO (not paid ads)
- Email marketing – You plan to add affiliate links to emails
There are many other ways to promote affiliate links, which is why you may see a whole list of options when you are applying for affiliate programs. While these are generally not relevant to the types of promotions you will be doing, I’m listing them below just to explain what they are:
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC) – Bidding on keywords with AdWords (many affiliate programs do not allow this)
- Mobile App Advertising – if you have a mobile app where you add links or banner ads
- Loyalty/Coupon/Cashback – A site that provides coupon codes that link to advertisers
- Social Media Shopping – you promote products via your social media channels
- Pay-Per-Click – You bid on keywords, such as Google Adwords to drive traffic to your content
- Comparison/Review Website – your website primarily reviews products/services
Some programs may have restrictions on which methods they will allow their links to be shared. There are a lot of programs that do not allow PPC or cashback sites but will be fine with organic content marketing.
For most photographers, the primary focus is going to be on organic reach and possibly email and social media to the existing audience. You can reassure advertisers by adding a line such as “focussing on organic reach through high quality content” in your bio.
Tips For Getting Accepted
- Apply For Relevant Programs To Your Audience
A brand affiliate manager may not approve your application if they cannot see how your brand aligns with theirs. If there is a comments area on your application, explain why you want to be a part of that affiliate scheme and what content ideas you have in mind to promote that company and their products.
- Make Sure Your Profiles Are Consistent
Your website domain, email address, and social media accounts should be named and branded consistently. You improve your chances of getting accepted if your email address is from @yourdomain.com and not Gmail or Hotmail. The same goes for your social accounts. Is everything linking back to your brand and your website?
- Up-To-Date Website
Brand Affiliate Managers will want to see that your website is up-to-date, has an SSL certificate (HTTPS://), and is publishing content on a relatively consistent basis. If you’ve not published a blog post in 3 years, look to get some content up before you apply so they can see your site is still active.