How many affiliates do you need for success?

[DesignContest]

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This is a very general question and I realize that there is no real answer to this. The situation is different for everybody and depends on so many thing starting from the nature and price of the products and how big and active the affiliates are.

But I would still like to ask more experience merchants to share their experience of when they started feeling comfortable about their program.

I have a theory that if everything is set up right, the commission is good and you pay your affiliates on time after some moment the information about your program with spread around on its own with the affiliates sharing their good experience. But there should be some critical mass of members who have experienced the advantages of working with you. So my question is that after how many affiliates the word of mouth starts working?

[affiliateck]

Great question, I would like to know the answer to this one.

[Hero]

I realize that there is no real answer to this

There isn't an answer simply because this is the wrong question - the right question is what the definition of "success" and "feeling comfortable" is which will define how many affiliates you need.

It's the KPIs and the targets that you set - and how big a merchant you are, what kind of sector you're in, how much competition you have out there, and how aggressive you go with your marketing.

The usual is that a mature program won't have more than 50 affiliates generating the bulk of their orders - even more usual is for that number to be 10. In my opinion however, the smaller the number, the riskier the approach - you need your top guys obviously, but you should pay a lot more attention to the smaller guys. These are the ones who bring stability, long tail, alternative options and won't ask an arm and a leg to promote you. If 50% of your orders come from those small guys (regardless of whether it's 1 sale/month each, you have enough people to collectively make a difference) then you're in a much better position than if 100% of your orders come from 10 affiliates.

[DesignContest]

Hero, I understand that this is the "wrong" question. But I guess there isn't the "right" one either. I was trying to make more experience players to share their impressions of working with affiliates. And your post is exactly what I was looking for. So, thank you very much for sharing. I hope that there will be other replies and maybe different opinions.

[john1444]

You asked a question and you answered. The number of affiliate that can make you feel good depends on how many are duplicating your effort. Affiliate program duplication rate is very low but if you have just three to five active and experience players on your team, you can go to bed with your eyes close.

[DesignContest]

well, again, it was not really a question but rather an invitation to share your experience.

To be honest it is very interesting, I could never imagine that 3 or 5 affiliates even if they are experienced can change the game.

[forexaffreviews]

The 80-20 rule still applies in most cases. Besides its a broad question and the numbers vary based on the niche you are into. You could be right in your theory, but you also need to throw in the time factor. It takes time to build up a reputation and for that to happen, you'll have to keep going it endlessly.

[DesignContest]

Right, so there is not "easy" solution, I guess
Well, I'll keep going than, I am ready for that.

[sarrtori]

I think the concept of critical mass is very interesting.. 3 to 5 affiliates duplicating your effort, 10 to 20 top players.. and 50% of your orders coming from the small guys.

[DesignContest]

I think the concept of critical mass is very interesting.. 3 to 5 affiliates duplicating your effort, 10 to 20 top players.. and 50% of your orders coming from the small guys.

how many small guys there would be according to this scenario?

[Finch]

Expect to see a classic case of the 80/20 rule. 20% of your affiliates will produce 80% of the revenue.

Some affiliate networks out there are literally driven by a small handful of high volume publishers, but it can be an even smaller ratio. For every 100 affiliates, there might be 2 pushing numbers large enough to pay for their lunch.

So to answer your question, word of mouth marketing probably isn't the greatest mechanism of cranking up the traffic. You should devote your time and energy to recruiting and establishing great relationships with the small handful of affiliates who can generate traffic that actually means something.

[Michael_Anthony]

Actually, you're all wrong. The precise number of affiliates you need for success in any business and in any country in the world is 7.

Anyone need any other stuff answered, feel free to ask

[DesignContest]

Actually, you're all wrong. The precise number of affiliates you need for success in any business and in any country in the world is 7.

Wow, I thought it was 42...

[Michael_Anthony]

No. Definitely 7. It can be 8 if one of them is wearing a hat or likes bananas.

[DesignContest]

No. Definitely 7. It can be 8 if one of them is wearing a hat or likes bananas.

now you are just trashing the thread.