Your account manager can also make a ‘publisher gap analysis’; or which publishers are active with your competitors and not with you? If they are not yet in your program then it is high time to approach them, and if they are already in your program then you want to activate them. This is a part of the affiliate seo now.

Ask your publishers

This sounds very simple and it is; ask your publishers what they think of your program. You can ask for their opinion through a publisher survey. Think of:

• Questions about your program; what do they like and don’t like?
• Questions about your reimbursements; are they competitive?
• Questions about the network; are they satisfied with that? Which dashboards and reporting options do they use?
• Questions about the advertising material; can they handle that?
• Questions about your contact; do they read the mailings?
• Ask for points for improvement; what does the advertiser have to do to become more interesting for them?

With this input you can get started with your program. Your publishers feel heard and you know where the points for improvement lie. If that is not a win-win situation:

Come up with ideas yourself

A nice way to approach silent publishers is by coming up with ideas yourself. Show that you have viewed their site and let them know where you would like to be in a top 5 list for example. Is the information about your product or service outdated? Then provide the current information immediately, along with some visual material. This way, the publisher can get started right away and the threshold is lowered to adjust the content and to actively promote you (again).

Approach your publishers personally

Many publishers are unsubscribed from the mailings of the network because they are otherwise overloaded with messages. Relationship management is extremely important in affiliate marketing. Publishers want to feel important. So try to have personal contact with them as much as possible. You probably already have contact with the top publishers by e-mail and not via the network. If, thanks to a benchmark or gap analysis, you found out which publisher you would like to activate, approach them personally. This way they know who is ‘behind the program’ and they will be more inclined to work for you sooner than on the basis of a message via the network.

And make them feel special

Publishers are just like people and they want to feel special. So surprise them from time to time! You can do this with a playful promotion. Some examples:

• Send them a sample, a small product or a voucher for your shop
• Send them a treat with Halloween, Sinterklaas or Easter
• Send them a card for their birthday

You could also consider organizing a publisher event. This way you create an extra bond with your brand and a stronger bond between publisher and advertiser.

Finally

The 80/20 rule applies to most affiliate programs and there is nothing wrong with that at all. You also have publishers who send relatively little traffic, but if they send traffic they are probably very relevant visitors. And there are also publishers who send a lot of traffic but do not convert. You can approach that target group again via remarketing. As long as you maintain a good relationship with your top publishers, your program will continue to be reasonably stable.