1. How To Motivate And Incentivise
Affiliates Effectively
By Mark Russell
Existem Affiliate Management
2. Think like an affiliate
• What do they do?
• How do they do it?
• Why do they do it?
• Recognise their entrepreneurial nature.
• Recognise they are paid by results
- Therefore – motivated by results
3. Getting a result – Primary Goals
• Making a sale
• Driving a lead
4. Getting a result – Other Goals
• Achieving high SEO ranking
• Building a database of keywords
• Visible blog / original content
9. The Basics – A Recap
• Affiliates will choose high conversion
over high commission
• Affiliates trust merchants with affiliate
friendly sites
• Affiliates will sign up for programmes that
are easy to work with
• Getting the basics right motivates
RECRUITMENT!
13. Motivation – Lead Quality
• Target quality
• Pay higher CPA when good results are
apparent
• Be transparent
• Validate promptly with rapid feedback
• Provide affiliate education
• Provide affiliate with customer education
material
14. Motivation – Affiliate Recruitment
• Double first commissions
– First sale
• Introductory rates
– High first month commission
• Prize draw
– For posting links
15. Motivation – Affiliate Types
• Different affiliate types require different
strategies
– Cash back / Incentive
– Content
– Voucher Code
– PPC
– Comparison
16. Content Sites - Motivation
• SEO friendly content
• Descriptions
• Timely information
18. Content Sites - Strategy
• Supply bespoke copy
• Send out best-seller / new product
information
• Ensure flow of new and relevant
communication
• Ensure using all network tools
21. PPC Affiliate - Strategy
• Clearly defined PPC policy
• Ensure site converts efficiently
• Make available keyword information
• Provide all tools for available opportunities
• Prompt validation
22. Comparison Site - Motivation
• Multiple retailers
• Standardised information
• Available product
• Conversion
• Revenue
23. Comparison Site - Strategy
• Ensure campaign is visible
• Ensure product feed is correctly specified
• Ensure product feed is updated frequently
• Ensure commission and conversion is in line
with or better than similar retailers
24. Strategy - Summary
• Understand needs and motivation of affiliate
types and address them specifically
25. Conclusion
• Motivating and incentivising is 2 tiered
– Site basics / Programme housekeeping
– Tailored strategy for affiliates
• All communication needs to be timely
• All communication needs to be respectful
• Politeness and courtesy go along way in
affiliate motivation
26. Thank You For Your Time
Mark Russell
www.existem-am.com
mark@existem-am.com
0870 8031366
07971 199909
27. Top 10 Affiliate Mistakes…and how to avoid
them
(A 21st Century Internet Marketer’s, Slightly
Tongue-In-Cheek, Interpretation of Modern
Day Quotations)
Barry Smith
Co-Founder, Skyscanner.net
28. #1 Mistake – Fail to Communicate
“I know what I believe. I will continue to
articulate what I believe and what I believe —
I believe what I believe is right.”
- George W. Bush
Interpretation: Communicating with your
affiliates should be bi-directional
Action: *Call* at least 1 active publisher per
week, invite feedback – positive and negative
29. #2 Mistake – Fail to Understand Conversion
“I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look
around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.”
– Warren Buffet
Interpretation: Execute on low hanging fruit.
Conversion isn’t just about your website CTR.
Action: Convert; a)sign-ups to implementors, b)
implementors to earners and c) earners to
Super Affiliates
30. #3 Mistake – Fail to Remove Barriers
“One must learn by doing the thing, for though
you think you know it, you have no certainty
until you try.”
- Aristotle
Interpretation: Know the operational workings
of your own programme.
Action: Personally follow your own process
end-to-end. From signup, to creative
download, to implementation to tracking.
31. #4 Mistake – Fail to Motivate – not just money
“I don’t want your money, honey, I want your
love.”
- Wendy James, Transvision Vamp
Interpretation: Although commission is
important, show your publishers some love.
Help them, help you.
Action: Publish case studies of successful
publishers. Offer tips to improve performance.
Share statistics about your business.
32. #5 Mistake – Fail to Improve and Innovate
“The time to prepare the roof is when the sun is
shining.”
- John F. Kennedy
Interpretation: Don’t get complacent about
your programme or your creatives – your
competitors won’t.
Action: Create a development roadmap of
creative improvements and innovative new
functionality
33. #6 Mistake – Fail on Payment
“Show me the money.”
– Tom Cruise (Jerry McGuire)
Interpretation: It’s not just about commission
levels. Pay on time, pay accurately.
Publishers aren’t doing this for love.
Action: a) Ensure that your finance people
understand the importance of their role.
b) Pressure your networks to pay on time.
34. #7 Mistake – Fail to Accept & Solve Problems
“Your most unhappy customers are your
greatest source of learning.”
– Bill Gates
Interpretation: Don’t shy away from dealing
with difficult/problematic publishers. Nurture
and learn from them.
Action: Act swiftly - even if the result isn’t
positive – putting off bad news makes things
worse
35. #8 Mistake – Treating all markets the same
“There’s no place like home, there’s no place
like home.”
- Dorothy, Wizard of Oz
Interpretation: Learn mistakes from your home
market before embarking on multi-country
rollouts.
Action: Localisation is more than translating
text. Speak directly with your network specific
country managers. Don’t assume the market
or the publishers are the same.
36. #9 Mistake – Competing with Affiliates
“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful,
and so are we. They never stop thinking
about new ways to harm our country and our
people, and neither do we.
George W. Bush
Interpretation: Do not compete with your
affiliates. It will end up costing you. Spend
your time supporting them.
Action: Either don’t allow PPC bidding at all, or
ensure the rules are fully understood. Either
way, make your position crystal clear.
37. #10 Mistake – Failure to “Get” The Landscape
“I was thrown out of college for cheating on the
metaphysics exam; I looked into the soul of
the boy sitting next to me.”
- Woody Allen
Interpretation: Look deeper. Understanding the
full affiliate landscape is essential. Success is
more than “build and they will come”. Be
proactive in publisher acquisition.
Action: Use free tools to find trends, competitor
info. Google Insights, Trends, Quarkbase,
advanced search operators
38. Top 10 Affiliate Mistakes - Summary
Communication
Optimise conversion
Minimise barriers
Motivate – it’s not just about commission
Improve and Innovate
Show me the money! – accurately and on time
Solve problems – be proactive
Identify and under geo-market differences
Offer support – don’t compete
kNowledge – the affiliate landscape
39. Top 10 Affiliate Mistakes - Summary
Communication
Optimise conversion
Minimise barriers
Motivate – it’s not just about commission
Improve and Innovate
Show me the money! – accurately and on time
Solve problems – be proactive
Identify and under geo-market differences
Offer support – don’t compete
kNowledge – the affiliate landscape
40. Thanks for listening
“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% affiliation.”
- Thomas Alva Edison
(well, sort of….)
Barry Smith
barry@skyscanner.net
+44 (0)7768 334 018
http://twitter.com/MelwoodBaz
41. Once the basics are done:
How to get affiliates motivated
further
Ralf Hein
nonstopConsulting International
42. Understanding the usual situation
• You want something from the affiliate
• The affiliate has no need to do anything for
you
• You are just one of many merchants
43. What to do?
• Get the basics right
• conversion
• commission
• creatives
• communication
• But: there will always be someone paying
more, having higher conversions, better
creatives, nicer affiliate managers ...
44. Get your affiliates involved!
• Make your offer part of the relevant set for
the affiliate
• Build strong personal relationships
• Share ideas and discussions
• Support, trust and transparency
• Invest in your affiliates
45. The merits of involvement
• A stable partnership (also in rough times)
• Additional market insights
• Valuable feedback
• Access to new affiliate projects & ideas
• Overall: motivated affiliates
46. How to get involvement
• Fun events - build personal relationships
• Workshops - generate ideas and develop
new business together
• Shared promotions - provide affiliates with
reasons to think about you
• ...
• Commissions alone don’t create involvement
47. Shared promotions
• Tap into the resources available right at your
fingertips: your products
• Help affiliates build their business
• actual promotion is done by affiliate
• affiliate gets benefit of promotion
• merchant only provides material
48. Shared promotions
• Investment: Merchant provides (free)
products for the affiliates to use
• Condition: Affiliates apply with ideas on how
to use them
• Result: builds very intense involvement of
affiliates trying to develop ideas
49. Typical shared promotions
• Build-up of affiliate user base (opt-ins)
• Make offer of affiliate more attractive
• Opportunity for affiliate to approach others
for cooperation
• No direct incentivising of sales
50. Shared promotions example
• Airline provided 50x2 return tickets for
weekend-trips to the Mediterranean
• More than 60 ideas where sent in
• 10 ideas where chosen and given tickets
51. Shared promotions typical results
• New contacts to several unknown affiliates
• Better relation and intensified contact with
applying affiliates
• Very productive discussions and later
promotions with the selected affiliates
• Higher involvement and improved
relationships
52. Conclusion
• Shared promotions put existing materials
(products) to good use
• Affiliates are getting involved with the
product and can build their business
• Greatly improve affiliate relationships
• Stable results in the longer run
• Drawback: No direct impact on sales.
53. Thank you!
Ralf Hein
nonstopConsulting International
Affiliate Management & Consultancy
rhein@nonstopconsulting.net
+49 89 99 52 94 .414
Visit us at booth #7
54. Open Q&A Session
Ralf Hein Mark Russel Barry Smith
Existem Affiliate
nonstopConsulting Skyscanner.net
Management
International
ralf.hein@ mark@ barry@
nonstopconsulting.net existem-am.com skyscanner.net
twitter.com/MelwoodBaz
Some will be immediately obvious, others, you will really have to open your minds to fully understand what these modern day philosophers were trying to.<number>
“Who speaks, sows; Who listens, reaps.” Argentine ProverbIn reference to communicating with your publishers…………..Fail to Communicate – Speak directly with your publishersgive them reasons to improve, feedbacklet them contact you as well - don’t hide your contact detailsDon’t work with networks that don’t allow you direct access to your own publishersOnly way you will be able to fully optimise your publishers at all levels – I’m talking facebook friends, or inviting for face to face, but be acessible<number>
“I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.” Warren BuffettDon’t mis proportionally distribute your time to new sign ups when the ones you have, haven’t implemented.Low hanging fruit of existing contacts.Conversion is more than what happens on your website – and can take many forms:Action:Call 3 companies that you invited to join but didn’t sign up – find out whyCall 3 companies that signed-up, but never implemented your creatives – find out whyCall 3 companies that implemented your creatives, but don’t generate revenues – find out whyCall 3 companies that earn revenues, but could be earning more – find out why<number>
“One must learn by doing the thing, for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try.” AristotleMinimise Barriers - Don’t put barriers in the way – to signing up, getting accepted, getting creatives – personal example of issues we had. If you have not tried to sign up and implement your own programme – you are missing a trick. <number>
What I believe this 80’s songstress was trying to convey…..Fail to Motivate - Advise on how to increase performance – pay, as well as you can, publish case studies of success stories in similar sectors, offer reward bonuses, invite articles to be written<number>
What I believe the 35th President of the United States was actually referring to…Fail to Innovate - Don’t be “Me To” – to get to the key publishers – the volume guys – you either have to be the same as everyone and pay better, or be different and better – don’t think text links and static banners will cut it any more. Don’t get complacent with your growth or position.“The time to prepare the roof is when the sun is shining” – John. F. KennedyIf affiliate prgrammes should be delivering between 10-20% of company revenue, it should not be treated as an add on. Ensure that the development of the programme is built into your development roadmaps.<number>
Fail to Remunerate - Pay the piper – competitively and on time“Show me the money”. Tom Cruise as Jerry McGuireInterpretation: Treat your publishers how you wish to be treated, especially when it comes to paying up – do it on time, be accurate, and smile when you hand the cheque over.Payment into the networks<number>
Fail to Sort problems - Be realistic about problems – they will happen, act swiftly – even if the result isn’t positive – putting off bad news makes things worseYour most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. Bill GatesDon’t shy away from issues/problems etc – find out what is wrong with you programme<number>
“Who speaks, sows; Who listens, reaps.” Argentine ProverbIn reference to communicating with your publishers…………..Fail to Communicate – Speak directly with your publishersgive them reasons to improve, feedbacklet them contact you as well - don’t hide your contact detailsDon’t work with networks that don’t allow you direct access to your own publishersOnly way you will be able to fully optimise your publishers at all levels – I’m talking facebook friends, or inviting for face to face, but be acessible<number>
Competing with your affiliates – support them: competitive PPC bidding is a waste of money - make the rules clearEnsure you know who is PPC bidding – and how they are using your creatives/links to generate traffic. “He who lives by fighting with an enemy has an interest in the preservation of the enemy's life.”<number>
Publisher Acquisition - Use tools that are out there – to help grow publisher lists / acquisition targets – DMOZ, Quarkbase.com, Google Insights, Google Trends, competitor analysis, google advanced search operators for tracking link searchesInsight - My goal is simple. It is complete understanding of the universe, why it as it is and why it exists as all. Stephen Hawking<number>
Publisher Acquisition - Use tools that are out there – to help grow publisher lists / acquisition targets – DMOZ, Quarkbase.com, Google Insights, Google Trends, competitor analysis, google advanced search operators for tracking link searchesInsight - My goal is simple. It is complete understanding of the universe, why it as it is and why it exists as all. Stephen Hawking<number>
Publisher Acquisition - Use tools that are out there – to help grow publisher lists / acquisition targets – DMOZ, Quarkbase.com, Google Insights, Google Trends, competitor analysis, google advanced search operators for tracking link searchesInsight - My goal is simple. It is complete understanding of the universe, why it as it is and why it exists as all. Stephen Hawking<number>
Publisher Acquisition - Use tools that are out there – to help grow publisher lists / acquisition targets – DMOZ, Quarkbase.com, Google Insights, Google Trends, competitor analysis, google advanced search operators for tracking link searchesInsight - My goal is simple. It is complete understanding of the universe, why it as it is and why it exists as all. Stephen Hawking<number><number><number><number><number><number>Events: Partnercup/Partnerpokal, World Cup Germany 2006, div. telco publisher events, Bayern M
