When you’re thinking about Facebook ads, you’re probably usually thinking about your own offers and brand — but what about the times when you could benefit from running ads for something else?

Enter: affiliate launches! These are the launches you’re a part of as an affiliate — and while they’re not necessarily for your own unique offers and brand, they can be hugely beneficial for your bottom line and the bottom line of whoever you’re affiliating with.

As with your own offers and brand, running your own ads as an affiliate can make a big difference in your sales… as long as you follow a few best practices.

But, first — here’s what to focus on in affiliate ads

When you’re participating in an affiliate launch (whether it’s for a course, a product, or something else), there’s one major issue with running ads — you very likely aren’t going to have the opportunity to place your Facebook pixel on someone else’s landing page like you would with your own launch offer’s landing page.

But here’s the thing: while this might not be all the way ideal, it can also still be really effective.

The trick? Running ads for clicks and for traffic. This means that you’ll need to have trust built into your messaging (don’t rely on cold leads), this means that you need to seriously believe in what you’re affiliating for, and this means that you need an engaged audience who trusts your recommendations.

Try these best practices during your affiliate launch

Running ads during an affiliate launch is definitely a little bit different than running your own ads, so stick to these best practices to rock your conversions, make some money, and kill it as an affiliate:

• Pay attention: While you won’t be able to use your own pixel, you still can track. Pay attention to the total number of leads and purchases you’re getting (you can do this inside your affiliate portal or you can make inferences inside Ads Manager) and compare it to ad dollars spent. While this won’t be 100% accurate with organic traffic, it should give you an idea of leads and sales vs. spend.
• Negotiate for data: It’s harder to track down data when you’re not in your own offer launch, so negotiate with the brand you’re affiliating for to receive lists of registrants or leads to retarget. This can make all the difference.
• Build a relationship with the launch team: From an ads perspective, you won’t be able to see leads, conversions, and the like — so try and ensure that your affiliate team is tracking and can report what’s actually going on behind-the-scenes.
• Maximize what you can see: While you can’t see everything, take advantage of what you can see — specifically clicks, engagement, cost-per-click, and click-through rates.
• Test, test, test: We always recommend testing, but this is extra important in a launch like this… especially since trust might be a bit harder to come by. I’d recommend testing urgency messaging (‘last day,’ ‘last chance,’ etc.), leaning into the partnership of the brand you’re affiliating for by explaining why you endorse them, and building out some Reels where you speak to your audience about the offer itself.

Okay, pals — there ya have it: my tips for a great affiliate launch! As always, let me know what you want to see next… and keep me in the loop! I want to hear how your next affiliate launch goes. 🙂