Affiliate Marketing Blog by Shawn Collins

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Do you think that affiliate programs must have 24/7 support? And if so, what is the biggest benefit for the ones that do, for the ones that don’t?

I was not aware that any affiliate programs were offering 24/7 support to affiliates. In fact, I don’t recall any e-commerce sites (they may well be some) that offer such support to customers, either.

The reason being that there is not demand for such service. I’ve been availing myself as an affiliate manager seven days a week to affiliates for years. There haven’t been any emergencies to date.

Plenty of routine questions that were answered in off business hours.

If you were to offer such a service, I think it would be worth highlighting to your affiliates. But if you pay staff to wait for issues overnight, how long will you give it before you determine it’s not the best use of resources?

And are you willing to be woken up by a call at 3 AM from an affiliate halfway across the world that is wondering if you can make then a 300×250 graphic for their blog?

I don’t think 24/7 support is an issue out there, but better support in general is needed by most affiliate programs. Take a look at your FAQ - are the questions in there actually those that are frequently asked?

Create an affiliate resource site to provide tools and resources for affiliates, as well as an affiliate sales guide that gives an overview of your target audience, company history, products/services, etc.

It’s also helpful to provide sample creative, your PPC bidding policy for affiliates, and a copy of your affiliate agreement in a place that is readily accessible by affiliates.

And consider starting up a blog for your affiliates to communicate the latest news about your affiliate program.

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