How to choose management software for your affiliate marketing

Regardless of what kind of management software you choose for your affiliate marketing you need to keep some important tips in mind. You need to remember that as time goes on your affiliate program will be changing because you will most likely add more products, change your specials, etc. Because of these changes you are going to want to choose management software for your affiliate marketing that is flexible enough to allow any changes to your business without having to change your software. You need to keep in mind that switching to different management software for your affiliate marketing can be expensive and it is not an easy switch to make because you will have to ask all of your affiliates to switch their affiliate links. This can cause problems with how your affiliates view you as a business partner.

When choosing management software for your affiliate marketing you are going to want to make sure it has certain minimum requirements. Some of the most basic requirements that all affiliate software should have are:

- Track affiliate-referred sales / leads / clicks / impressions
- Should be able to implement your affiliate commission scheme
- Automatically handle affiliate sign ups
- Calculate commissions for affiliates
- Automatically notify you and your affiliates about major events
- Distribute unique promotional tools to each affiliate
- Compatible with your shopping cart / payment processor
- Create real-time reports for you and your affiliates whenever they are needed
- Customizable design of affiliate panel and affiliate sign up form
- Keep track of affiliate payouts

While those things mentioned above are the minimum requirements for management software for your affiliate marketing in reality you are going to want your software to do much more then that. This part depends on what it is your company actually wants to accomplish when using the software. Some things that are also important to look for when choosing management software for your affiliate marketing are:
- Keeping track of any inactive affiliates. This will allow you to try and motivate the affiliates. Your software should provide with some possibilities for communicating, training, and motivating your affiliates.
- Affiliate newsletters that can be sent out once a month. Information that should be included in the newsletters is tips, information about any new products, and promotions or interviews with other successful affiliates. You can also add affiliate statistics for a certain period of time and send it directly to them through email.
- You can also help your affiliates succeed. Nobody knows your products better than you do so your software should be able to help you transfer your knowledge to your affiliates. Your software should provide a toolbox for your affiliates that will give them the tools that they need to promote your product. It should also include a resource area for your affiliates in case they need more information.
- Create special commission categories. These can be used to help attract super affiliates. This type of affiliate is going to need a special incentive to join your program because they can do a lot to help promote your business, so you want to be able to offer them more than what you would offer normal affiliates. You can also set up your special commission categories to give performance based awards to your affiliates based on sales volume, the amount of commission they earn, or any other criteria you wish to set.

Just remember to do your research on the various management software that is available for affiliate marketing and choose the one that best fits your company's needs both present and future.