Top Affiliate Software Features to Use for Long-Term Program Success

Once the tracking software is in place, your affiliate marketing program has launched, and partner recruitment is steady, you may find yourself wondering: “OK, I’m up and running. Now, what else needs to happen to make my program successful over the long haul?” The answer: Plenty. And the right affiliate software will help you do it. 

Below, we’ve pulled together a list of high-level tactics to help you get the most of out your affiliate software. These are broken down into the most important tasks to complete on a regular basis, organized by our recommended cadence: weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. In addition, we’ve included TUNE features and tools that will help you master each one. With a little discipline and some elbow grease, we’re confident these tactics will help you ensure your program has its most successful year yet. 

The Affiliate Software Features You Should Be Using 

Weekly: Your Affiliate Software Bread and Butter 

1. Reporting 

• It is important to monitor reporting throughout the week to gain insights into program performance, top partners, and review any data spikes. Within TUNE there are multiple reports available to access data that can be exported for further data analysis. 
  • You can view more about TUNE’s reporting suite here:  https://tune.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500007742262-Reporting-Overview
    • If you have multiple goals within an offer it is recommended to view the Goals Report to see downstream conversion rates and identify publishers driving high-performing traffic to your offers.  

2. Reviewing Applications 

• As your team continues with ongoing recruitment efforts, it is recommended to process applications daily, if not weekly, to keep up with pending partners who have applied to your program. By quickly approving affiliate applications, you are allowing partners access to their tracking links so they can begin promoting your brand. 
  • You can view more on the process for reviewing applications in TUNE, here: https://tune.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500007724341-Partner-Sign-Up-Page 

Monthly: Tried-and-True Affiliate Software Tasks 

1. Processing Returns and Modifications 

• To capture order cancellations, returns, or partial returns within the program, you can implement a process to upload a reconciliation file monthly or automate the process via TUNE’s API. Additionally, you can update your TUNE Pay Full Serve account to delay the invoice generation to allow your team time to review orders generated at the end of the month. 
  • Conversion Upload (Manually Uploading a File: https://tune.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500007725601-Importing-Conversions 
  • API Portal: https://developers.tune.com/advertiser-api/ 

2. TUNE Pay – Affiliate Invoice Review 

• With TUNE Pay Full Serve, invoices generate on the first day of every month (unless there is an update to the invoice generation delay setting). Once the invoices are generated in draft status, your team has until 8 am PST on the 15th of each month to review and approve the invoices so that TUNE can provide a consolidated invoice for partner payment. 

3. Partner Communication and Recruitment  

• Maintain active conversations with partners to keep them engaged and to monitor the health of your program. Communication should take place within your affiliate software as well as externally.
• Recruitment efforts should be continuous to find new partner verticals and promotional opportunities. When communicating with different types of affiliate partners you are actively looking to recruit into the program, follow-ups will be necessary, along with timely responses. To help jump-start your partner recruitment efforts, you can utilize TUNE Connect. 

Quarterly: Checkups and Check-ins  

1. Billing Portal 

• Ensure that the contacts and billing information are up to date within the billing portal. This will help get ahead of any potential expirations for corporate credit cards or allow the opportunity to add a new team member who should have access to billing insights. 
  • You can access your billing portal by navigating to Company > Billing 

2. Reviewing the Competitive Landscape 

• Monitoring your competitive landscape can provide your team with a pulse on the health of your program as it relates to partner payout and perks. 

3. Professional Services 

• If you have a feature request or want to explore a custom request that you feel would help your program better scale on TUNE, contact your customer success manager about Professional Services.   

Yearly: Less Frequent, But No Less Important 

1. Revisiting Content 

• Reviewing and updating (as needed) program terms and conditions. You can access your partner terms and conditions by navigating to Company>Customize Application> Partner Terms and Conditions. 
  • Documentation: https://tune.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500008229402-Customizing-Network-Terms-and-Conditions 
• Review standard email templates. This can include promotional emails, along with the standard email templates for pending, approved, and rejected statuses.   
  • Documentation: https://tune.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500008229662-Customizing-Email-Templates 

2. Account Customizations 

• Revisit any branding changes that may have occurred, and update settings as needed including the logo, favicon, custom scripts, etc. 
  • Documentation: https://tune.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500004851701-Branding-Your-Network 

3. Automation Rules 

• Save your team time by automating management actions based on custom rules. If not yet set up, you can explore the various time-to-action rules available. If already created, it is recommended to review the rules to ensure they are still applicable and make updates as needed. 
  • Documentation: https://tune.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500005263642-Performance-Automation-Tools 

Maximize Your ROI with the Right Affiliate Software

If you have questions about using your affiliate software to its full potential, reach out to [email protected] or chat with us.

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Download our Key Program Tasks Checklist and see exactly what tasks to complete and how often to complete them to run a healthy, long-term affiliate program. We’ve also included suggested TUNE features to use and links to helpful documentation!