Want to know the secret to scaling B2B affiliate programs? Wesley Whetten has been behind the scenes of some of the biggest names in tech - Bluehost, Constant Contact, and now Impact.com. But here's the plot twist: while everyone else was chasing the "vast ocean" of D2C publishers, Wesley discovered that B2B affiliate marketing held untapped potential.
In this exclusive interview, Wesley breaks down how he went from managing his first program at Bluehost to running Impact.com's own affiliate program (yes, the platform powering thousands of affiliate programs has its own program - and it's massive). He shares the unconventional recruitment tactics that actually work, why most people overcomplicate B2B affiliate marketing, and the hidden opportunities most managers miss.
Whether you're just starting your first B2B program or looking to scale your existing one, you won't want to miss Wesley's battle-tested insights from nearly a decade in the trenches.
In college I found myself with an opportunity to work with the affiliate program at Bluehost.
That is where I was first exposed to affiliate marketing and learned by doing. Now I’ve been on the advertiser side of programs for nearly a decade, and B2B programs have always called to me because of the simplicity and logistics. There are more logistics in D2C and a vast ocean of publishers to navigate, whereas B2B is more straightforward.
I’ve worked with programs like Constant Contact, Liquid Web, and LegalShield. Currently, I manage the affiliate program for impact.com (yes, impact.com has its own program, which is actually quite large).
This is the ever present challenge which always leads me back to understanding the target customer.
Brand awareness is a factor in ‘attracting’ affiliates to the program, but not the whole puzzle. Affiliate managers should be educated before approaching publishers - the right commission rates, assets, offers, etc., but most importantly the ability to sell the opportunity.
Everyone is doing outreach, but these days I look for an email introduction from a mutual contact, that seems to be the key to getting the right conversations.
Know your audience and strike while you have their attention.
Publishers are pulled by so many advertisers so my best advice is to be prepared for meetings - refine your pitch, and be ready to tailor it for different circumstances.
It could be when the affiliate joins, a support request, conference meet up - I try to always have an opportunity to discuss. Each program and product has its own levers to pull and affiliate managers should understand the nuances in order to properly engage affiliates in the most effective ways.
First, I make sure to understand what an affiliate needs to make a successful partnership. That helps me know if I need more budget, better assets, etc. The job is to remove any pain points for the affiliates so they can open the flood gates as much as possible. And then there should be incentives for the desired outcomes like more published content from affiliates, more leads, higher customer retention, and so on. I’ve found that it is usually easier to see a boost by optimizing current affiliates than finding new affiliates. Relationships are key for this, so talk to the affiliates individually.
Having been involved with many programs I started to notice programs thriving after moving to impact.com.
Despite my own bias, I trust the impact.com when I think about showing the value of an affiliate program to senior leaders. For example when managing advanced programs, it’s an easier job to segment performance by groups and debug transactions for fraud. I also enjoy how impact.com streamlines the day-to-day management of a program.
Weekly insights, strategies, and actionable tips to help you build more profitable affiliate partnerships. No fluff, just proven tactics that drive results.
