How can I steal other companies' affiliates?

[webmagnets]

If I think another non-competitor company's affiliates are perfect for my program, is there a way to individually contact them? How will I find them?

p.s. I was just kidding about STEALING. The headline caught your attention though, didn't it?

[Linda Buquet]

Hi webmagnets,

Yep you got my attention with the 'steal' word. Not in a good way though.

What other affiliate managers typically do is a Google search for company name of the affiliate program
you are targeting. For instance if you search for Irv's Luggage, a lot of the top results are going to be affiliates. You need to search the pages to be sure they are affiliate links, then try to find the contact info. If it's a big popular brand like Walmart, you'll have to wade through a lot of news stories and stuff to find the affiliate pages. There is software that can help you automate the process to some degree.

Once you have affiliates you want to contact you need to proceed with caution. Many affiliates consider recruiting emails to be spam, because you really are sending then unsolicited emails. So the only way to do it is to really take your time and personalize everything. You need to use their name and site name and say something that sounds 'real' not like a form letter that reads as if you generically sent the same thing to 500 people.

I never do email recruiting because of the reasons above. You could also try to call them. More time intensive and some affiliates don't like phone calls either, but that's another option IF you can find a phone number.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

[Rob_TID]

Yup, good advice from Linda.

Another thing is when you contact these potential affiliates, you really need to be able to give reasons that they will make more money with your program than the program they are currently promoting. Does yours convert better? Do you offer bonus? Is your commission higher? Your EPC? Can you offer that specific affiliate something that your competitor was not?

People used to come after my affiliates all the time to try to poach them. It's nothing personal, and I expected them to. (Call it "pumpkin pie" if you're not happy with the word "stealing" but the end result was the same). It didn't bother me much, because I was willing to do more for my affiliates than my competitors were. I developed content for them, I made them banners that they asked for, our landing pages converted like mad, our payout were on a par with everyone else. I coded up specific pages that I thought would be good on affiliate's websites. I wrote new and unique content for them. I developed keyword lists for them. I gave them individual technical support. etc etc etc.

Because my competitors were not willing to give that level of service to their affiliates, I don't think I ever lost a single significant affiliate to them.

I welcomed people to try to steal my affiliates. It meant that I had to think of new ways to improve my program. It makes affiliate programs efficient. Only the best survive and as any good economist will tell you, letting the market decide always results in efficiency and quality.

[Linda Buquet]

Excellent points Rob!

[DB-AM]

When reaching out, I recommend not making promises that you can't keep. Outrageous claims are a red-flag to most potential affiliates. Additionally, if you do propose special offers (higher CPA starting rates, coupon codes, landing pages etc.) live up to them.

Basically, stay in contact with your recruits. Follow up and deliver. It would be, at the very least, "bad business" to recruit an affiliate and then drop the ball.

[purplebear]

Oh....I kinda like those emails I get that say I found your site making a natural search and think your web site would be just a perfect match for our company. Your site may sell knitting yarn.......and there's is Viagra.

Make sure you really have actually visited their site, seen what it's about and that it is actually relevant to your product.

[James Spinosa]

Great posts by all, I am trying to find ways to steal some affiliates for my own product, or "share" affiliates I should say

[Rob_TID]

But what are you willing to do for your affiliates?

THAT is what will set you apart.

[James Spinosa]

Bend over backwards, twice.

[SarahT]

Great post. It brings up some of the issues that you face when recruiting affiliates.

We have had success recruiting by email. For us the combination of being personal and not too formal is working well. You need to provide the potential affiliate with information but you don't want to bombard them with statistics. Your first approach should be more of a soft sale to see if they're even interested. After initial contact has been made focus on building a relationship. Again, this is what has worked for us, of course many factors come into play and what works for us may not work for you.

Good luck to all.