Before I confess my bad habits, I’d like to formally invite you to join us at our next Modash Live. It’s tomorrow (May 14), and you’ll hear from 2 brands running 2 different programs, both successes!

Sign up here to join us (or to get the replay!)

Now, onto my confession.

There are 23 unread books scattered around my house right now. (And, that’s not counting books on my e-reader or Audible.) Some of the physical books have been there so long they've become furniture.

And yet, last week, I bought two more. Because books are my weakness, and I needed them. (Editor’s note: She did not, in fact, need them.)

My To Be Read pile keeps growing. My bookshelves are packed. I read a lot, but I don’t read as much as my pile of books suggests.

I thought about this recently because a brand migrated its affiliate program to Modash. Their previous system counted 5000 affiliates. After an audit, they found that only 500 were actually active.

90% were just sitting on the shelf, unread. Only 10% were doing something for the brand.

And this isn’t just one example. In our recent affiliate marketing survey, over a third of marketers said less than 20% of their affiliates were actually active.

The true number of active, loyal affiliates is almost always a tiny fraction of your overall affiliate number. It's the To Be Read pile problem: you keep adding to it, but it's not actually doing anything for you.

What do my book hoarding habits have to do with managing an influencer-affiliate program?

I’ll tell you.

Some of your affiliates will go cold. That's just how it works. Creators are people; they’re busy. They're juggling other brands, and creative fatigue is a thing. Not every partnership is forever.

You want to plan for the natural drop-off that’ll happen by always recruiting.

Before you go hunting for strangers, look at who's already in your orbit. 55% marketers in our survey indicated that fewer than a quarter of their influencer partners also work as affiliates. That’s too many people who already know and like your product, with whom you’re not building a win-win relationship. That's the lowest of low-hanging fruit.

Are you treating every affiliate the same? Same commission, same communication, same level of attention? I get it, you’re busy too. But not every affiliate has the same potential. (You know this already.)

Tracking content and sales together helps you spot someone creating strong content and driving conversions. That’s your sign to invest more in them. Higher commissions. Early access to products. Build an actual relationship with them.

Programs with 3 or more commission tiers had roughly 49% of their affiliates active in our survey. While single-tier programs had 38%. Giving your affiliates something to work toward keeps them in the game.

A quarterly review of your roster will tell you everything you need to know. Who's active? Who's producing? Who needs a nudge and who needs to go?

I’m holding your hand while I say this: your affiliate program might be too loosey-goosey.

I get the fear of being "too demanding". Your influencer affiliates aren't employees, and they don’t owe you content. But that doesn't mean you shouldn’t have standards. The best programs feel a little exclusive. Getting in means something. Staying in requires effort.

Be upfront from day one. How often should they post? What does "active" look like? And yes, tell them that if they go dark for three months, they're out and will need to reapply. Motivate them to post more often.

The survey data is quite clear. Marketers who described themselves as "very hands-off" had only 10% of their affiliates active. Even moving to "somewhat hands-off" quadrupled that to over 40%. The "very involved" group? 71.5%.

You really do get what you put in.

I sent out a bat signal for a good follow, and Amy from the Modash sales team shot back with this gem.

Who he is: Xing Zhilei, a Chinese creator behind @xingzhilei on YouTube who has spent the last two years building an entire miniature city for his cats.

Why he's worth a follow: Cat Town — that's what he calls it — now has a fully functioning subway system (with platform doors that open in sync with the train), a supermarket, a cinema, a bank, a spa, a billiards hall, a theatre, a parking garage, a private island, a pool, and a restaurant called MeowDonald's. Every build takes months. He taught himself 3D modeling, carpentry, welding, sewing, and painting to make it all happen. And then there's Mr. Nice, his Maine Coon, who wanders through these painstakingly constructed worlds with the exact level of feline indifference you'd expect.

Dream collab: IKEA. I need Xing to build a miniature IKEA showroom in Cat Town. The one-way arrows on the floor. The tiny KALLAX shelves. A meatball counter. And then just let Mr. Nice do what every cat would do in an IKEA — knock things off shelves, ignore the designed path entirely, and fall asleep in a display bed. IKEA already understands playful marketing. This isn't even a stretch. It's just obvious. Someone at IKEA, please make this happen.

If you've discovered a creator that you love and have a dream collab in mind, shoot me an email at [email protected] so I can share it with the group.

Until next time!
Eleni Zoe xx
Brand @ Modash. Say hi on LinkedIn