If you run an affiliate program, you want to make sure your affiliates are motivated. Yes, they should already be. The number of sales they generate is directly related to the money they make, through commission. With that said, you may be surprised how many of your affiliates don’t put forth an extra effort. These individuals may not market or advertise their own website, do not have yours banners in a good location, and so forth. It is important to provide them with motivation.

Not only is it important to provide your underperforming affiliates with motivation, but your top performers too. Earning a lot of money is nice, but it can get boring. Give your top performing affiliates new goals to reach. Keep them active and interested in your affiliate program. After all, they generate the most income for you.

So, what are good sources of motivation?

Contests. If you want to improve the performance of your affiliates, you can’t go wrong with a contest. Be sure to have good prizes on hand, like $50 or a new laptop computer. With contests, you not only have freedom to choose the prize, but the terms of the contest too. For example, you can reward your top performing affiliates, your most improved affiliates, the affiliates most active in your messages boards, and so forth. Your options are endless. Anything related to your affiliate program can be transformed into a contest.

Increased commission levels. As with contents, you have different choices with increased commission levels. Do you want to keep your top performers happy and active in your program? Create stages they can meet. For example, for every $10,000 your affiliates generate in sales, increase their commission one or two percent. You also have the option to temporarily increase commissions. This is great during the holidays. The months leading up to Christmas are the best time to sell a product and the time in which your affiliates could use the extra money.

A notable mentioned. It is no doubt that most affiliates would prefer compensation over a notable mention, but it does work. Do you have a top performing affiliate who always generates a lot of sales? Make sure they are recognized for their work. Mention their name and provide a link to their website on your affiliate program website, on your message boards, or in a monthly newsletter. Not only will the featured affiliate feel pride, it will motivate others and they can follow his or her examples.

Offer free resource guides for your affiliates. The thing about affiliate programs is that many new affiliates underestimate the work involved. You must do more than just toss a few coded links or banners on a website. That website needs to be promoted and ad placement is important. Once some new affiliates realize this, they head for the hills. Make sure your new affiliates know that work is involved to become a top earner, but show them that work is simple. Have resource guides available for internet marketing, online sales, and networking. When your affiliates have step-by-step guides to follow, it doesn’t seem so hard to make money.

The above mentioned ideas are just a few of the many ways that you can motivate your affiliates. Remember, motivation is important. Yes, your products will sell on their own, but affiliate programs provide a boost in sales. That boost means more money for you, so start motivating your affiliates, especially the underperformers, today.