5 Essential Steps for Doing Influencer Affiliate Campaigns to Achieve Your Ecommerce Success

Step 1: Determine if an Influencer Affiliate Campaign is Right for You

Before diving headfirst into an influencer affiliate campaign, it's crucial to assess whether it aligns with your goals and resources. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you clear on what products or promotions you want to focus on? Specificity drives higher conversion rates in affiliate campaigns.
• Do you have the necessary resources to manage the campaign effectively? From product distribution to tracking sales, running an affiliate program requires careful management.
• Can you offer commission-based incentives to influencers? Providing financial rewards is essential for motivating influencers to promote your brand.
• Do you have the time to cultivate relationships with influencers? Building rapport with your partners can enhance campaign performance.
• Are your competitors leveraging influencer affiliate campaigns? Keeping an eye on industry trends and competitor strategies can inform your decision-making process.

Step 2: Discover your Perfect Influencer Match

In the world of influencer marketing, finding the right partner is key. You want someone who embodies your brand's values, speaks to your target audience, and has a track record of authenticity. 

But don't worry, we've got you covered with a foolproof strategy.

Start by casting a wide net. Reach out to a diverse range of influencers and influential customers to gauge interest in your campaign. 

Aim for 75 to 100 micro and mid-tier influencers initially, or start small with 15 to 20 creators who share a common fan base.

Who should you be looking for? There are three types of influencers that are particularly effective for ecommerce brands:

• Customers: Your existing customer base can be your strongest advocates. While they may not have the largest following, their loyalty and authenticity can drive significant sales.
• Nano and Micro-influencers: These creators may have smaller followings, but their engagement rates are often higher. Offer them free products and a fair commission structure to incentivize collaboration.
• Macro-influencers: Think celebrities and creators with large followings. While they come with higher costs, their massive reach can be worth the investment.

Now, where do you find these influencers? Start with manual searches on Google and social media platforms. 

Look for existing customers who follow relevant influencers, and explore tagged photos and mentions to identify potential partners.

You can also leverage influencer search engines and creator marketplaces like Aspire to find vetted influencers with proven authenticity and engagement. 

Consider using ecommerce integrations to identify influential customers directly from your store's data.

Step 3: Crafting Your Offer

The initial phase of your influencer affiliate campaign revolves around shaping a compelling offer. 

This consists of three key elements: the primary product offering, commission rates, and granting exclusive access.

To initiate a strong rapport with your influencer affiliates, consider offering complimentary products to kickstart the relationship and allow them to experience your brand firsthand. 

This gesture not only fosters goodwill but also serves as a means to identify those genuinely enthusiastic about your offerings. 

When providing free products, emphasize relationship-building rather than immediate financial transactions, as this can lay a solid foundation for future affiliate collaborations.

Subsequently, establish a competitive and sustainable commission structure. While a general recommendation falls within the range of 10% to 30% commission per sale, the specific percentage hinges on several factors:

• Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): Determine the average expenditure of your customers over their relationship with your brand. For instance, if the average customer spends $100, offering affiliates $10 per referral can be feasible.
• Marketing budget allocation: Ensure your commission structure aligns with your overall marketing budget, factoring in expenses beyond the influencer affiliate campaign. Consider incorporating costs for monthly product offerings into your budgetary planning.
• Competitive analysis: Gauge competitor offerings to devise competitive rates. Implementing a tiered commission structure that rewards superior performance can be effective. For instance, start new affiliates with a 10% commission and incrementally increase it by 5% for every 20 new customers they acquire.

Regularly review your commission structure to ensure it remains competitive and in line with your strategic objectives. 

Additionally, fostering an active community among affiliates involves granting them exclusive access to relevant communities, events, and resources.

Step 4: Continuous Performance Evaluation

The success of your influencer affiliate program hinges on consistent performance evaluation. Key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor include:

• Sales volume per influencer: Identify influencers with the most impactful content, as evidenced by higher sales from their audience.
• Sales value per influencer: Assess the monetary value of sales generated by each influencer.
• Frequency of mentions per influencer: Measure the engagement level and effectiveness of influencer partnerships based on the frequency of content mentions.
• Overall program revenue: Gain insights into the program's impact on revenue growth. Adjustments to the commission structure or recruitment of more suitable influencer affiliates may be necessary if affiliate-generated revenue is suboptimal.

Utilize spreadsheets or analytics platforms to consolidate and analyze data effectively. 

Identify top-performing influencers to leverage their strategies and insights for the benefit of the entire affiliate network. 

Regular performance evaluations empower you to replicate successful tactics and optimize the overall efficacy of your influencer affiliate campaign.

Step 5: Empower your Influencers with Content Guidelines

In the realm of influencer affiliate campaigns, one key strategy involves inspiring influencers through content guides. 

These campaigns may stipulate that influencers must fulfill certain posting requirements to earn commissions, known as termed campaigns. 

For instance, you might offer influencers $300 worth of products along with a 15% commission rate per sale, contingent upon them making two Instagram Story posts.

Alternatively, there are termless agreements where no specific content obligations are set.

These are particularly advantageous when engaging macro-influencers due to their substantial followings, requiring less posting to generate significant traction.

It is advisable to provide your influencer affiliates with flexible terms. 

Rather than mandating, for instance, two in-feed Instagram posts and two Instagram Story posts, you could instead express a preference for three to five Instagram posts per month. This approach offers creators latitude while ensuring accountability.

Whether opting for a termed or termless campaign, maintaining open lines of communication is crucial. 

Equipping influencers with a brand guide that furnishes helpful suggestions and clear content creation directives is essential. A comprehensive brand guide should encompass:

• Recommended posting frequency
• Templates and guidelines for using your logo
• Exemplary posts, preferred marketing channels, and a roster of effective hashtags
• Contact information

Drawing from past performance insights, highlight platforms and post types that have yielded optimal results. For instance:

• Leveraging Instagram Stories and posts, given their inherent ecommerce functionalities facilitating shopping. Sticker links allow direct linking in stories, while promo codes can be shared in regular posts.
• Harnessing TikTok's potential for virality in its nascent stage, capitalizing on trending content and consistent posting. Provide affiliates with trackable and shoppable links for their TikTok bios.
• Emphasizing blog posts for their visibility on search engines and capacity to drive clicks. Encourage affiliates to target keywords aligned with search intent to enhance visibility.

Remember, influencers serve as extensions of your brand, shaping how your brand values are perceived by their followers. 

Assisting them in crafting content that authentically reflects your brand ethos is paramount.

By following these steps, you can launch a successful influencer affiliate campaign that drives revenue and increases brand visibility. 

Remember to continuously evaluate and optimize your strategy based on performance metrics to maximize results. 

With the right approach, influencer affiliate campaigns can propel your ecommerce business to new heights of success.