This SaaS Company Found Affiliate Partners Without Mass Outreach - Here's Their Method

I started my career with a focus on digital marketing, diving into various areas like SEO, content strategy, and social media management. As I progressed, I realized the impact of affiliate marketing in B2B, especially for SaaS companies. It offered a powerful way to expand reach by building partnerships and leveraging trusted voices in the industry.

My journey with affiliate programs began when I joined Zonka Feedback as the Digital and Affiliate Marketing Lead. I was excited by the potential to connect with like-minded professionals who believe in our product’s value and could help us grow through authentic recommendations. Building our affiliate program from the ground up has been both challenging and rewarding. It’s a constant learning process—understanding the right incentives, maintaining relationships with affiliates, and aligning our goals with theirs.

Today, I find it incredibly fulfilling to see the program thrive as we bring in partners who genuinely advocate for our product. My journey in B2B affiliate management has been a mix of strategic planning, creativity, and relationship-building, and I’m looking forward to scaling it further!

One of my top strategies for recruiting high-quality affiliates is to focus on identifying partners who genuinely align with our brand and target audience. Instead of mass outreach, I prioritize building relationships with affiliates who have an established presence in our niche, such as SaaS reviewers, business blogs, and influencers within customer experience and feedback spaces.

To identify potential affiliates, I leverage SEO tools like Ahrefs to find high-traffic websites that already rank for keywords related to our product. I also engage on LinkedIn and industry forums to connect with creators and thought leaders who are passionate about similar topics. Once I’ve identified ideal partners, I approach them with a personalized message that highlights the value our program can offer to their audience. This tailored approach helps us build long-term partnerships with affiliates who are as invested in our success as we are in theirs.

To drive affiliate activation and engagement, I focus on providing affiliates with everything they need to succeed from day one. Clear communication and support are key, so I ensure new affiliates understand our product, target audience, and the unique selling points they can highlight. We offer a robust onboarding process that includes marketing materials, targeted messaging guides, and training resources, which help affiliates feel prepared and confident in promoting our product

In terms of campaigns, personalized incentive programs have been highly effective. For example, I’ve run limited-time bonuses for affiliates who achieve a certain number of sign-ups within their first few months. We also keep affiliates engaged with regular updates on product improvements and fresh content ideas, so they always have something new to share with their audience. Additionally, I make it a priority to maintain open communication through check-ins and monthly newsletters. This helps affiliates feel supported and motivated to actively promote our program, which has been instrumental in boosting engagement and activation.

To boost affiliate performance, I prioritize metrics that track engagement and revenue generation, such as conversion rates, average order value, and customer lifetime value from affiliate-driven sign-ups. These metrics give us a clear picture of which affiliates are driving high-quality traffic and which strategies are most effective.

To help affiliates succeed, I regularly analyze these metrics and share performance insights with them. I offer tailored suggestions for optimizing their content, such as promoting specific features that resonate with high-converting audiences. We also provide ongoing access to marketing resources, including product updates, new ad creatives, and case studies, which help affiliates keep their content fresh and compelling.

One of my favorite affiliate management tools is PartnerStack. It’s been indispensable for managing our affiliate program because it combines ease of use with powerful features tailored to SaaS businesses. PartnerStack’s dashboard provides clear visibility into affiliate performance metrics, allowing us to track conversions, revenue, and engagement in real time. This data helps us identify our top-performing affiliates and optimize our strategies accordingly.

PartnerStack also simplifies payment management, which is a huge time-saver, and its built-in tools for affiliate onboarding and training have been incredibly useful for activating new partners quickly. Another standout feature is the automated communication, which enables us to easily send updates, resources, and incentives to our affiliates, keeping them engaged and informed without constant manual follow-up. Overall, PartnerStack has streamlined our workflow and given us the tools to scale our program effectively.