Hello from Universe

[rpoolos]

Hello

I am Ryan, CEO of a Universe. Universe is a website builder designed to be easy and work on every device including, and especially iPhones where so much of the traffic to your website comes from. Now you can design your website on the same device it will be viewed on.

We recently launched our first affiliate program and it is all entirely new to me. So I am here to learn how to start, scale, and run an effect affiliate program that makes keeps affiliates happy and gives us a long term, sustainable source of new users.

This is all new to me so all suggestions are welcome.

 

[T J Tutor]

Welcome to AffiliateFix!

Loads of things to learn for you with your recruiting affiliates. You need to develop the skills to provide affiliates what they require and to recruit them into providing the leads you need.

Now you can design your website on the same device it will be viewed on.

I don't see that as a benefit. A proper site requires an abundance of work that is not compatible with mobile for the development cycle of a website.

So I am here to learn how to start, scale, and run an effect affiliate program that makes keeps affiliates happy and gives us a long term, sustainable source of new users.

To recruit the affiliates, I think you need to get your branding and traffic stats up considerably. You need to be competitive in order for affiliates to invest the time and the money in promoting your product.

Affiliates are always hungry for great offers to promote. You need to position your product such that it is as competitive as your competitors are.

 

[rpoolos]

I am not sure I understand. I assume that offering affiliates money is the main draw for them to send us traffic. Rather than us boosting traffic ourselves. Am I missing something fundamental?

 

[T J Tutor]

I am not sure I understand.

You don't understand when I say "You need to be competitive in order for affiliates to invest the time and the money in promoting your product."?

I assume that offering affiliates money is the main draw for them to send us traffic.

It is not the main draw. The main draw is having product or service to promote that has a pattern of success and is positioned competitively with the other branded products and services in the niche. I'm not saying you are not marketable, I was just pointing out you currently are a relatively unknown provider compared to your competitors.

I don't know how you can't understand my statement that "You need to be competitive in order for affiliates to invest the time and the money in promoting your product.". It is very self explanatory.

Affiliates are selective. If you have a competitor that is offering 10% and is a well known provider, then an unknown competitor that has only 10% of the same market as their nearest competitor, then that unknown competitor must offer more and prove to the affiliates their product/services are as good and beneficial as the well known competitor with the much larger market share.

It helps to know that just in the U.S. there are an estimated 11,400 affiliate programs. This does not include affiliate network offers. Additionally, there are an estimated to be in excess of 1,000,000. You really have to be skilled to recruit affiliates, you need to dedicate a portion of your time to recruiting daily, and you must provide more than average compensation to gain their interest in promoting you when you are the smaller fish in a very large pond.

Every smaller company goes through this. All of them. You must be highly competitive and provide more as the little fish in order to grow your market with affiliates.

 

[Ariel-ActiveRevenue]

hey Ryan — welcome, and congrats on launching universe’s affiliate program. your product makes a lot of sense in today’s mobile-first world. the idea of building a site on the same device people use to view it is sharp positioning, and that alone gives your affiliates a compelling story to tell.

you're right that money is a big motivator for affiliates — but it's not the whole picture. what really gets affiliates excited is promoting something that converts easily, has a clear value proposition, and gives them a reason to stand out. if they can confidently send traffic and earn consistently, they'll keep pushing. but that only happens if they believe in the product and know that the funnel works. affiliates are more like performance partners than traffic vendors. they want to feel supported, not managed. they need strong creative assets, honest stats, responsive communication, and ideally, a way to offer their audience something exclusive — whether that's a bonus, a unique discount, or a narrative they can build around your tool.

since you're just getting started, focusing on making your offer "easy to sell" will do more for affiliate trust than just a high payout. a free trial, a no-brainer value prop, and proof that users stick around go a long way. if your funnel converts, you’ll attract the right people. we work with affiliate marketers who combine both organic strategies and paid traffic to scale. once your offer is performing, running paid traffic through CPC or CPM sources — like push, pop, or in-page ads — can give you or your partners a serious edge in scaling reach.

if you’re ever open to testing traffic directly, or even offering co-op funds for affiliates to drive paid campaigns, I’d be happy to chat and share what we’re seeing work across verticals. are you offering recurring commissions or one-time payouts right now?

 

[Styx]

hey @rpoolos , welcome to affiliatefix