#146: Tactical Tuesday: Should you Utilize an Affiliate Marketing Program?

OVERVIEW

Jason A. Duprat, Entrepreneur, Healthcare Practitioner and Host of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy podcast discusses the pros and cons of affiliate programs to grow your business.

 

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• There are three ways to grow your business. Word-of-mouth or through a general Google search, paid advertisements like billboards, Facebook or Google, and hiring sales staff or an affiliate marketer. 
• Word-of-mouth is tough to scale. Paid ads can be expensive and tough to master. Often entrepreneurs lean towards affiliate marketing programs. 
• An affiliate marketing program is a commission-based program where you pay others to share your  product. 
• The biggest cons to affiliate programs is they require a lot of administrative effort to manage, which can be tough for small businesses. You need to set up processes for partners to sign up and for payment compensation.  
• In addition, another con is it can be difficult to track legitimate sales. Sometimes affiliate marketers will say they can do more for your business than they can actually do. 
• Screen potential partners by interviewing them. Review their track record for success and if they sign on, provide training on your business and its services or products. 
• The pros of affiliate programs include they can lead to  tremendous sales if the affiliate marketer is a solid and reputable resource. In addition, you can eliminate the burden of paid advertising.  
• Jason recommends using affiliate software including CAKE, Ontraport and PayKickstart. (Jason points out he doesn’t receive a commission on these products; he’s providing strictly as a helpful resource).
• If you’re interested in becoming an affiliate for the Ketamine Academy or IV Therapy Academy programs, reach out to Jason via [email protected]. 

 

3 KEY POINTS:

1. Commissions for affiliate marketing can range from the low-end of 30% to the high-end of 50%. Products are usually on the lower end and digital services are on the higher end. 
2. Affiliate programs offer different pros and cons. Some of the cons include additional administrative effort to get processes set up and the potential for exploitation by unprofessional affiliates. The pros include the opportunity to foster a boost in sales and eliminate paid advertising.
3. Affiliate programs require monitoring, particularly on the accounting side of things. Fortunately, there are accounting and affiliate management tools you can  access  to help alleviate the burden. 

 

TWEETABLE QUOTES:

“Organic growth  is tough, it takes a while to scale rapidly. Paid ads are expensive and time-consuming to master. And so, a lot of people decide to go with the affiliate option.” - Jason Duprat

 

 “The biggest drawback (of affiliate programs) I keep hearing over and over again is affiliate programs take a lot of administrative effort to manage.” - Jason Duprat

 

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