Hey there – as you may know by know I like posting my POV emails to clients when I actually manage to say something interesting or insightful. So here is a recent one regarding affiliate marketing. The client basically asked me if we managed affiliate programs and what my thoughts were on them.
My response:
Hi XXXXXXX,
This is not our sweet spot but we do know a lot about it and can help you get one going with one of the top platforms. (Commission Junction or LinkShare.) Our Search Department Supervisor used to work at Commission Junction and I would be glad to set up a call between me, you and him so you could pick his brain.
From what I know there are three main factors that drive the success of an affiliate program:
1) The universal appeal of the product and the stature of your brand
a. As of now you have the universal product appeal covered
2) The offer you are making to consumers and how easy that will be for affiliates to sell it to their audience
a. Basically the offer always subordinates the bounty
b. A $5 bounty for no credit card required/free trial signups may actually have a higher adoption rate by affiliates than a $50 offer for signups that require a credit card – the affiliates know they will get exponentially more conversions that way and make more money
3) The zeal of your affiliate advocate that is recruiting affiliate members
a. We typically recommend that people pay Commission Junction’s $3k fee to have an assigned advocate to their program (I am not sure what LinkShare charges for an advocate)
b. CJ Advocates tend to know the environment really well and have relationships with sites in the CJ network
c. Especially for a company like yours it is very important to have extremely strict affiliate compliance guidelines – showing up on questionable sites or in spam emails could really damage your credibility
I hope this helps and do let me know when you would like me to line up a call with our resident CJ expert.
See you soon,
Harry-
