Advertise on podcast: The Affiliate Guy with Matt McWilliams: Marketing Tips, Affiliate Management, & More

Your affiliate commission has to work for two people: you and the affiliate. Pay too little and great affiliates won't bother. Pay too much and you can wipe out your margins. In this episode, I'm showing you how to set affiliate commissions that attract better partners by looking at your price, your costs, your time, what you need to make, and what competing programs are paying. I'll also share ways to make your offer more attractive without simply raising commissions, including tiered payouts, bonuses, free-trial bounties, better conversions, exclusive offers, training, and other perks that can make affiliates want to promote you Links Mentioned in this Episode Affiliate Program Email Template Podcast Episode – How to Negotiate Affiliate Deals That Benefit Everyone What Affiliates Need to be Successful AffiliateHQ

If your affiliate program isn't growing, the answer usually isn't "work harder." You need to figure out where the program is breaking down. Maybe your expectations are off, your onboarding is weak, your commissions aren't competitive, your tracking is shaky, you don't have enough affiliates, or you're not giving the ones you have enough reasons to stay engaged. In this episode, I'm showing you how to turn around an affiliate program that isn't growing by identifying the most common problems I see, fixing the basics first, and building a clear plan to get the program moving again. Links Mentioned in this Episode How I Built a $1 Million a Month Affiliate Program In Only Two Years Without Any Connections or Credentials Find Your First 100 Affiliates Get Our Sample Affiliate Training AffiliateHQ

Some of the best affiliates in your niche are already promoting offers like yours. That's good news, because you don't have to start from scratch. You can find the affiliates who are already active, already proven, and already looking for programs that treat them better. In this episode, I'm showing you how to recruit affiliates from your competition's program without being shady, trashing the other company, or making promises you can't keep. I'll share the story of how one competitor's acquisition helped us go from about $100,000 a month to more than half a million, why the right angle matters more than a slightly higher commission, and how to give proven affiliates a real reason to try your program. Links Mentioned in this Episode How I Built a $1 Million a Month Affiliate Program In Only Two Years Without Any Connections or Credentials Find Your First 100 Affiliates AffiliateHQ

Affiliate swipe copy should make it easier for partners to promote, but too often it turns into a copy-and-paste mess where every affiliate sends the same email with the same subject line. That doesn't help them, and it doesn't help your program. In this episode, I'm showing you how to create affiliate emails, images, and social swipe your partners can actually use, including why you probably shouldn't write the copy yourself, how to give affiliates images that make their emails better, why you need different versions for different audiences, and how to make swipe copy a guide instead of a script. I'll also share why social swipe gets overlooked, even though a real chunk of opt-ins can come from social media. Links Mentioned in this Episode How to Use Swipe Copy as an Affiliate Ultimate Affiliate Swipe File AffiliateHQ

Your affiliate agreement shouldn't read like it was written by a committee of attorneys trying to win a boredom contest. It needs to protect your program, but it also needs to be clear enough that affiliates know what they can do, what they can't do, and what happens if they break the rules. In this episode, I'm walking through how to build affiliate terms and conditions that affiliates can understand, including what to include in your preamble, definitions, approval policy, link rules, website restrictions, domain rules, advertising policies, FTC disclosures, coupon rules, PPC guidelines, and reversal policy. You don't need to speak legalese, but you do need an agreement that sets expectations, protects the good affiliates, and gives you something clear to point back to when problems show up. Links Mentioned in this Episode Affiliate Terms & Conditions Template What the 2023 FTC Updates Mean for Affiliate Marketing How to Identify and Stop Affiliate Fraud AffiliateHQ

Legal stuff might not be the most exciting part of running an affiliate program, but it's one of the areas you can't afford to just wing. If your affiliates are making false claims, skipping disclosures, spamming people, mishandling data, or breaking your terms, that can come back on you. In this episode, I'm walking through what every affiliate manager needs to know about legal stuff, including FTC disclosures, email rules, privacy and data protection, fraud monitoring, tax records, cookie consent, and why your affiliate agreement needs to be clear before problems show up. This isn't legal advice, but it will help you know what to watch, what to document, and when to get professional help so your program stays protected. Links Mentioned in this Episode   What the 2023 FTC Updates Mean for Affiliate Marketing How to Identify and Stop Affiliate Fraud How to Write a Review Post that Ranks and Converts AffiliateHQ

Affiliates stick around when they know you're not treating them like a name on a spreadsheet. Strong relationships are what keep partners engaged, responsive, and willing to promote again, even when another program comes along with a bigger commission or a flashier offer. In this episode, I'm showing you how to create affiliate relationships that last, whether you're working with experienced partners, brand-new affiliates, or people who haven't promoted in a while. You'll learn where to start, what to focus on, and how to build the kind of trust that turns affiliates into long-term partners instead of one-time promoters. Links Mentioned in this Episode Sample Affiliate Training

Something is going to go wrong in your affiliate program eventually. A launch gets delayed. A tracking issue pops up. A commission changes. A promo doesn't go the way you expected. The mistake most people make is waiting too long, saying too little, or trying to make the problem sound better than it is. In this episode, I'm showing you how to tell affiliates when something goes wrong so you can be honest, protect trust, manage expectations, and keep your partners confident even when the update isn't the one they wanted to hear. Links Mentioned in this Episode AffiliateHQ Top 20 Affiliate Program Mistakes How to 10X Your Sales WITHOUT Spending All Day on Social Media or Expensive Paid Ads

Affiliate managers have a lot pulling at their attention: recruiting new partners, activating the ones who signed up, answering questions, checking stats, creating resources, following up, and keeping the program moving. So what should you actually do each day? In this episode, I'm showing you how to plan your day as an affiliate manager so you know what to focus on first, what can wait, and how to spend your time on the work that actually grows the program. If you've ever wondered what the day-to-day role really looks like, this will give you a practical way to structure it. Links Mentioned in this Episode AffiliateHQ How I Built a $1 Million a Month Affiliate Program In Only Two Years Without Any Connections or Credentials  Check Out Our Careers Page Find Your First 100 Affiliates

Every affiliate program runs into problems. Some show up before you ever recruit your first affiliate, like choosing the right tracking software, fixing website issues, dialing in conversions, setting commissions, and getting your program policies clear. Others hit once the program is live, like finding the right affiliates, activating them, keeping them engaged, communicating well, and giving them the right promotional materials. In this episode, I'm walking through the common problems every affiliate program faces, including the later-stage issues too: changing technology, fraud, brand reputation, compliance, and the need to keep testing new ideas. You'll learn what usually goes wrong, why it slows down growth, and what to fix first. Links Mentioned in this Episode AffiliateHQ VIDEO – How to Decide the Right Affiliate Commission Structure Your First 100 Affiliates Report Affiliate Activation Email Templates  How I Built a $1 Million a Month Affiliate Program In Only Two Years Without Any Connections or Credentials  Sample Affiliate Training

Affiliate fraud is rare, but when it happens, it can cost you real money, damage your program, and create a mess you wish you'd caught sooner. The good news is, you don't have to spend hours every week hunting for problems. You just need to know which red flags to watch. In this episode, I'm walking through the signs every affiliate program should pay attention to, including conversion rates that are way too high or way too low, strange click patterns, high refund rates, spam complaints, fake discount codes, cookie stuffing, trademark bidding, and more. You'll learn how to spot potential fraud, how to prove what's really happening, and when to warn an affiliate versus when to remove them fast. Links Mentioned in this Episode AffiliateHQ Your First 100 Affiliates The 3 Secrets of Success Affiliate Programs This Affiliate Program Just Made a Fatal Mistake: Here's What They Should Have Done Instead

Affiliate webinars can bring in a flood of leads and still leave a lot of sales on the table. The difference usually comes down to what happens before, during, and after the webinar. In this episode, I'm showing you how to make affiliate webinars convert better, including how to promote an offer that doesn't perfectly match your niche, what to ask affiliate managers and partners for before you promote, and how encore webinars can double or even triple sales. These are practical lessons we've learned from real promotions, including what worked, what didn't, and how to get more value from every webinar you run or promote. Links Mentioned in this Episode ConvertKit

You started an affiliate program, but it's not growing the way you expected. Before you recruit more partners, raise commissions, or start changing everything at once, you need to figure out what's actually broken. In this episode, I'm showing you how to find what's wrong with your affiliate program and fix it by walking through the 14 problems I've seen come up again and again over nearly two decades of working with affiliate programs. Most struggling programs have three, four, or five of these issues, and once you identify yours, you can stop guessing and start fixing the problems that are actually holding back growth. Links Mentioned in this Episode How I Built a $1 Million a Month Affiliate Program In Only Two Years Without Any Connections or Credentials Find Your First 100 Affiliates Affiliate Email Template Get Our Sample Affiliate Training

Affiliates can't promote well if they're guessing. They need more than a link and a login. They need the right tools, the right direction, and the right kind of support from you as the affiliate manager. In this episode, I'm sharing the 5 things affiliates need to succeed, based on nearly 17 years of running and studying great affiliate programs. You'll learn what to provide so your partners know what to say, when to promote, how to get better results, and why they should keep showing up for your program again and again. Links Mentioned in this Episode   How to Give Your Affiliates Banners & Graphics How we do affiliate trainings How to Create Mailing Plans for Your Affiliates Affiliate Promo Checklist How to Use Swipe Copy MotionMail

An affiliate program gets fragile when all the sales come from one or two big partners. The goal is to build a deep bench of loyal promoters who believe in what you sell, know how to talk about it, and keep coming back to promote again. In this episode, I'm showing you how to grow an affiliate program without relying on a few affiliates, including how to attract the right partners, turn customers and fans into evangelists, and create the kind of experience that makes affiliates want to stick around for the long haul. Links Mentioned in this Episode   Find Affiliates Now How to Turn Competitors into Affiliates Top 7 Mistakes Businesses Make Reaching Out to Prospective Affiliates