affiliates summit
TRANSCRIPT
Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Affiliates
Candice Nobles, Sr Marketing Manager, Hewlett-Packard, Snapfish (Moderator)
Larry Adams, Affiliate Product Manager, Performics
Stephanie Agresta, Vice President, Affiliate Marketing, Commerce360
Patrick Gavin, President, Text Link Ads
Brent Hill, Vice President, FeedBurner
Choots Humphries, President, LinkConnector
Introduction to Data FeedsLarry Adams
Product Manager
Performics
What is a Feed?
Usually, people are talking about a structured file of product catalog data Updated at regular intervals Contains tracking links to product level pages
Other types of data are available in feeds, too Coupon/Promotion feeds (third party tools and some
networks provide) Transactional or performance data RSS feeds
Informational, used as a substitute for email to affiliates Distribution, you can buy ads in someone else’s content
feed
What Technology and Skills are Needed?
A server to receive and process the file Basic knowledge of networking
A database or other storage to maintain the data Intermediate knowledge of database principles
A dynamic web site to display the product data Intermediate to advanced web development skills With basic skills you could code product pages by hand but
keeping sites up to date is a nightmare
Or….. Third party tools
Created by affiliates that figured out how to use data feeds for their own sites
Easy way to get started to see if your users are receptive to this type of content
What Can I do With a Data Feed?
Dynamic web sites Comparison shopping engines (Bizrate,
shopping.com) Contextual product tags (Chitika, Amazon)
Content for paid search marketing Use product names for keywords Use product links for better landing pages
Price alerts
A Word on Standards
Different types of products require different types descriptive attributes
Not all merchants provide all dataNRF and shop.org have established a
working group to establish standards for online retail data feeds
http://onlinefeeds.org/index.html
How Can I Find Out More?
Overviews/Tutorials http://www.web-procreate.com/ http://www.5staraffiliateprograms.com/datafeed1.html
FTP basics http://kb.iu.edu/data/apfj.html#section4
Web Hosting Information http://www.bargain-shopping-online.com/webhosts.htm http://www.tophosts.com/
Programming/Web Development http://www.byteofpython.info/ http://www.mindview.net/Books/TIPython http://depts.washington.edu/acmb/resources/weblib.htm
Third Party Tools http://goldencan.com http://www.afftools.com/psc/directory.html http://www.c3scripts.com/ http://couponfeeder.com/ http://www.synthasite.com/
Utilizing Email to Drive Affiliate Sales: A Primer for New Affiliates
Stephanie Agresta, Vice President, Affiliate Marketing
Agenda
DisclaimerBuilding Your ListContent Best PracticesManaging Your Unsubscribe ListVendors: ESPsIndustry Blogs & Resource CentersCreative SamplesSummary
Disclaimer
A primer – not legal advice The following PowerPoint is intended to assist affiliates in understanding resources and best
practices with regard to email marketing. This presentation is not intended to provide a comprehensive analysis of the CAN-SPAM ACT or to provide specific recommendations of what actions companies or individuals should take to comply and is provided for informational use only.
A dialogue between Merchants and Affiliates
The tip of the iceberg
Building Your List
Know your demographic Begin building the relationship from the very start No “floating sign-up boxes” and lack of communication
Segmentation – sub-categories of customers Different versions of subject lines and content?
Deliverability Get email address from all major ISPs for testing
List Quality – Determines your ROI Opt-in or double-opt-in No pre-checked boxes Clean out bad emails and bounces Inactive – ask for re-opt-in (opt-down)
Content Best Practices
You have 3 seconds to catch their attention!
If only one subject line – Keep it short but relevant (45 characters to convey your key message) A call to action
The From line determines whether to delete an email Is it recognizable?
The Subject line motivates people to actually open the email Is it cut-off?
Online calculators, copy advice, design advice
Managing Your Unsubscribe List
CAN SPAM Definition http://www.unsubcentral.com/can_spam.php Merchants have more responsibility and
consequencesWhy Advertisers Get Scared
Centralized Suppression List Providing Suppression Lists to affiliates
Must be delivered securely
Managing Opt-out Data
UnSubCentral – 3rd Party Solution
Many consumers don’t trust unsubscribe function
Store suppression list (Emailing a text file is unsecured)
Central place to Unsubscribe.Ability to share suppression list - distribute
it in a secure fashion
Vendors – ESPs (Email Service Providers)
Constant ContactTopica
DIY – Entry Level Providers
-Lower Cost ($20 / month)-Length of contract (month-to-month)-Smaller volume of names under management-Less functionality and integration-Large selection of templates
Vendors – ESPs (Email Service Providers)
EmailLabs Exact Target Subscriber Mail
Mid-Tier Players-Higher cost ($250 - $1000 / month)-May require contract-Larger list size-More customer support-Professional services available-More functionality and integration into DB
Industry Leaders
Chris Baggot Award Winning Blog http://exacttarget.typepad.com/chrisbaggott/
Marketing Sherpa Email Benchmark Guide 2006 http://www.marketingsherpa.com http://www.sherpastore.com/freestuff.html
ClickZ Networks 4 Email Blogs Loren MacDonald - Deliverability
Dr. Ralph Wilson http://www.wilsonweb.com
Resource Centers
EmailLabs http://www.emaillabs.com/resources.html
Constant Contact Tips and Hints http://www.constantcontact.com/email-
marketing-resources/index.jsp Exact Target
http://email.exacttarget.com/best-practices.asp
Creative Samples – Multiple Merchants
Creative Samples – Solo Offer
Creative Samples – Solo Offer
Creative Samples – Solo Offer
Summary: Use Best Practices
* Note: Graphic from EmailLab Best Practice Quick Tips PDFhttp://www.emaillabs.com/resources_bestpractices.html
Summary
Relevancy – be a value to the recipientDeliverabilityTest & MeasureList Growth Takes WorkCommunicate with the Merchant & Build a
Trusted Relationship!
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
Stephanie Agresta
VP, Affiliate Marketing
Commerce360
Thank You!
Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Affiliates
Patrick Gavin, President, Text-Link-Ads.com
What is Link Buying?
Benefits of Text-Based Advertising
Direct Traffic + Link Popularity + Branding + Spidering
Web Site Traffic
General Indicator:
Better Indicator:
Link Popularity
General Indicator:
Better Indicator:
link:http://www.yoursite.comlink:http://www.yoursite.com
Outbound Links
Good example of a bad strategy:
Tips
1. Buy based on relevancy.
2. Start slow.
3. Deep link.
4. Measure results.
Evaluation
Traffic +
Search Engine Rankings
Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Affiliates
Brent Hill
Vice President – Business Development
FeedBurner
The Evolution of Feed Publishers
Overwhelmed with content? Subscribe to the feed!
Media publishers have followed suit
Web 2.0 – not just for blogs & media
Feeds
Blog / feed
Blog / feed
Feeds
Feeds
Podcast / feed
Retail & E-Commerce
Feeds & affiliate marketing
Scenario 1: RSS feed used to communicate offers between merchant and affiliate Merchant produces feed(s); affiliate subscribes to feed(s) Items in the feed are “offers” Items rendered by affiliate as an advertisement When feed is updated, ads updated automatically
Scenario 2: Merchants (or publishers) pay affiliates for subscriber acquisition Companies in many industries will make content available as feeds If subscribers prove to be valuable…feed publishers (merchants) will
be interested in “audience development” Merchants will pay affiliates for promoting their feed on a “cost per
subscriber” basis
Merchant is feed publisher
Merchant make oneor more feeds availableto affiliates.
Each item in the feed isan offer that can be used by affiliate as anadvertisement.
Feed(s) updatedregularly by merchants.
<title>Featured Digital Camera - Official BestBuy.com RSS Feed</title>
<link>http://www.BestBuy.com?SRCCODE=WEBRSS005&CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
<description>Fuji FinePix 4.1 Digital Camera Blowout!</description>
<language>en-us</language>
<copyright>Copyright (c) BestBuy Inc.2006</copyright>
<image>
<title>Featured Digital Camera - Official BestBuy.com RSS Feed</title> <url>http://images.BestBuy.com/email/bb_rss_logo.jpg</url>
<link>http://www.BestBuy.com?SRCCODE=WEBRSS005&CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
</image>
Affiliate is feed subscriber
Affiliate uses feed asinput, rendering itemin feed as an ad.
Affiliate adds accountinformation to clickURL for tracking.
Ads updated when publisher updates thefeed content.
Scenario 2: Subscriber Acquisition
As more merchantsmake feeds available,they will be interestedin gaining subscribers.
Affiliates may promotethe merchant’s feed,and get paid on a “CPS” (cost per subscriber) basis.
Taking action Merchants
Create one or more RSS feeds How many feeds? What’s the content strategy?
Use a feed management service to track metrics (e.g., subscribers)
Track transactions originating from feed items Foundation for “lifetime value” of a subscriber
Affiliates Create an account with a web-based feed reader
NewsGator, Bloglines, MyYahoo!
Subscribe to some feeds Understand how feed headlines are turned into HTML
INTRODUCTION TO AFFILIATE MARKETING
FOR AFFILIATES
How to Get the Greatest Commissionsfrom Merchants
Choots Humphries
Co-President
LinkConnector Corporation
Overview
The Relationship Find a Good Merchant Match Build a Complementary Site Align Your Goals Know Your User Track and Optimize Program Protection
The RelationshipA good Affiliate Marketing relationship benefits both parties and is grown and sustained through cooperation between the parties, not competition.
A relationship that greatly benefits one party over the other will not last
Affiliates succeed when their Merchants do well Merchants keep strong Affiliates only if they reward
success Frequent contact between a Merchant and Affiliate can
make a relationship strong
Find a Good Merchant Match
Work with the right Merchants Willing to communicate with its Affiliates Willing to discuss new ideas with Affiliates Willing to reward superior performance Good product or service reputation Strong website for closing qualified leads
Start the Partnership Find the Merchant in a Network Join the Merchant’s in-house program Create a custom partnership solution
Build a Complementary Site
Create a site that allows a consumer to learn more about a Merchant’s products Find ways to add value to the Merchant’s sales
process e.g., Product comparisons or reviews
Build a site with SEO in mind Deliver a qualified lead to the Merchant
Applies mostly to PPL and PPS type campaigns Produces greater conversion rates
Align Your Goals
Know what is important to your Merchant What are their Affiliate Marketing goals?
Maximizing sales volume Customer acquisition Etc.
Design your site to benefit a Merchant’s goals A Merchant’s campaign isn’t often indicative
Need to Qualify Users Maximize Leads
Maximize Sales
Maximize Brand Exposure
Know Your User
Measure your user’s needs Create links and content of potential interest
Measure traffic to these potential areas of interest Look for keyword concentration from your site’s search box Use surveys and newsletters to solicit input and ideas
Find products and services that meet your user’s needs Join new Merchant campaigns If a service doesn’t exist for strong user interest, talk to
your Merchants about creating the service
Tracking and Optimization
Track everything Know from where your traffic originates
Measure conversion from the various sources
Know how users navigate your site Know which pages convert better
Optimize Test different versions of a page on your site Test various Merchant offers Measure and understand trending to properly react
to variations in data
Program Protection
Understand fraud and how to protect yourself from various forms of fraud
Stay on top of Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing trends
Continuously work with your strong Merchants to build and improve the relationship
Watch your data and continue to learn from it
Choots Humphries
Co-President
LinkConnector Corporation
Booth 208