affiliate activation: 20 ways to get them cranking

Affiliate Activation:20 Ways to Get Them

CrankingGeno PrussakovCEO, AM Navigator (affiliate management

agency)www.amnavigator.com

Founder, Affiliate Management Days (conference)

www.amdays.com

888-588-8866 | Washington, DC geno@amnavigator.com | @ePrussakov

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Common Problem

© 2015 Universal Studios

Paradox?Yes!!

AdditionalChallenge:

“Marketingto Marketers”

OPPORTUNITY!

BUT

Greato Resources

(to educate)o Incentives

(to motivate)o Tools

(to equip)o Support

G.R.I.T.S

- I -RESOURCES

Pattern to Follow:

1. Remind them of your program details 2. Include reasons to activate3. Present precoded affiliate links4. Call to action 5. Provide detailed contact info

1. Approval Email

Key Objective:Excite them to take action

2. Static Textual Content

Examples:

• Program Support Website• FAQ Section• Tips and Ideas• Educational Material

2. Static Textual Content

2. Static Textual Content

Examples:

• Blog• Facebook page and/or group• LinkedIn group• Twitter updates

3. Dynamic Textual Content

3. Dynamic Textual Content

4. Visual Content

Source: http://www.blanc.ltd.uk/infographics/

4. Visual Content

4. Visual Content

4. Visual Content

- II -INCENTIVES

Congratulations! You have just been approved for FTP access to the HalloweenMart.com's affiliate datafeed.

Import our datafeed soon, send $799 in sales by February 28, 2015, and I will deposit a $50 cash bonus (on top of your commissions) into your ShareASale account. With our 30-day affiliate-referred AOV exceeding $50, reaching this goal is not hard, and we are looking forward to your participation!

5. Activation Incentives

6. Performance Incentives

7. Contests

- III -TOOLS

8. Blogger Plugins

9. Widgets

CrazyForBargains widget (on ShareASale)

I sometimes get requests from AMs on what will help affiliates market the product. I always ask for content I can use to craft articles, emails, tweets, etc. I rarely get a response. [bold font added]

10. Content About Product

Content helps them create:• Blog posts, articles• Reviews, how-to guides• Social media content• Text(s) of email promotions

11. List(s) of Bestsellers

11. List(s) of Bestsellers

12. Keywords

Application Programming Interface (API) – a set of functions and procedures that allow the creation of applications which access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service.

Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

Equip Developers!!

13. Product API Access

13. Product API Access

14. Mobile-Oriented Tools

Ericsson Mobility Report Q 2014 (via @wearesocialsg)

14. Mobile-Oriented Tools

for Feature Phones

• 120×20 (small banner)• 168×28 (medium

banner)• 216×36 (large banner)• 120×30 (small high

image banner)• 168×42 (medium high

image banner)• 216×54 (large high

image banner)

for Smartphones

• 300×250 (static interstitial)• 300×50 (mobile

leaderboard)• 320×50 (static wide

banner)• 320×100 (large banner)• 300×75 (high image

banner)• 300×160

Creatives

API access for mobile app & game developers

14. Mobile-Oriented Tools

- IV -SUPPORT

15. Being Reachable

16. Segmentation

“As a retailer, you likely segment your consumers…

Segmentation can also be applied to your affiliate marketing channel. Just as different types of customers require different levels of service, different types of affiliates require different resources.”

— Carolyn Kmet, former Director of Affiliate Marketing at Groupon

Criteria:o Typeo Performanceo Nicheso Terms/Payouts

16. Segmentation

Here's how well some of our current affiliates are doing

• SEM: $2,854 1-day commission // $188 EPC

• Email: $1,554 1-day commission // $142 EPC

• Blogging: $2,226 1-day commission // $110 EPC

17. Motivation Thru Examples

Always remove sensitive info! (URL, names, content, etc)

18. Tailored Suggestions

I recently signed up to one affiliate program that had their act together:1. It was “manual approval” and I was accepted into the program within 24 hours.2. I received a nice welcome email with all the names of the outsourced affiliate

managers3. Shortly after that I was welcomed by the ecommerce the company itself and the

affiliate associates introduced themselves.4. Over the next week the affiliate management company sent a few

suggestions to get the most out of the program via email.… I will do my best to promote this company and their products.What a contrast to about 70% of the other companies that have affiliate programs!

19. SurveysExample:

Effectiveness:

Initial email: max. 4% response Follow-ups: ≈12% more respond

Frequency:

1. A week from original email2. 1 more week down the road3. 2-3 months4. Half a year5. A year

20. Follow-ups

To Recap…

RESOURCES:

1. Approval email2. Textual content (static)3. Textual content (dynamic)4. Visual content

INCENTIVES:

5. Activation incentives6. Performance incentives7. Contests

TOOLS:

8. Blogger plugins9. Widgets10. Content about product11. Lists of bestsellers12. Keywords13. Product API access14. Mobile-oriented tools

Activate Affiliateswith GRITS Approach

SUPPORT:

15. Being reachable16. Segmentation17. Motivation thru examples18. Tailored suggestions19. Surveys20. Follow-ups

In Conclusion…

Thank you! Questions?