4q projectBethany Minor, David Zelken, Jason Rubacky, Nate Beal, Tiffany Tse

12.21.12

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table of contentsOverview ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

History ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

Team Leader Overview ........................................................................................................................... 4-5

What we learned. What we did ............................................................................................................. 5

What I’ve Learned During the Project ............................................................................................ 5-6

What Goals I’ve Completed ............................................................................................................ 7-8

What Challenges Did I Face ............................................................................................................ 8-9

Tools .................................................................................................................................................... 9

Printers/Designers .............................................................................................................................. 9

Part A ......................................................................................................................................................... 10

Magazine Ad ..................................................................................................................................... 10

Original Ad ................................................................................................................................. 11

Development of Logo .............................................................................................................. 12

Inspiration ................................................................................................................................ 13

Mockup ..................................................................................................................................... 14

Final Ad ..................................................................................................................................... 15

Banner Ad ......................................................................................................................................... 16

Original Ad ................................................................................................................................ 17

Final Ad ..................................................................................................................................... 17

Email Newsletter .............................................................................................................................. 18

Final Newsletter ....................................................................................................................... 18

Featured Program Ad ....................................................................................................................... 19

Original Ad ................................................................................................................................ 19

Font ........................................................................................................................................... 19

Mockup .................................................................................................................................... 20

Final Ad ..................................................................................................................................... 20

One Sheeter ...................................................................................................................................... 21

Front .................................................................................................................................................. 21

Back ................................................................................................................................................... 22

Part B ......................................................................................................................................................... 23

Overview ........................................................................................................................................... 23

Website Strategy .............................................................................................................................. 23

Website Statistics ........................................................................................................................ 23-34

Becoming an Affiliate ................................................................................................................... 35-37

API Integration ........................................................................................................................ 38

Creating PHP Scripts ................................................................................................................ 39

Store Page ........................................................................................................................... 40-43

Becoming a Merchant ................................................................................................................. 44-45

Creating Lead Campaign ......................................................................................................... 46

Part C ......................................................................................................................................................... 47

Overview ........................................................................................................................................... 47

Feedfront Ad ............................................................................................................................... 47-49

Banner Ad ......................................................................................................................................... 50

Email Newsletter ............................................................................................................................... 51

Sales Kit ........................................................................................................................................ 52-56

Budget ....................................................................................................................................................... 57

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Tiffany is a rock star, seriously. Whatever she was asked to design up, it was done exactly. She helped the team so much with the design of our ads, buttons for the site, and Dave’s sales type stuff. Nothing she was thrown she couldn’t handle, and did it the whole time with a smile on her face. She might be the quietest one of the group, but her designs roared.

In summary, I was given a great group of people, we all learned from each other, and we formed, what I believe, is the top group of this project. I thank them all for listening to me and respecting me as team leader. Please enjoy this summary of Team TrendyNation.

what we learned. what we did. what I’ve learned during the project:

historyTheTrendyNation was founded on 10/25/12. After discussing what we envisioned for the design of our website, the creatives we were to design, and the ShareASale creatives; we determined that this name would best fit the products that we would create. This was because our idea of “trendy” is not what happened last month or today, but the ideas and concepts that transcend a specific date and really catch the eye of an individual. Thus we became TheTrendyNation and we believe that every single product we created holds the stamp of all 5 of our personalities.

team leader overviewI’m very proud of my team, while we all have had some opinions and egos, this team really came together to work hard and put out a phenomenal product for this assignment. We all have strengths and weaknesses in certain areas, and each team member really did well to support and learn from their peers in the group.

One thing I think that stands out for us is that we refused to go to any outside sources for help on ads or the website. We wanted to show that we could come together and through our collaboration, make some really solid looking ads, banners, one-sheeters, and more. I knew we had made the right decision when the first ad poster came off the printer and the lady at the counter said it was one of the nicest poster designs she’d ever seen come through her store.

Same thing with the website, Jason really went above and beyond helping the team to build the site with how we wanted it to look. Without some of his coding ideas and expertise, we might not have the clean, functional site that we have that is steadily driving traffic. Through being sick, he still managed to finish in a timely fashion that allowed us to complete some extra credit projects we wanted to do.

Bethany has been awesome on the project, her statistic collection and drive to succeed is second to none. I know she gained a lot of knowledge on analytics and I believe her reporting and composition shows that phenomenally in this summary. Also, her help on the design was a major key to us having the right ideas to succeed as a group.

Dave was a really strong asset with the team in helping us craft a great presentation as well as our approach to each part of the project. His background in sales helped us to look at things more sensibly and from different angles then we may have thought of before. His advice and ideas for the one sheeter helped in formulating how the team wanted Part C to look and be consistent.

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• Learned a lot about what it takes to organize a group, to set goals, and to push to make the best product/presentation that the team could do. • Learned more about the intricacies of design with illustrator (would love to get this on my computer) as well as Photoshop of which I already was somewhat well versed in.• I learned a lot about how SEO can benefit a website and push it to the forefront over others, and how this is good for an affiliate looking to grow sales. • I also learned a lot about how ShareASale’s tools work to help our affiliates and merchants create successful programs through our network. • I learned how the API works and how to use the tools to easily pull datafeeds, to alert me when merchants go offline. I learned much from Jason on this, and how to build a working, productive, and eye catching website from the ground up.

Nate

• Learned a lot about design (importance of quality of image, requirements for printing, tools used top design things.• Learned about Analytics how they are derived how to improve them• Learned a lot about SEO and its importance how it serves as a base line for the website• Learned about a lot of new tools that are available• Learned about tools that are available to us (themes, Wordpress, etc.)

bethany

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view • Learned the benefits of SEO

• Learned about different plugins – what they do and how they are important• Became a lot more familiar with the Wordpress dashboard and customizing themes• Became more familiar with using Adobe programs and the tools within each one

tiffany

• Learned that GoDaddy isn’t the best platform for hosting and people purchase their own hosting (GoDaddy would change IP’s and update without warning).• Learned how to setup a merchant pixel to fire in an email• Learned how to setup Cron Jobs and short code to shorten length of PHP scripts

jason

• Learned how important tags and descriptions are for SEO: image tags, photo captions, title tags, optimizing images, etc.• Learned that interlinking is crucial to keep visitors on your site and remaining engaged with all of your content. Related articles and key words • Keeping content fresh, up to date, and engaging is the most important part of building a site and growing your traffic. I can see how important it would be to have a team of writers or finding authors to contribute to content. No chance for success without a constant flow of fresh and unique content. Going solo on providing content is not going to cut it unless it’s your full-time job and you give it your full attention.• HTML and CSS create the design of the site and the info that is displayed in the browser. PHP drives the actions and the processes on the site• API is used to automate processes on a website such as updating a merchant’s datafeed.• Facebook is a quick and relatively easy way to gain traction and visitors. Start of by telling friends and family and things will build from there. • The most important aspect of creating an ad campaign is to make sure you focus on the prospect’s needs.• It’s good to get multiple opinions and feedback on a creative idea because you can be too close to a project and have blinders on, only seeing things your own way.

david

what goals I’ve completed:

• I believe I have taken a group of large egos and many opinions and helped hone them into quite the formidable team that works well together and can create some top notch designs and tools and a website without having any outside help. • I wanted to learn more on how to build a site from the ground up using Shareasale tools (as we talked about last year); I feel that while I may not be 100 percent on everything. I’m confident that I could lay the groundwork and start that project if we wanted as a “newbie” affiliate or merchant. • I also wanted to learn about SEO, as I wasn’t very well versed in this, I have learned a TON. I can see now why websites fail or succeed, it takes a lot of work, and SEO can help you attain great placement with your site.

Nate

• I completed my goal of learning a lot more about SEO and manipulating and maintaining a website.• I also learned a lot about some of the tools to complete design.• I also was excited to finally be able to see Google Analytics and how they work.

bethany

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• I completed the Sales Kit with help from the team, though it wasn’t necessarily a requirement. It was still something I’ve never created or attempted to create before. • I learned about making posts SEO-friendly. • I feel accomplished in being able to execute creative tasks, such as helping complete the banners, magazine ads, etc.

tiffany

• Helped the team understand how SEO works and how the Shareasale tools work within our system.• I feel 100 percent on how to use the API at this time.• Developed my own Wordpress Plugin to allow customization on any WP template

jason

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• The sales kit idea was something I had in the back of my mind for a long time. Having the time to focus on it and get a finished piece was rewarding.• I learned a ton more about Word Press and discovered why it’s such a widely used tool• I gained more technical knowledge and it opened up the doors to wanting to learn even more and grow my skillset• I learned how important SEO is and several very important tricks of the trade to gain exposure • I gained more experience on the creative design side and what it takes to create an effective banner and full blown ad campaign

david

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what challenges did I face

I am not the most organized person in the world, this project forced me to step out of my comfort zone in that area and really buckle down. Whether it was organizing meetings, keeping group members on task, assigning those tasks, or keeping a budget, it was a big step for me and I feel I’ve really gained a lot from those tasks that made me a better leader. PHP coding was a challenge for me as the last coding I did was HTML. Dave and I have discussed and have thought about spending a day a week over the next year learning this part even better, maybe even taking a class to learn more about coding.

Nate

It was challenging learning and researching SEO information. It was also challenging understanding the intricacies of design and how to create an optimal design from scratch.

bethany

Design was definitely a challenge - finding good images that were good enough for print, coming up with new ideas, and accomplishing those ideas. It was also challenging to learn and keep up with the amount of work that goes into developing a web site. tiffany

Hosting issues referenced above with GoDaddy was a pain due to their non-warning updates that would break the site. Time was a major challenge, even with five tea m members and people helping out, there is a lot of time that gets spent building a site from scratch.

jason

• Learned that building a site using wordpress is more difficult than I thought. Committing to a theme can be tough to do, and when pressed for time you need to make decisions that can’t easily be reversed down the road• The sales kit was very challenging. Translating your vision to another person or company is very difficult no matter how clear you are with your requirements. It takes a lot of back and forth to get it right• It was difficult to find images and agree on creative work because it was necessary to please all five people in our group. You have to make some concessions and let the majority rule no matter how much you believe in your personal decision.

david

toolsWe decided to depend heavily on our own skill sets in designing all aspects of this project. We did not enlist the aid of an outside designer and instead worked together to find images, verbiage, and layouts that fit the overall idea that we wanted to represent in all of our work. We got a lot of our images from Shutterstock.com, because the quality of images allowed us to create an experience for the audience we believed would be eye catching and make them want to learn more.

In terms of the website, we decided to utilize Wordpress and GoDaddy. GoDaddy is a relatively inexpensive web host which was ideal in limiting the impact hosting would have on our budget. Wordpress was chosen because it was free and could also easily be manipulated to create an environment for our audience that would keep them coming back. We utilized Themeforest to pick out a template for our website.

We utilized Basecamp and Dropbox to help us stay organized and to also collect all of the documentation and images we used. Basecamp also helped tremendously in helping us outline where we were in the project, what we had finished, and most importantly where we wanted to end up.

printers/designersWe used Costco to print out the images of our creatives. We used Die Cut Stickers to create a 2 dimensional one sheeter. We utilized Colad to create the container for the sales kit.

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With the creatives featured in Part A, we wanted to ensure we were staying true to the ultimate idea of TheTrendyNation by making creatives that both represented the selected subject and were appealing.

magazine adWe knew immediately that we wanted to do the LaSalle Power Company ad. We began our review by looking up the magazine where the original ad was located. The magazine was called Illinois Meetings + Events or Meetingsmags.com. After reviewing the original ad, we determined that the company needed to be rebranded to better convey what they were able to offer. The rebranding consisted in changing the name to better situate the company as a venue or event space. This resulted in the new name of LPC Venues. It included aspects of the original name while adding on what the actual venue does. The design of the logo evolved from an image found on OKL’s, a media company, Facebook page. From that design we had a specific idea of how the letters should be aligned. We then found pictures of the location’s original logo and used a font similar to the original for the letters and descriptive parts of the ad.

We then set about determining what types of images would best represent what might happen at LPC Venues. We looked through Yelp reviews, as well as TimeOut Chicago, and were able to determine that the space had been host to music concerts for people like Mandy Moore, Lollapalooza after parties, as well as company holiday parties. Based on this, we wanted to specifically show the vibrancy of the location and also that it was versatile (which was featured in the original ad.) We were able to find excellent pictures from Shutterstock that gave an idea of the type of event as well as the industrial look of the space.

original ad

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development of logo inspiration

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mockup FINAL AD

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banner adThe Abe’s Market ad was a really interesting task. The company had actually undergone a rebranding campaign between when the original banner was created and the present. It was necessary for us to go through and determine what types of information would best represent the company today. To this end, we spent a great deal of time on the merchant website as well as reading write ups about the company. We utilized the new updated logo from Abe’s website and attempted to use a similar parchment type look that is present on their new updated website. We also wanted to include the tag line that was on the website, as it better encapsulated everything the company wants to do versus the verbiage from the original banner. This tagline was “Discovering Incredible Natural Products, Every Day.” This also went hand in hand with what the company is attempting to do by finding the next big natural product company and creating partnerships with them, which is shown by the heavy promotion under the “Abe’s Sellers” portion of the website. We also decided to include the Free Shipping offer on the banner as that is a constant offer on the site and would prove as enticing the average customer. Lastly, the image for this ad was very significant and we did not believe that it had to solely be a product the company sold. Instead, we wanted it to focus on the idea of “natural” which is the all-encompassing idea behind the website and the company. So, we chose an image of lavender that we located on Shutterstock. The combination of the new color scheme, logo, and simpler image better represented the overall idea of Abe’s Market than what had been created previously.

original ad

Final ad

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email newsletterThe Email Newsletter proved challenging because Layla Grace had included a great deal of important information, but the format of their newsletter was less than desirable. The sheer size of the newsletter was the first aspect that jumped out to all of us. We knew that a new updated newsletter must be much smaller and preferably only 1 page. So, we first looked to create a template that would work for most merchant programs. It would serve as a means to restrict the amount of information a merchant may put in the newsletter. This template would then be able to be used across all programs.

Final newsletter

Featured program AdThe Tea Collection ad upon first glance was a bit confusing, because we were not necessarily familiar with the brand. Some statements were made that the ad looked like it should be for an organization supporting children in third world countries. We first went to the merchant website and noticed that the overall products were high quality children’s clothes. We also did some outside research and found information about numerous child celebrities who had worn the clothes to awards shows like the Emmy’s, so our goal was to show the almost exclusive and high quality of the products. We also wanted to use elements of the current website which included a really interesting font that we felt would be really eye catching for an affiliate.

Original ad

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mockup

Final ad

One sheeterWhen creating the one sheeter, we immediately knew that we wanted it to directly reflect the same concept that we were developing for the ShareASale creatives in Part C of the project. The overall idea was the use of ingredients and more specifically which ingredients are reflected in ShareASale’s product offerings. We also wanted it to appear different from how a generic one sheeter might look. This was due to the fact that this sheet may be handed out at major conferences where individuals are receiving a great deal of company’s information and our sheet needed to be distinct from the rest. So, we created a design which can be viewed below and then we contacted a company that was able to create a more realistic bottle shape.

Front

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BACK OVERVIEWThe website theme surrounded the idea of being both trendy and relevant. We wanted to include subjects where we knew a great deal and thus could provide our own opinions and thoughts, attracting people to our website. We knew that the key to a great website is a combination between great design and even better content.

WEBSITE STRATEGYWith the website, we focused on creating great content that would attract readers. We then optimized the content and all aspects of the website, such as categories and tags to ensure we gained traction with the major search engines. We also verified our ownership across various tools like Alexa, Google, and Bing to allow for even greater traction in search. This strategy proved effective in that we were mentioned by the Twig Case Company (Twitter, Facebook, Company Website) and Dave Ramsey (Twitter) resulting in referrals.

We each were responsible for learning about SEO pertaining to optimizing blog posts, images, and keywords used in posts. This resulted in great traction for the site in search engines.

We also continually looked at the statistics for the website, such as the page views, Pages/Visit, Avg. Visit Duration, and Bounce Rate. We were able to decrease the Bounce Rate by 21.6% from the first couple of weeks of posts (November 1-23) through the end of the project by creating anchor tags, interlinking between blog posts, and focusing on continually creating great content. This decrease in the bounce rate directly resulted in an incredible increase of 2093 page views, which is a 545% increase in page views over the course of the project. We increased the number of Pages/Visit by 1.04 in that time period, the Avg. Visit Duration by 2:24.

WEBSITE STATISTICSVisits: 679Unique Visitors: 379Page views: 3289Pages/Visit: 4.84Avg. Visit Duration: 08:11Bounce Rate: 52.72%% New Visits: 55.82%

We have created a login for Brian to login and view updated statistics and experience the full functionality of the infographics that were created for this project.Login: thetrendynation.com/wp-adminUsername: BrianPassword: shareasaleWe have also created a page that displays all of the statistics and various materials for easy review here: http://thetrendynation.com/project-data/

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google analytics

This chart shows the number of visitors week to week for the Trendy Nation.

This chart shows the ratio of new and returning visitors.

This chart shows the average time of visits to the website.

This shows the frequency of visits to the website.

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social media

This chart shows a breakdown of insights from Facebook about our posts includigng their reach, engagement, virality, etc.

This chart shows the number of likes/follower/fans we received on each social media site. We utilized a resource called FanMeNow to gather some of the likes/followers.

This chart shows the gender breakdown of those who have liked us on Facebook.

This chart shows the country breakdown of those who have liked us on Facebook.

This chart shows the city breakdown of those who have liked us on Facebook

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TRAFFIC SOURCES

This chart shows each of the traffic sources and the number of referrals we received from them.

This chart shows the keywords for which we gained impressions and how many impressions we received.

This chart shows the geographic breakdown of the impressions we received.

This chart shows the pages that gained impressions and their percentage.

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This chart shows state breakdown of our visitors.

GOOGLE ANALYTICS RESULTS FROM 12/12-12/18As we continued to refine the look and feel of the website, we focused on those aspects and did not add new content. This period of time, where the only additions were the design as well as the shop showed a great deal of information. What we gleaned from the statistics is that the SEO that was our focus resulted in continued traffic and in fact all of our statistics increased by a lot during this period. The charts below show the same data as the previous Google Analytics charts but for the period between 12/12-12/18.

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This chart shows the state breakdown for our visitors.

This chart shows the referral sources.

This chart shows the impressions we made regarding certain keywords.

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This chart shows the content that received views and clicks.

becoming an affiFiliateBecoming an affiliate was a relatively easy process, but being approved for each merchant program proved more difficult. For our affiliate account, we applied to a total of 45 programs. Of those 45, we were declined by 5 merchants and are still pending for 3. Due to the fact that we wanted to get links for higher quality products, we did not apply to many programs that had auto approval enabled. Through the process, we were asked questions by merchants to clarify our business plan and to also ensure we had links/banners posted quickly.

This process allowed us to see exactly how it can be difficult to be approved for an affiliate program even if you have a specific product in mind to promote. This however led to a better understanding of affiliate frustration and strategies that can be used to increase the likelihood of being approved.

As a test, some applications included descriptions and others did not. On the applications where a description was included the approval rate was higher than those where it was not included. Also, for the programs where there was great interest an immediate contact email was sent and the approval rate was greatly reduced. These strategies allowed for faster approval as well as direct communication from the merchant with encouragement. These findings should help us better help the affiliates.

It took us slightly longer than expected to have our first affiliate sale, but we believe that was just because of the need to continually grow the amount of page views. We received our first sales/leads on 12/17/12. This also coincided with the final design changes and the addition of the store so there may be some correlation between the events.

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AffiFiliate home screen trafFic report

activity detail report

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api integrationWe utilized the API to show the statistics for our affiliate program and created private pages on the website to display this information when we wanted updated statistics. We also created PHP script around the data to organize the information and to give the information a nice streamlined look.

aFFiliate statshttp://thetrendynation.com/affiliate-stats-private/

This page can be accessed by users on our website. We have created a login for you to access the page and check the functionality of the website.Username: BrianPassword: shareasale

creating php scriptsWe found it challenging to fully install all of the custom PHP that we wanted to really complete all aspects of the project. This was due to the various tools that we utilized including Wordpress and the Gonzo theme from Themeforest. The theme had some challenges in that the original creators set it up to make it a bit difficult to fully customize the website once it was applied. Secondly, Wordpress had an update go through that was not compatible to the theme which caused the site to be wiped out twice. Fortunately, through Jason’s foresight, the site was backed up and could be recovered. This all served as valuable lessons in the ins and outs of creating, updating, and maintaining a website.

We hosted the files for the website using PHP MyAdmin as well as a PHP Code plugin found on Wordpress. The PHP MyAdmin allowed us to grab data from ShareASale and add it to a database. We then used Cron Manager to create calls that would bring that data into Wordpress. The manager also allowed us to go through and update on the fly by fully automating numerous calls. This all resulted in us being able to show the most up to date information at all times.

After going through these challenges, we continually worked through experimenting with PHP and CSS to create a look and feel for all of the tools we were supposed to include with the site. Once we had included basic things such as products and banners on the site we had to continually update the code to ensure the site displayed properly on each web browser. Initially, the shop page looked best on Google Chrome, but through the continued customization of the CSS it now displays well on all browsers.

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store pageshop The shop is set up to randomly display products whenever you go to a page. It chooses from any of the products available in the merchant’s datafeed. It also automatically resizes any images to show as appropriately sized thumbnail images. Lastly, it removes any product that does not an image. This all results in a great user experience on TheTrendyNation dot com, which should result in more clickthroughs and in turn more sales. This was important because the merchant we selected had not included any thumbnail images, and we wanted to maintain certain symmetry in the shop page.

It also allows the user to click a thumbnail of a product and be sent to a detail page. That detail page then has an “Add to Cart” link that takes them to the merchant site. This page also is set up so that when a viewer clicks the image they will be directed to the product on the merchant website.

Lastly, we included pagination to limit the number of products on each page to 40 to ensure the viewer would not be overwhelmed while looking through products.The image below shows the original shop without the inclusion of more dynamic code such as sort or search functions.

search We created a dynamic search on the shop page that allows the user to sort products based on the brand, various price points, and based on highest or lowest price. We also allow the user to search based on various keywords related to the product. These changes created a whole new experience for those perusing our shop.

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example PHP codeBelow there is some example PHP code featured in the Cron Manager to automatically delete products when an image is not present. We created a number of these types of scripts that would enable us to create a fully dynamic shop on our website.if(!$intervalo=get_option(‘intervalo_cron’)) { add_option(‘intervalo_cron’,100);} else if(isset($_POST[‘intervalo_cron’])) { update_option(‘intervalo_cron’,intval($_POST[‘intervalo_cron’])); } if (isset($_POST[‘snapshot’])) { add_option(‘cronsnapshot_’ . $curtime, get_option(‘cron’)); } else if ($_POST[‘action’]==’takesnapshot’) {add_option(‘cronsnapshot_’ . $curtime, get_option(‘cron’));$snapshots=$wpdb->get_results(“select replace(option_name,’cronsnapshot_’,’’) as restoretimestamp from {$wpdb->options} where option_name like ‘%cronsnapshot_%’;”); foreach ($snapshots as $snapshot) { echo ‘<form method=”POST” action=”’ . $_SERVER[‘REQUEST_URI’] . ‘” id=”cronsnapshot_’.$snapshot->restoretimestamp.’”>’; echo “<a class=’deletesnapshot deleteimg’ href=’javascript:void(0);’ rel=’{$snapshot->restoretimestamp}’></a>”; echo ‘<input type=”hidden” id=”restoretimestamp” name=”restoretimestamp” value=”’.$snapshot->restoretimestamp.’”/>’; echo ‘<input type=”submit” id=”restorecron” name=”restorecron” value=”Restore ‘.date(‘Y-m-d h:i:s’, $snapshot->restoretimestamp).’ Cron Snapshot”/>’; echo ‘</form>’; }die();

More PHP code can be viewed in the admin of our website. The login details are mentioned previously.

dealsWe created a section in the right sidebar that scrolls through the various deals offered by our merchants. Every 5 seconds, a new deal is displayed and it has a highlighted link that drops the cookie and takes the customer to the merchant website to facilitate the purchase. We were able to create this affect by using a widget called Juiz Last Tweet Widget. We took the widget and added in our own code to display deals versus the Tweets for which it was designed. The deals are hosted in My PHP Admin and a cron was created to automatically get that information from the database to be displayed for the visitor.

auto email generationWe created a script that would automatically email us when a merchant program went offline.

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becoming a merchantThe merchant integration process was a bit more difficult. The first challenge was how we would integrate a newsletter signup on the website (i.e. lead campaign) without it taking away from the general feel we had created for the website.

We were able to accomplish this by adding the signup to the sidebar and creating a personalized lead confirmation page, and sending a confirmation e-mail to the users account to confirm the website. The confirmation also served as a means to protect the integrity of the campaign. With our network, we know it’s important to have some sort of security surrounding a lead campaign to avoid potential fraud.

We also created a specific creative for the account to promote the newsletter signup. This creative, in theory, would be placed on affiliate websites to generate more signups and thus more visits to the website.

merchant home screen

merchant creatives

merchant transaction detail report

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creating lead campaignlead pixel codehttps://shareasale.com/sale.cfm?amount=0.00&tracking=user@shareasale.com&transtype=lead&merchantID=1

email newsletter signupWe utilized a plugin, Wysija, to create a newsletter signup. We then went through and customized the signup to display as we wanted. We created a personalized message to display on the website when someone signed up. We also created an email confirmation page as well as a “Thank you for signing up” page that we think will help facilitate a relationship with our viewers and create even more views.

With the newsletter signup, we experimented with it where the first time around only the e-mail address was required and later we included the first and last name as well. This allowed more personalization of the emails and also prevents potential leaks for the merchant program we created. We also created a double confirmation where the user has to submit the pertinent info and then they also have to click a link in the confirmation email to be confirmed.

We also set up the signup to determine if the user is a duplicate signup and displays this message “Oops! You’re already subscribed.” Again, this just goes to create a positive user experience for our visitors.

email confirmation

overviewWhen we began developing the concept for the ShareASale campaign, we knew that we did not want the creative to be comparative. What we mean by this is that we did not want the ad to compare ShareASale to other networks. We also did not want to use superlatives like the “best” or “greatest”, because this would be subjective. Instead, we decided that the concept should state specifically what distinguishes ShareASale from other companies. To our group, that was the fact that we have “All the Right Ingredients.” This means that we could pursue adding any number of new tools or allow affiliates without screening them, but we choose not to because we have “All the Right Ingredients.” We then set out to find images that would best display this idea, and we came to the conclusion that this could be displayed with the help of a specific type of food, in this case an ice cream sundae. The image of a sundae is something that is recognizable and also connotes the idea of a reward, and so it works to convey our overall message.

feedfront adWith the Feedfront ad, we wanted to keep the ad fairly simple, because we know that some of the audience is familiar with ShareASale. We chose an image that would appeal to most people when they see it, and also chose specific keywords strategically placed around the image to draw people’s eye to the ad. We also included a specific call to action which is asking the reader to go to a website ShareASale.com/Choice where they can find more information on ShareASale and where an offer will be located. We felt that this would prove effective as there was less text to distract the viewer and just like any advertising it would allow us through the navigation to the website to specifically quantify how many people see and are affected by the ad.

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Banner adThe banner ad for ShareASale was created based entirely on the Feedfront ad. We wanted to utilize the same imagery to ensure it continued the connection that we are creating between the Feedfront ad, the one sheeter, the newsletter, and the sales kit. We utilized the same type of font and the same type of tagline. This all allows for one consistent message to represent the campaign of “All the Right Ingredients.”

Final banner ad

email newsletterThe email newsletter was a fairly simple and straightforward continuation of the “All the Right Things” concept. It includes the same sundae image as well as text boxes where data can be input. We assumed the newsletter might be used for simple updates, news, or upcoming events and included space for that information to be placed into the template.

Final newsletter

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sales kitRight before the Q4 project was assigned, David and Tiffany were brainstorming on some ideas for a sales kit. The goal in creating the sales kit was to come up with a gift box containing specific tangible/ edible items that could be sent via snail mail to prospective merchants as a “foot in the door” technique or as a way to follow up with prospects already considering ShareASale that may be on the fence or dragging their feet.

Obviously, decision makers of retail companies receive a ton of marketing pitches via email and snail mail, so we wanted to create something that would be off the beaten track, completely stand out, and be opened by the recipient rather than being tossed in the trash.

The first step in the process was to find a food/beverage item that could be customized with the ShareASale brand. We chose Jones Soda because they offer a fairly easy process for branding their pop bottles while giving the recipient a chance to try a one of a kind soda flavor.

The next step was to create content for the box itself and include information regarding the key components of ShareASale that differentiate our platform from the competition. We decided the focus should be on our technology and several of the cutting edge tools and features we have recently added to the platform. These network additions really address many of the issues retailers face in the current affiliate marketing landscape, so we felt that would be the best bet for getting their attention.

Figuring out how to present the content and information in a condensed way proved to be the most difficult part. We wanted to make sure we were not overloading the sales kit with long blocks of text that would not be read. The content is presented on a pop-up on the inside of the box cover. We also included a palm card which can be easily removed so the recipient can keep it on their desk or share it with colleagues, etc. The palm card highlights the benefits package the retailer will receive if they join the network within a set deadline (waived setup fee, Featured Program placements, etc.)

We also wanted to include a gift (besides the soda pop) that they could use at the office or at home and remember our brand. We chose the branded metal bottle opener as it has a high quality look and feel to it and also goes along with the pop bottles in the kit.In the end, we were pleased with the finished product as it contained all of the elements that we wanted to convey to the prospect. We wanted to create an eye-catching, high quality sales kit that would show the prospect that we’re focused on innovation that will help merchants get the most value out of their affiliate program (Custom Commission Rules, Clickstream Data, etc.). The sales kit ended up being the inspiration for the “All the Right Ingredients” concept used in the Feedfront ad, the banner, and the one-sheeter/hand out.

nutrition label

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palm card

2 Complimentary Featured Programs of the Directory ($1300)

1 Complimentary Featured Program of the Category ($300)

1 Free Holiday Center Listing ($100)

Free Twitter Announcement @ShareASale ($200)

Inclusion in our New Merchant Blog post

1 Complimentary Featured Program of Datafeeds Page ($550)

DAVID ZELKENDirector of SalesShareASale.com, Incdavid@shareasale.com(312) 321-0487 x114

exclusive

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forWaived network access fee ($550)

Personal introductions to 5 top affiliates on ShareASale in your niche

pop-up

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as of 12-19-12