Merchant Basics - Things to Consider When Launching an Affiliate Program

Merchant BasicsLaunching a New Affiliate Program
Presented by:
Jeff Grill, Mimeo.com
And
Deborah Carney, Merchant ABCs

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Jeff Grill
VP, Marketing
Mimeo.comOnline Printing
PublisherDeborah Carney
Affiliate: since the early days
Affiliate Manager: Former In-house for CaféPress.com
Consultant: for many ecommerce companies
Outsourced Program Manager: (OPM) since 2006 – Multiple programs in Shareasale Top 100
Merchant:LoxlyGallery.com
Training and Podcasts: ABCsPlus.com –for Affiliates, Bloggers, Merchants and more
Who We Are

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How to Avoid This

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What We’ll Cover
Getting Educated
Preparation
Key Decisions
Program Launch
Lessons Learned

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Education: Get Smart
LinkedIn Affiliate Groups
Listen to Affiliate ABCs.com
Geekcast.fmVariety of podcasts
Learn about fraud Check AffiliateFairPlay.com
Blogs – Read a variety
Visit Affiliate Sites
Join Affiliate Summit ForumAsk questions, get to knowpeople

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Competitive Analysis
Senior Management Commitment
Documented Revenue Goals by Month
Staffing
Tracking Systems
Profit Margins to support:
Product or Service Offers
Multiple Commissions (Affiliate, OPM, Network)
Conversion rates
Payment Models
Network, OPM, Publisher
Reversal Policies
Cookie Life
Nexus Tax
Channel Conflict Considerations
Affiliate Payment Options
Preparation: Get Set

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Performance Based Models
Pay per Sale (PPS/CPS) – 80% of all programs
Pay per Lead/Cost per Lead 20% of all programs
Pay per Click/Cost per Click (PPC/CPC)
Pay per Call

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Tip: Do Not Launch Until the Machine is Ready!

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Tip: They All Look the Same at First. Develop OPM Selection Criteria.

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Choosing an OPM: Experience + Chemistry
Experience
Knowledge of your category
Point of view regarding coupon sites
Team assigned to business – who, how much time, chemistry
Reporting frequency and what does it include
Who was contacted each week
Monitoring capability
Fees (monthly, %)
Reputation
References
Network Familiarity and Access
Network OPM vs. Outside OPM

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Network Selection: Not All Created EqualTIP: Pick Your OPM First
Review the Majors CJ, Linkshare, Google Affiliate Network, ShareASale, Buy.at
Niche Networks Might Make Sense Avantlink
Similar Merchants
Fees – Network Access, emails, newletters, ala carte fees
Publisher Access – Networks allow various degrees of access
Services Offered – Network Tools for Affiliates
Reputation
Promotional Opportunities
Sponsored Conferences
Competitive Presence
Industry Reputation

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Pre-Launch – Make Sure Your Site is Affiliate Friendly
Does Your Site Have Elements That Build Trust?
Transparency
Public Whois
The Big 5
About Us
Privacy Policy
Returns
Shipping Policy
Clear Contact Us Info

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Plug the Leaks
No outbound links
Phone number with tracking or walk customer through completing the sale online
Sell only your own products, no affiliate links to elsewhere
Adsense – remove it
Non-commissionable items – remove or rethink
Live Chat – make sure it keeps affiliate tracking

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Product Pages – clean, clear images, professional looking
Site Navigation
Consistent Branding
Clear and easy Checkout
No distractions during checkout
Make sure your site is converting already, affiliates drive pre-sold traffic, but YOU have to convert that traffic.

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Pre-Launch
Program Terms and Conditions
PPC Guidelines
Brand and Keyword protection
Fraud
Coupon Guidelines
If you don’t prohibit affiliate behavior in your Program Terms, it means affiliates CAN and will do what you haven’t prohibited
Creative and Affiliate Content Development
Not just banners!
CRM Considerations (publisher, customer)
Program Funding

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Launch!
Network Promotion Plan
Does the network have a launch plan?
If not, create your own!
Recruitment TrackingTip: Shared Google Doc to Track Targeted Publishers
You Can’t Recruit Unless Your Program Stands Out Above Your Competition – You Need to be Better to Get Affiliates to Change or Add Your Company to Their Affiliate Marketing Mix

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Look for an Outsourced Program Manager at the beginning of the process. You can hire most as just a startup consultant. They can guide you to the right network, help develop your Affiliate Terms, help with Competitive Analysis and with developing your creatives
Join your network of choice as an affiliate to see what affiliates see and what your competitors are doing
Talk to affiliates pre-launch to get their opinions and get them invested in wanting to run your program because you reached out and listened to them
Join affiliate forums like the Affiliate Summit Networking Forum where you can interact with affiliates and get their opinions. Also OPMs hang out there and you can see how they handle questions etc.
Lessons Learned

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Now that your site is all ready for recruiting, get out there and start talking.
Join the Affiliate Summit Networking Forum to talk to OPMs (Outsourced Program Managers), networks, and affiliates
When you are ready – post a free job notice for a manager
http://forum.affiliatesummit.com
Next Steps

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Head over to Merchant ABCs for a free video that explains the terminology and roles
http://merchantabcs.com/training
We have a special offer for viewers of this webinar – free six months subscription at Merchant ABCs private access forum.
http://merchantabcs.com/specialoffer/
We will have experts available to answer your questions and a variety of OPMs that you can talk to about your management needs
Shawn Collins has a video series update to his groundbreaking book: Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants, originally published in April 2001.
http://blog.affiliatetip.com/successful-affiliate-marketing-for-merchants-book/
Resources

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Thank You!Be sure to fill out your session review form!
Find Deborah at:
forum.affiliatesummit.com
merchantabcs.com
@loxly
dc@merchantabcs.com
Phone: (702)582-6742
Facebook.com/loxly
Linkedin.com/in/loxly
Find Jeff Grill at:
@JeffGrill
jgrill@mimeo.com
jeffgrill@gmail.com
The RogueMarketer.com
linkedin.com/in/jeffgrill

Merchant Basics - Things to Consider When Launching an Affiliate Program

by Deborah Carney on Sep 19, 2011

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Merchant Basics - Things to Consider When Launching an Affiliate Program — Presentation Transcript