Who is this article for?
This article is part of a series intended for anyone who would like to grow their program and recruit additional partners.
What is inbound recruiting?
With inbound recruitment, the goal is to make your program as organically discoverable as possible to inbound candidates. Inbound recruiting can be through a marketplace, a widget, SEO, or even a landing page dedicated specifically to potential inbound candidates.
It’s a more hands-off approach because you aren’t dedicating as much time to identifying potential partners and reaching out. Still, it also requires research to ensure what you’re offering in return is appealing and in line with any potential competitors.
Tactic 1: Build a landing page
A landing page is a link on your website that has the specific purpose of converting visitors into leads. It’s designed to entice visitors to find out more about your partner program and learn what’s in it for them if they sign up. Most importantly, it makes it easy for them to sign up.
To build an effective landing page
Make it clear how much partners can earn near the top of the page
The first thing most potential partners want to know is how much they can earn. This is why you need to make the potential earnings clear right from the start. A good way to do this is to summarize the potential earnings in a larger font or heading so that it immediately catches the eye.
You can then elaborate by explaining in a few short steps how the program works and how many referrals are required to earn a certain commission amount. Be sure to mention discounts or other incentives as well. Finally, add a call-to-action button to sign up, which will take them to the form they need to fill out to start the application process.
Help partners understand if they’re a good fit for the program
In this section, explain the kinds of partners that are ideal for your partner program. These can be professional marketers or marketing agencies, influencers with a marketing audience for your product, or individuals or businesses who already use and love your product.
You can add the logos of partners who’ve already joined your partner program — the more recognizable, the better. This adds credibility to your program. End the section with another call-to-action button to encourage sign-ups.
Include quotes from successful current partners
While this isn’t a must, it always helps to add a testimonial from at least one existing partner to explain what the program has done for them. It acts as a short review to tell potential partners that your program is worth participating in.
Like the logos of existing partners, this adds credibility. Don’t overdo it though! You want to keep the page concise, simple, and easy to navigate, so one or two quotes are sufficient. You can always add a link to a “reviews” section.
Include an FAQ section
While it’s very useful to have a section where you explain briefly the special features and benefits of the program, you don’t want to bombard potential partners with a wall of text. However, they will want more information before they sign up.
An FAQ section with drop-down buttons allows you to cover everything a potential partner might want to know, such as:
- How your partner program works
- How much and how often they get paid
- How they can withdraw commissions
- How you track their referrals
- What assistance you provide and where partners can reach out with questions (i.e. the Messages tab)
The drop-down buttons allow you to display only the questions at a glance so that the potential partner can then click on the ones they need answers to. The end of the FAQ section is another good place to add a call-to-action button to sign up.
Link to your landing page in your site’s header and footer navigation
It’s more common to link in the footer and leave the header navigation for information like the different products and pricing, mentioning both as best practices.
Landing page design tips
It’s always best to get professionals to create the copy for your landing page and to design it. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
Dos:
- Keep the most important information above the fold. This way, the potential partner doesn’t have to scroll down to find it.
- Use concise and conversational copy. Use “you” and “your” pronouns to make the reader feel like you’re talking to them directly.
- Use high-quality images to add visual interest and entice people to engage with the page. They should be relevant.
- Cater to your target audience by choosing images that reflect your ideal partner profile. Use images with people of a similar age and background.
- Remember your branding when choosing colors and fonts. If your brand colors are shades of blue and green, for example, use those colors in your headings or to frame images.
- Stick to a font similar to the ones you use in your logo and on your letterheads. Be sure that the font is legible on all devices.
- Make your call-to-action buttons in a contrasting color so that they stand out. After all, you want people to click on them.
Don'ts:
- Don’t fill your landing page with tons of text. Have clear headings and use white space to add visual interest that doesn’t feel cluttered.
- Avoid stock photos with no clear links to the text.
- Don't forget to keep page load time in mind. If it takes forever to load high-resolution images and animations on your landing page, many potential partners will click out and go somewhere else. Test your page to find the perfect balance between resolution and download time to avoid high bounce rates.
- Don't design for desktop-only viewing, instead optimize the design for different devices. Some people may use a desktop computer or laptop to visit your landing page, while others will use a mobile phone. Make your landing page responsive. This way, someone on mobile can navigate the page just as easily without having to deal with tiny, illegible text.
- Don't forget to test your landing page before launch! This doesn’t mean only testing that the page downloads and that links work, it also means A/B testing to see which elements are more likely to earn leads and conversions.
Example landing page
This copy template for partner program landing pages is created by PartnerStack and is free to use for anyone.
Tactic 2: Get listed in the PartnerStack Marketplace
The PartnerStack Marketplace promotes your program to thousands of partners that already use PartnerStack to earn money by driving business and revenue for SaaS companies like yours.
Programs listed in the PartnerStack Marketplace can be browsed at market.partnerstack.com. Every program on the PartnerStack Marketplace comes with its own landing page that links directly to your default group's application form, making it easy for partners to apply to join. We still strongly recommend having a separate, dedicated landing page for your program on your website.
Partners can also use their in-app Marketplace tab to explore programs and apply directly from within their PartnerStack dashboard.
The PartnerStack Marketplace drives millions in revenue for PartnerStack customers every year, with some programs seeing more than 30% of their entire program revenue come from partners that joined through the PartnerStack Marketplace.
The Customizing your PartnerStack Marketplace listing and landing pages support guide includes step-by-step instructions for creating your marketplace listing and helpful tips on:
- Adding your company's information and logo
- Customizing your program page
- Customizing your program page's rewards
- Customizing your Marketplace listing
- Adding and removing keywords for your Marketplace listing
If you're an existing company on PartnerStack and you would like to activate your Marketplace listing reach out to your Customer Success Manager, or the support team at support@partnerstack.com.
Tactic 3: Create a compelling application form
Application forms help ensure that you get the highest possible quality of partners. By asking the right questions, you can set proper expectations for your applicants.
Application forms are group-specific. This means you can customize your applications based on the partners you would like to invite to each group.
For step-by-step instructions on how to enable and create your application form see our Using application forms support guide.
When configuring your application, we recommend using your ideal partner profile covered in Recruiting Partners step 1, to craft the questions you’ll ask. There are a few important items to consider:
- Only ask for the information you need to determine if a partner is a good fit: The longer your application form is, the more likely people are to abandon it. While this can weed out poor-quality partners, it can also cause partners that would be a good fit to seek out other programs.
- Include a space that explains what you expect from potential partners: This will help ensure that partners are fully informed of what they’ll be expected to do. This can be done using the Description section of the application form.
- Revisit your application form regularly: As you receive applications, you may discover that you need additional information you haven’t been asking for. Alternatively, you may find that you are receiving information that isn’t factored into your decision criteria. By optimizing your application form over time, you’ll increase the quality of applicants coming through.
Additional tactics to consider for inbound partner recruitment
- Have a dedicated person or team to answer emails or Slack questions when inbound partners reach out
- Review new applicants in a timely manner
- List yourself in any relevant marketplaces ideal partners may visit
- Compile marketing resources and education opportunities for effective onboarding of your new partners