This presentation is from Affiliate Summit West 2017 (January 15-17, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada). Session description: Understanding how affiliates promote your brand is the first step toward finding balance and profitable growth in your program. Once you know, you can reorganize and execute a winning strategy.

1. REV SHARE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES:
GROWTH THROUGH BALANCE
GREG HOFFMAN
PRESIDENT & CEO
greg@apogeeagency.com
www.apogeeagency.com

2. REV SHARE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES:
GROWTH THROUGH BALANCE
•FINDING THE RIGHT AFFILIATES
•CREATING THE STRUCTURE AND RULES
•COMMUNICATING OFTEN WITH AFFILIATES
•MERCHANT COOPERATION AND UNDERSTANDING

3. FINDING THE RIGHT AFFILIATES
AN EXAMPLE:
UNMANAGED, SET TO AUTO-APPROVE, SIX MONTHS ON THE NETWORK

4. BEFORE
• NO TERMS OF SERVICE
• 683 AFFILIATES
• 138 AFFILIATES ACTIVE WITH CLICKS
• 50 ACTIVE WITH SALES
• NO RULES, NO COMMUNICATION
• WRONG AFFILIATES ACTIVE
AFTER
• SET TERMS OF SERVICE
• REMOVED 45 AFFILIATES ACTIVE WITH SALES
• REMOVED 307 AFFILIATES IN TOTAL
• RECRUITED 67 NEW AFFILIATES
WHY WERE 307 AFFILIATES THE “WRONG” AFFILIATES?

5. • LOWER COMMISSION
• CLEAN LANDING PAGES
• ADVANCED ATTRIBUTION RULES
• LIMITED PAID SEARCH CAPABILITY
• ADS MUST BE APPROVED
• NOT JUST TRADEMARK
• MUST REINVEST PROFIT
• MUST FOLLOW MERCHANT REQUESTS
BECAUSE PAID SEARCH & COUPONS WERE 96% OF SALES
BUT WE ONLY WORK WITH A SMALL, TRUSTED NUMBER OF CORPORATE TYPES
COUPON & LOYALTY PAID SEARCH
OTHER COUPON SITES LIST FAKE CODES,
LIST COMPETITOR CODES, AND STUFF
COOKIES
OTHERS BID ON BRAND OR TOP PRODUCTS
ONLY, NEVER REINVEST IN LONG TAIL, AND
HAVE LOW VOLUME OVERALL
THEY MUST OBEY: THEY MUST OBEY:

6. CREATING THE STRUCTURE AND RULES
EACH PROGRAM NEEDS TO BE COMPETITIVE AND AFFILIATE-FRIENDLY

7. DIFFERENT MODELS, DIFFERENT
COMMISSION LEVELS
• COUPON CLOSES FOR CONTENT
• SPLIT: CONTENT COMMISSION REDUCED BY COUPON COMMISSION
• LOYALTY CLOSES FOR CONTENT
• SPLIT: EACH RECEIVES 50% OF STANDARD COMMISSION
• SHOPPING CART ABANDONMENT CLOSES FOR CONTENT
• SPLIT: EACH RECIEVES 50% OF STANDARD COMMISSION
TERMS OF SERVICE AND RULES NEED TO BE
SPELLED OUT AND ENFORCED DAILY
MERCHANT NEVER PAYS MORE THAN PROGRAM DEFAULT
LESS THAN 20% OF TRANSACTIONS AFFECTED, BUT A HUGE BOOST
IN CONFIDENCE AND CONVERSION FOR CONTENT AFFILIATES
ATTRIBUTION RULES EXPLAINED

8. COMMUNICATING WITH AFFILIATES
IT’S ALL ABOUT TRANSPARENCY

9. • DISCUSS PROBLEMS IMMEDIATELY
• FACEBOOK GROUPS, NEWSLETTERS, PRIVATE MESSAGES, EMAIL, CARRIER PIGEON
• BE HONEST
• TRUST GOES BOTH WAYS
• MAKE NEWSLETTERS HELPFUL
• GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO DO OR THEY WILL START IGNORING YOU
• BE OPEN TO WHATEVER PLATFORMS AFFILIATES USE
• AGAIN, CARRIER PIGEONS, IF YOU HAVE AFFILIATES THAT USE THEM
• PROVIDE TOOLS AND TELL AFFILIATES
• BANNERS, CODES, ADVANCED TOOLS – THEY CAN’T USE THEM IF THEY DON’T KNOW
ABOUT THEM
The message must get through!

10. MERCHANT COOPERATION AND
UNDERSTANDING
THE BEST PROGRAMS HAVE ENGAGED MERCHANTS - BETTER RELATIONSHIPS, BETTER RESULTS

11. WHAT WE EXPECT
FROM MERCHANTS
• DATAFEED
• DEALS
• BANNERS
• CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
• PRODUCT FOR REVIEWS
• TESTING PAID PROMOTIONS, BONUS TIERS, AND
AGGRESSIVE IDEAS
• ATTENTION
COOPERATION AND COMMUNICATION LEAD
TO UNDERSTANDING AND SUCCESS

12. RESULTS
• HIGHER ORDERS AND SALES YEAR-OVER-YEAR
• STRONGER ROI AND LOWER COST PER SALE
• MORE AFFILIATES ACTIVE WITH CLICKS
• GREATER BALANCE BETWEEN CONTENT AND
CORPORATE AFFILIATES
• STEADY FLOW OF NEW AFFILIATES JOINING
• TEN YEAR OLD PROGRAM
• GROWTH OF 177% FROM 2012 TO PRESENT
• AVERAGE YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH OF 30%
• 600 NEW AFFILIATES SINCE 2012
• MORE SALES BONUSES PAID OUT THAN ANY OTHER
PROGRAM
A REAL APOGEE CLIENT THAT WE
BURNED DOWN AND REBUILT WHEN
THEY HIRED US

13. REV SHARE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES:
GROWTH THROUGH BALANCE
•FINDING THE RIGHT AFFILIATES
•CREATING THE STRUCTURE AND RULES
•COMMUNICATING OFTEN WITH AFFILIATES
•MERCHANT COOPERATION AND UNDERSTANDING

14. REV SHARE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES:
GROWTH THROUGH BALANCE
GREG HOFFMAN
PRESIDENT & CEO
greg@apogeeagency.com
www.apogeeagency.com