This presentation is from Affiliate Summit East 2013 (August 18-20, 2013) in Philadelphia, PA). Session Description: Stop blaming the affiliate channel for not working, of working poorly, for you. Look at what you are doing to facilitate better conversions! Attend this session for practical “how to” knowledge.

1. Affiliate Program
Performance – a Shared
Responsibility
Geno Prussakov
CEO & President, AM Navigator LLC
www.amnavigator.com
Founder & Chair, Affiliate Management Days
www.affiliatemanagementdays.com
(+1) 888-588-8866
geno@amnavigator.com
@ePrussakov
.

2. Whose Responsibility is Performance?
Everyone’s!

3.  Deadly Pitfalls (5 to mind at all times)
 Conversion Boosters (10 to explore)
Outline

4. 5 Don’ts

5. 1. Don’t Manage Affiliates

6. 1. Don’t Manage Affiliates
… in reality:
we’re not affiliate managers
but affiliate marketing/program managers

7. Common Consequence
Treating affiliates as employees
⇒ Motivating by threat

8. Motivate by Opportunities!
Even in traditional management “threats are
generally counterproductive” and “always
demotivating.”
“We can motivate people to their highest levels of
potential by presenting them with opportunities to
succeed instead of telling them what to do”
Source: Alexander Haim, Streetwise Motivating & Rewarding Employees

9. 2. Don’t Treat Them as Guinea Pigs

10. 3. Affiliate Marketing ≠ Channel
“…but, rather, a way of remunerating a marketer…
hence, affiliate marketing really exists on the
crossroads of a number of online marketing
channels and works with nearly all of them.”
Source: Affiliate Program Management: An Hour a Day (p. 24)
It is a marketing context, based on the principle of
performance-based compensation.

11. 4. Don’t Cruise on Autopilot

12. 5. Strive to Perfect Conditions

13. 10 Conversion Boosters

14. 1. Leak-Free Website

15. Leaks - Definition
Leaks – anything that may lead to a course of
action for which affiliates will not get credit.

16. Leaks - Examples
1. Phone Number
2. Live Chat
3. AdSense Units
4. Affiliate Links
5. Links to Related Stores/Sites
6. Links to Other Merchants
7. Links to Other Affiliates

17. Leak #1 – Phone Number

18. Leak #1 – Phone Number

19. Leak #2 – Live Chat

20. Leak #2 – Live Chat
A different answer:

21. ….are you more likely to purchase from a site
that has a phone number …on each page?
Psychological Assurance
Source: Online Shopping Through Consumers’ Eyes (p. 53)
Don’t Remove.
Track!!

22. Leak #3 – AdSense

23. Leak #4 – Affiliate Links
Amazon widget example:

24. Leak #5 – Related Stores/Sites

25. Leak #6 – Other Merchants

26. Leak #7 – Links to Affiliates

27. Go Leak-Free!!

28. 2. Optimize Creative Inventory
Banners
• Cover common sizes (incl AdSense unit ones)
• Analyze what works for competitors
• Create affiliate-friendly banners
Text links
• Deep-linked to boost conversion
Data feed
• Well categorized, regularly updated

29. Banner Sizes
• 468 60 px – 2-5 banners (AdSense too)
• 125 125 px – 2-5
• 120 600 px – 2-5  AdSense size
• 88 31 px button – 2-5  overlooked opportunity!
• 160 600 px – 2-3  AdSense size
• 120 240 px – 2-3
• 234 60 px – 2-3
• 254 331 px – 2-3
• 728 90 px – 2-3  AdSense size
• 720 300 px – 1-2
• 300 250 px – 1-2

30. Study Competitors’ Banners
Do analyze,
but beware of
skewed metrics!

31. Banners
Common Mistakes
1. Poor graphics
2. Unreadable font
3. Phone number/URL
4. Excessive animation
5. Missing CTA
6. Poor contrast
7. No line around edge
Creatives

32. Banners
Good Examples
Creatives

33. Video Ads
Creatives
Video ads vs Non-video ads:
Dwell Rate increases 29%
Conversion Rate increases 45%

34. We’ve analyzed 50 randomly selected merchants
(from Internet Retailer Top 500 list) on 3 major
affiliate networks (CJ, LinkShare, GAN)…
3. Dedicated Landing Pages

35. 3. Dedicated Landing Pages
Targeted campaign-specific landing pages
= commonsense technique for increasing
conversions.
Real-life situation:

36. Example #1:

37. Example #2:

38. 4. Competitive Intelligence

39.  Analyze program terms
(payouts, cookie life, lock dates,
tiered payouts, bonuses)
 Become their affiliate
(creatives, policies, newsletters,
promos, tools)
 “Friend” and follow them
Remember: “the real purpose of
competitive intelligence is to learn
and to act” …not to merely gather
data or “develop information.”
Seena Sharp, Competitive Intelligence Advantage (p. 100-101)
4. Competitive Intelligence

40. 5. Promos & Coupons

42. 5. Promos & Coupons
Be
creative

43. Offers/Coupons To Run
1. Year-long - 1-2
2. Monthly - 2-3 (make dynamic links available)
3. Short-term - e.g. weekend
4. Holiday - e.g. to encourage "early bird" sales
5. Exclusive - true or vanity
6. Free Shipping - over certain amount
7. Deal of the Day

44. Problem of Last-Minute Coupon Search

45. 6. Marketing Calendar

46. 6. Marketing Calendar
Consider also dynamic creatives!

47. 7. Co-Branded Initiatives
Three- to four-fold increase in conversions (from 8.56% to 23.21%
for a cashback affiliate, 2.5% to 10.9% for a coupon affiliate)
upon introduction of co-branded landed pages
Affiliate Window - http://blog.affiliatewindow.com/?p=1789
66.45% conversion increase, nearly 44% revenue boost, and
132% difference in new customers acquired
Rakuten LinkShare -
m.www.linksynergy.com/share/pdf/linkshare_case_study_smartbargains_072310.pdf
“Creating co-branded landing pages… to align an advertiser’s
brand with the publisher’s brand” increases the “likelihood
of a transaction or action”
Google Affiliate Network – “Affiliate Optimization Center”

48. Examples:

49. 3 C’s of Affiliate Co-Branding
(1) Connect (affiliate logo, wording, colors)
(2) Convince (exclusive promotion, urgency)
(3) Convert (auto-apply promo, call to action)

50. Example:

51. 8. List(s) of Top Sellers

52. 8. List(s) of Top Sellers
It’s a tool. Equip affiliates with it!
• Newsletter
• Banner / creative
• Widget
(dynamically updating)

53. Newsletter
example:

54. 9. Demographic Data

55. 9. Demographic Data
Where?
 Program bio/signup page
 Welcome/approval email
What?
o Basics (gender, age, income)
o Details (children, religion, ethnicity, etc)
o Geographic data

56. 10. Continuous Motivation

57. Lesson in Motivation

58. 10. Continuous Motivation
How?
 In their language
 Equipping them with what they need
 Employing all available means (program
bio, approval email, regular
newsletters, social)

59. In Conclusion…
...don't repeat the mistakes of others!