Slide 2: Getting the Best Results
5 Key Areas will be Explored: Your product and your site Your affiliates Your marketing and promotions Your flexibility Your success
Slide 3: Affiliate Program Facts
Your affiliate program is one part of your marketing strategy. It will not work well in isolation If you set up your affiliate program and leave it – you will not be successful Affiliate programs need attention and resources to flourish Affiliate programs are a long-term marketing option. Expect to give the program at least 4 to 6 months before you see results Stability is important Communication is vital Unique content is king
Slide 4: Facts about Affiliates
Affiliates are running their own business and expect to make money from the partnership they have with you They are naturally weary of new sites and new brands – longevity and consistancy are important, because it has a direct impact on them financially Usually they know their traffic and what will work on their site Good affiliates are in high demand and already have wellestablished relationships Once an affiliate has signed and displays a banner for your program this does not mean that they will become active or produce customers and sales
Slide 5: Your Site and Product
Affiliates analyze new merchant sites for customer usability
Make sure your site is easy to buy from
Know the facts about your site
Affiliates want to know:
Conversion rates Best selling products Best time to promote Repeat selling products
Be able to talk about your customers in depth
Demographics Buying partners Motivations – time, discounts, special gifts
Slide 6: Your Site and Product
Have active customer care and retention programs in place
Affiliates may become secret shoppers before actively promoting your site
Ensure consistency of branding and promotions across your affiliate program and other marketing channels
Affiliates will do their research and will want to make sure they are not offering inferior promotions or content.
Slide 7: Your Affiliates
The key to productive affiliates is good relationships
Achieved through:
Effective communication Asking questions to clarify needs Demonstrating understanding Being consistent Paying on time
Use experience and knowledge from other marketing channels to positively impact results
Customer emails Product reviews Press releases
Slide 8: Your Affiliates
Know your affiliates
Research and analyze:
Who they are When they became an affiliate What they market How they market What their conversion rates are What resources you can offer to enhance their experience & improve results
Become part of the affiliate community
Understand the more holistic issues Look for the community leaders
Slide 9: Your Affiliates
Use all communication channels including:
Email Telephone Instant messaging Forums Blogs Podcasts Conferences and gatherings
Slide 10: Your Marketing and Promotions
Marketing and promotions are broken into two different areas:
Customer Affiliate
Both areas need attention, planning and resources Fresh affiliate promotions demonstrate you are interested in your affiliates and willing to work with them
Slide 11: Your Marketing and Promotions
Effective customer promotions will provide tools to affiliates to secure new customers for you Customer promotions need to be available to affiliates in advance
For example Christmas promotions available in November
New customer promotions need to be accompanied by fresh creative and marketing tools
Slide 12: Your Flexibility
Being willing and able to be flexible demonstrates your commitment to affiliates and their marketing efforts
Special customer promotions for specific affiliates Specific landing pages for these promotions Tailored data feeds Change in affiliate compensation for increased volume of customers or specific types of customers Specially designed affiliate promotions
Slide 13: Your Success
To be successful in the affiliate marketing channel you need the following qualities:
Motivation and enthusiasm
Making the time to be involved and understand the current issues
Expertise
Learn about the online marketing industry, the issues affiliates face and how your actions impact your affiliate community
Partnership
Appreciate that affiliates are also in a business and decisions you make need to be commercially viable for yourself and them
Slide 14: Your Success
To be successful in the affiliate marketing channel you need the following qualities: (contd.)
Communication
Take the time to listen – not just to the words, but to the needs of your affiliates.
Longevity
Plan to be around for a long time. Established affiliates plan their partnership for the long term.
Consistency
By providing consistency with communication, actions, marketing approach and attitudes, affiliates will know you are someone they can trust and count on - an important quality in partnerships.
Slide 15: Last Tips
You can’t rush an affiliate program’s growth Paying attention to the small things pays off Be active in the community so affiliates learn more about you as a person Affiliates all talk to one another – gossip spreads quickly Affiliates are successful because they know their business – ask questions to learn about how you can capitalize on their success Pay on time
Slide 16: Share Results is a boutique affiliate network, working exclusively with large brands and niche merchants who are as committed to affiliate partnerships as we are. Discover affiliate programs powered by Share Results’ affiliate software and affiliate management services, including Photobucket, eLearners and Utour.
Nicky Senyard CEO and Founder Share Results
nicky@shareresults.com +1 514-849-8595
