Why should affiliate managers diversify their program?

One of the key fundamentals of managing an affiliate program is having a diversified affiliate portfolio. For many, the process of diversifying a program is foreign but with the right steps taken, it is possible to build a platform for success for a brand. You can’t simply rely on a few affiliates to drive the majority of your traffic, instead, affiliate managers must have a diverse portfolio of different affiliate types.

What is affiliate diversification?

In the iGaming industry, it is no secret that there are often more affiliate programs than there are affiliates. However, that doesn’t mean that you should be relying on just one or two successful affiliates to drive your revenue. In the same way that an investor would diversify their investment portfolio, affiliate managers must be willing to mitigate risks and diversify now.

By diversifying your affiliate program, you can reach new and different audiences. Affiliate recruitment isn’t always easy but with the right program behind you, you can achieve this goal.

Maximising your program potential

In 2021, affiliate program managers should be doing all that they can to help their program reach its full potential. Often, having a limited bank of affiliates can result in tunnel vision and a lack of diversity when it comes to marketing campaigns and strategies.

However, when you diversify your program with new affiliates, you can maximise your program’s potential. For example, you can test out new strategies on new affiliates and reach audiences that you never have before.

In iGaming, there are always new potential traffic sources, and each affiliate will have their own strategies. Use this to your advantage when diversifying your program.

Reducing risk

Risk management is very important in affiliate program management, but we are sure you already know that. The last thing you want is to rely heavily on a particular affiliate to drive a large percentage of your revenue. What would happen if this affiliate decided to move on or was acquired by another business entity? In this case, you could lose revenue in a heartbeat.

When you diversify your affiliate program you can reduce the risk of this happening. No partnership is guaranteed in the long-term and so having a contingency plan is key. Take a closer look at your current portfolio and determine the risk factors associated with this.

How to diversify in 2021

Now that you know why it is so important to diversify your affiliate program, we thought we’d offer some advice on how to achieve this in 2021.

Firstly, you must be willing to expand on influencer engagements. Influencer marketing is continuously growing and with more time spent at home, on social media recently – it can be extremely profitable. If you aren’t using influencers to grow your brand, it might be time to consider this.

Additionally, you can consider brand to brand partnerships to leverage the innovation of two teams of experts. With this, you can boost your iGaming brand by doubling up on affiliate promotional options.

You should also be strategic about the way in which you approach new affiliates. Define your targets to them and ask them how they will help you achieve these. Timing is important in affiliate recruitment.

2021 is here and there is no time to waste when it comes to improving the performance of your affiliate program. Diversify promptly and efficiently to achieve the desired results.