There’s a lot of research to show that partnership automation helps brands grow by making it possible to scale, diversify, and optimize their partnership programs. But automating partnerships isn’t just smart for brands. It’s also smart for agencies, publishers, and individual content creators, too.
In fact, for anyone thinking about diving into the partnership economy as a content creator or blogger, automation can remove some of the most intimidating hurdles. Just ask Tami Smith, who in less than two years has built a red-hot affiliate business and 100K+ audience via her product review blog and website FitHealthyMomma.
For Tami, technology streamlined success
Starting out, Tami’s expertise was in writing and her passion was in fitness and wellness — but she didn’t know much about affiliate marketing, let alone things like contract terms and product links. But with partnership automation, she flattened the learning curve and was able to quickly scale her partnerships and income.
At every phase of the partnership life cycle for Tami, technology helps her to be more efficient and successful.
In a recent Q&A, she gave us some examples of how the Impact platform helps her follow through on her growth strategy.
Discovering new brand partners
Tami says Impact is one of her favorite platforms, in part because Impact hosts so many great brands. The extensive Impact Marketplace has given her access to a wide range of brand relationships and made it very easy to apply to new programs and find a contact directly. That resource was particularly important as she was making a name for herself in the health and fitness world.
“I love to reach out with a personal email, so I will grab that contact information on Impact as soon as I hit the apply button, then I send a personal note,” she says. “Impact makes it very easy for me to get a relationship started, and it has provided me with so many opportunities to connect with brands I might not have otherwise.”
Once she had a strong base of partnerships in place, the challenge became more technical. “Being able to get links to specific pages very easily is very helpful for me,” she says. “Not every platform makes it that easy.”
Negotiating payment terms
New, relatively unknown content creators don’t always have a lot of leverage when it comes to negotiating compensation. But as you grow and can afford to be more selective, Impact provides the data needed to demonstrate your value and strengthen your position. With Impact, you can see exactly what level of sales or revenue you’re driving for a brand and can share that with your partners.
Reporting and contracting
Tami tries not to be too obsessive about tracking her numbers day-to-day. But she knows it’s important to pay attention to trends and monitor what’s working and what isn’t. Impact reporting tools give her the information she needs to monitor her own performance and also provide evidence to a potential or existing partner.
“With Impact, it’s so nice to have it all laid out so simply and to be able to filter the brands I want to track or look at a specific day or week,” says Tami. “It’s so easy, and there’s so much data there, so many graphs and numbers at my fingertips whether it’s just for my personal tracking and reporting or if I’m taking that to another brand.”
Thorough research and good content take a lot of work, so Tami appreciates that Impact tools save her time on other aspects of her business. “I want to be in and out, and don’t want to feel the strain of technical troubles and hassles because I’m just not great at that stuff.”
For more tips from Tami on launching a career as a creator, check out: Five lessons on getting started from FitHealthyMomma’s first year.
Be sure to check out Impact’s library of resources for content creators and tools that make getting started (and getting paid) a lot easier. Check out these FAQs, and join our publisher and creator marketplace today.
