How to Leverage Affiliate Networks for B2B SaaS Success: A Guide to First-Party Data and Reditus

With many conversations I have with other SaaS founders, or growth managers it is not always clear what an affiliate network is, and how it can help to achieve more success for a SaaS affiliate program. In this article I will dive into the benefits of an affiliate network, how to leverage the 1st party data and some examples of how Reditus can help with this.

Don't worry; It won't be a 'pitch' / 'look at us' article, I will however take some examples I have seen while growing our network or screenshots from Reditus to highlight things.

Ps. Want to learn the basics of affiliate marketing? See here a guide on what a SaaS affiliate Program is. Or listen to the podcasts about affiliate marketing on the Grow Your B2B SaaS Podcast here: affiliate marketing podcast episode with Joran, or this one with Evan Weber .

Siloed Tools' vs. Networked Solutions: Why A Network is a great option for B2B SaaS Affiliate Marketing.

When it comes to affiliate marketing for B2B SaaS companies, choosing the right tool can make or break your strategy. Many companies rely on 'siloed tools', designed to manage affiliates within a single ecosystem. It is effective if you have basic needs or when you want to have some brand customisation, but in generate this approach has limitations compared to network solutions like Reditus.

When choosing your tool to start an affiliate program, it is great if they would allow you to leverage a broader network. My suggestion would always to start with your own network, and recruitment as they would have the most relevancy with your ICP & SaaS. However when you are 'ready for it', it is great to be able to turn on the network effect without having to migrate your entire program.

Understanding Siloed Tools

There are some popular platforms out there for affiliate management, offering features like tracking, reporting, and payment processing. However, they operate in a closed system, meaning it’s confined to the affiliates you directly recruit.

Limitations of Siloed Tools:

• Restricted Affiliate Pool: Limited to affiliates you onboard yourself, reducing reach.
• Lack of Cross-Industry Exposure: Affiliates are often isolated within one company’s ecosystem. Which means they would also log in less towards your program.
• Minimal Discovery Opportunities: Affiliates may not find your program unless explicitly invited.
• Resource-Intensive: Requires significant effort to recruit and manage affiliates.
• No support towards affiliates; The platform often does not offer (live chat) support towards affiliates.

Case Study Expandi.io : Learn why Expandi moved over from a 'siloed' tool to the Reditus network.

The Power of a Affiliate Network Approach for your SaaS

When we go beyond the 'siloed' approach we will come at the networks, this is where you can grow outside your own network and don't have to do all the heavy lifting yourself.

An affiliate network goes beyond traditional affiliate tools by connecting companies to a network of active affiliates. This model enables businesses to tap into a pre-existing ecosystem, providing access to affiliates who are already experienced in promoting B2B SaaS products.

However; do not expect miracles from the network. If the foundation isn't good, so people don't know you, don't understand your product or you just got started. It would be best to start inviting your own affiliates first, before fully relying on the network effect.

If no one has 'eaten' in your restaurant and never heard of it, don't expect them to directly start recommending you.

The image above illustrates really well the foundation you would have (ideally) in place before starting an affiliate program in general. If any of these things are missing, choosing a network (#5) would make much sense either.

See here a full walkthrough I did on a webinar with ?? Andy Karuza organised by NachoNacho :

Key Advantages of using an SaaS affiliate network.

When choosing for an affiliate network, instead of the 'siloed' approach you will have some key benefits. See here a list of the 10 best affiliate networks (for B2C or B2B). When going for a network, it would almost always mean you can list your affiliate program in their marketplace. See an example below;

Via Reditus you can join the affiliate programs from companies like; CyberSmart , Miro , Joiin , Boomerangme , Factors.ai , Archbee (YC S21) , Welcomessage , QuickBlox , Geo Targetly , Expandi.io , Warmy.io - Email channel. Reliable. , UptimeRobot , Leadoku.io , EmailListVerify , FlowFormz , Tenhaw , Pricefy , Warmup Inbox , mailfloss - email verification service , Munch , Sitechecker , Trustmary , AuthoredUp and many more! See them all here; https://app.getreditus.com/marketplace

1. Access to a Network of B2B SaaS Affiliates

When going for a network you will be showcased towards the affiliates in the network, make sure the affiliates match the profile you are looking for. As an example, Reditus purely focuses on B2B SaaS, so it won't be relevant for B2C, E-commerce, courses or any kind of other businesses.

When joining a network you can often filter affiliates based on the audience they have, see an example below here. The results are filtered on affiliates which have;

• Connected their GA (so you know they own the website)
• Have an interest in marketing related tools
• Have more than 1.000 visitors, from the United States

2. Scalable Growth Opportunities for your affiliate program

As you are able to leverage a broad network of affiliates you are not constrained by your own recruitment efforts. This will allow you to grow outside your own network and set up a more scalable channel. With a network you are able to grow into certain regions which might not have been possible before.

To put this into perspective, see below a screenshot of the number of affiliates on the Reditus network. With the fast growing network, you will be able to keep showcasing yourself towards new potential affiliates which might have never found you before.

3. First-Party Data Utilisation from affiliates

If you are going to grow outside your own network, it also means you are going to deal with people and companies you don't know yet. Trusting them based on textual information is therefore not a great idea, as anyone can say they own the G2 domain for example (this really happens).

By using first-party date sources a network provides, you are able identify the best-fit affiliates and accept/decline them. See below an example on how this could look;

4. Collaborative Ecosystem

As a SaaS company you can benefit from the insights from other SaaS companies, even without you ever knowing. When another SaaS has issues with a certain affiliate due to fraud, they would flag the affiliate. As the network would receive this request, they can take action on them, in regards to all programs and not just the one which flagged them.

It also means networks can easily spot 'patterns' on what affiliates are doing, which SaaS brands don't allow. See below an example where a referral is being flagged as it got generated by using paid ads on Google. Which most brands won't allow (especially on brand name).

5. Support towards Affiliates

Often the Affiliate platform would provide (live chat) support towards the affiliates, which will save you a lot of time on supporting them on the 'basic things'. They can easily answers questions like; Where is my affiliate link, can I run paid ads with an affiliate link, when do I receive my payout etc.

6. Automated Affiliate Payouts

Many Affiliate Networks would provide you the ability to do automated payouts, or they would handle the payouts for you. In the example of Reditus , we would take care of the payouts starting from the Scale Up plan. Meaning you would only receive one invoice from us, and the affiliates are being paid us by Reditus. Saving you (and the accountant) a lot of time.

See a list of Top Affiliate Marketplace for SaaS.

Why First-Party Affiliate Data Enhances Affiliate Marketing

As above shown having more data on affiliates will allow you to make more 'educated' decisions, as you don't have to purely trust textual data. It will allow you to make sure they;

• Own the website
• Have the traffic they say they have
• Have the traffic in the regions you want to grow

But next to having audience data, it would also be important to know if they can actually generate referrals, and maybe even more important; paid referrals.

By leveraging a network you can often get access to this kind of data, see a screenshot below from Reditus on how this could look. Where you would might normally reject a request from someone from the Cayman Islands, you would now probably re-consider this request. As you know the affiliate revenue numbers.

Why Affiliate Networks are the Future of SaaS Affiliate Marketing

For B2B SaaS companies looking to grow outside their own network, a network solution will be often the clear winner. By eliminating silos, leveraging first-party data, and enabling access to a diverse affiliate network, it will help you to expand your reach and drive scalable revenue growth.

I hope this blog was helpful, if you need help with setting up an Affiliate Marketing Strategy or this one if you need need with finding affiliates for your B2B SaaS.

Ps. Want to see a Reditus demo? Check it here.

?? Want to receive more content on B2B SaaS? Follow Joran Hofman and listen to the Grow Your B2B SaaS Podcast ??