10 steps to Launch Your Affiliate Program

Starting an affiliate marketing journey can feel overwhelming, but with a solid plan, it can lead to massive growth and engagement for your game. Whether you’re promoting a free-to-play PC game, a mobile game, or a gaming store or service, this checklist will guide you to launch your affiliate program for success.

Step 1: Define your goals

First things first, let’s get clear on your goals. What do you want from your affiliates? Your goals will shape the actions you expect and how you measure success.

For free-to-play browser games, you might want to pay for registrations, measure log-ins, track tutorial completions, focus on converting users into active players with around 5-7 hours of gameplay, or share revenue from paid orders. For example, paying for registrations can be measured via Cost Per Lead (CPL), Single Opt-In (SOI), or Double Opt-In (DOI) with email verification. Measuring log-ins involves asking publishers to drive users to their first log-in, using CPL or Cost Per Player (CPP). Tracking tutorial completions focuses on new users who finish the tutorial while converting users into active players involves monitoring their gameplay over a significant period using CPP. Sharing revenue, known as CPS or RevShare, involves distributing a portion of the revenue from paid orders to affiliates.

For free-to-play mobile games, you could track app installations, measure first log-ins, increase the number of active players, or share your revenue from paid orders with affiliates. Tracking app installations can be done through Cost Per Install (CPI), measuring first log-ins can be achieved using CPL or CPP, and increasing the number of active players might involve using Cost Per Engagement (CPE) for actions that convert users into active players. Sharing revenue from paid orders with affiliates can be a strong motivator.

If you’re promoting gaming stores and services, you could focus on increasing the number of leads through sign-ups or newsletter subscriptions, or share revenue from paid orders segmented by new or existing clients and product categories. Increasing leads might involve collecting sign-ups via CPL payment models, while sharing revenue from paid orders could be segmented by different product categories or client types, making it more attractive to affiliates.

Step 2: Calculate Payouts and Define GEOs

Next, let’s talk money. Determine your payouts based on your audience and the economic landscape of your target regions. Understanding the economic environment and gaming culture of your audience’s location is crucial.

For specific games, understand where your audience comes from. For countries with advanced economies like the US, Canada, and Western Europe, offer higher payouts due to their high purchasing power and established gaming markets. These regions typically have a robust infrastructure for online transactions, a strong gaming culture, and higher disposable incomes, making higher payouts justifiable.

For emerging economies like Brazil, Turkey, and China, offer moderate payouts reflecting their growing markets. These regions are experiencing rapid growth in internet penetration and mobile usage, which presents significant opportunities for affiliate marketing, albeit with slightly lower payouts than Tier 1 countries.

For developing countries like parts of Africa and Central Asia, campaigns will be cheaper due to economic constraints and potential challenges in building demand. These regions might face issues like lower internet penetration rates and economic constraints, but they also represent untapped markets with significant potential if approached correctly.

For gaming stores and services, offer a standardized rate or adjust it based on product categories and regional differences. Decide if your campaign is GEO-targeted or globally accessible. GEO-targeted campaigns allow for more tailored marketing strategies, while globally accessible campaigns can cast a wider net but might require more generic approaches.

Step 3: Estimate Your Test Budget

Budgeting for the test campaign is crucial before launching your affiliate program. Start with at least $5K for PC or mobile games to gather enough data. This initial investment will help you understand the campaign’s potential, identify any issues early on, and make necessary adjustments.

During the testing phase, monitor various metrics closely. Look at user acquisition costs, conversion rates, and overall engagement. This will help you refine your approach before scaling up. The goal is to gather sufficient data to make informed decisions about your final budget and strategy.

Step 4: Set Your KPIs

Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of your affiliate program. Define how you’ll measure your goals and what minimal results you need to continue the campaign. Make sure your goals are realistic and aligned with your overall marketing and business objectives.

Include metrics like the number of installs or logins, active players, or revenue generated. For example, you might set a KPI for a certain number of app installs per month or a specific revenue target. By having clear KPIs, you can easily track progress and make adjustments as needed to stay on course.

KPIs should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This ensures that they provide clear guidance and a solid framework for evaluating actions.

Step 5: Establish Program Rules

Set clear rules and guidelines to maintain the quality and integrity of your affiliate program. Create terms and conditions that cover prohibited activities like fraud and branded word restrictions, and allow and disallow traffic types such as social media ads, content sites, and email newsletters.

Prohibited activities might include fraudulent practices like fake clicks or sign-ups. Branded word restrictions ensure that affiliates do not misuse your brand in unauthorized ways or not overrun your own PPC campaign. Specifying allowed and disallowed traffic types helps control where and how your affiliates promote your product, ensuring it aligns with your brand image and marketing strategy.

By establishing clear rules, you help affiliates understand the boundaries and expectations, making it easier to manage the program and enforce compliance. This clarity can also prevent potential conflicts and misunderstandings down the line.

Step 6: Define Your Cookie Lifetime

Cookie lifetime impacts commission attribution. Decide on a duration based on typical user behavior and purchase cycles. For example, if your game typically sees users make a purchase within 30 days of visiting, you might set a 30-day cookie lifetime. This ensures that affiliates are fairly compensated for their efforts in driving traffic that converts within a reasonable period.

Consider user behavior patterns and the nature of your product. Shorter cookie lifetimes might be appropriate for quick-purchase decisions, while longer durations might be better for products with longer sales cycles.

Step 7: Prepare Your Assets & Incentives for Affiliates

Equip your affiliates with the right tools to protect your branding and boost effectiveness. Prepare creatives like banners, images, videos, landing pages, and discount codes. It’s also good to think of incentives for top performers such as bonuses or exclusive offers.

Providing high-quality marketing materials ensures that all published content aligns with your brand guidelines, maintaining a consistent and professional image. This also makes it easier for affiliates to promote your product effectively.

Incentives for top performers can motivate affiliates to go the extra mile. Consider offering bonuses, exclusive offers, or even special recognition to encourage high performance.

Step 8: Choose a Reliable Partner

Select an affiliate network with expertise in your industry. Networks like Mitgame offer technical integrations such as mobile trackers, postbacks, pixels, GTMs, and APIs, and provide extensive analytics and expert recommendations. A dedicated account manager can oversee your campaign’s success, providing personalized support and guidance.

Working with a reliable partner ensures smooth operations and access to advanced tools and insights. This can significantly enhance your campaign’s performance and efficiency. By finding the right partner, you allow yourself to learn along the way, but it’s the account manager’s role to use all their knowledge and resources to secure your campaign’s success.

Step 9: Test Before Your Affiliate Program Launch

Before going live, thoroughly test all tracking mechanisms to confirm accurate data collection and attribution. This step can save you a lot of time and hassle later on. Rigorous testing helps identify and fix any issues with tracking or data collection, allowing your campaign to run smoothly from the start.

Simulate various scenarios to verify that all systems work correctly. This includes testing different user paths, tracking links, and conversion points. Proper testing allows you to accurately measure performance and make data-driven decisions.

Step 10: Learn from Experts

Leverage professional expertise to manage your affiliate program efficiently. Work with a team of professionals or seek out guides and tutorials. Joining an affiliate network like Mitgame optimizes your campaign and puts it in the hands of experts, freeing you to focus on other critical areas of your business.

Experts can provide valuable insights, identify opportunities for improvement, and help you navigate any challenges. By learning from their experience, you can avoid common pitfalls and enhance the overall effectiveness of your affiliate program.

By following these steps, you can effectively launch and manage your affiliate program, driving growth and engagement in a structured and measurable way. If you still have any doubts or need a reliable partner, reach out.