Posts Tagged ‘am days’

Editor’s Note: We bring you more live coverage from the Affiliate Management Days conference. This series of articles is on topics of interest to businesses that offer affiliate programs.  

This session was conducted by Sarah Bundy of All Inclusive Marketing.

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What is affiliate program optimization?

Essentially, it is incremental growth. Affiliate managers want to see incremental growth within their programs. Below are main program optimization techniques that should be implemented in order to see desired growth in your affiliate program.

What KPI’s impact incremental growth?

Here are the main KPI’s that should be actively reviewed and monitored:

• # of new affiliates
• # of click active affiliates
• # of sale active affiliates
• Total traffic/clicks
• Impressions
• Conversion rates
• AOV
• # of new placements

How else can an affiliate program be optimized? You have to build the right team that can support all the main functions of an affiliate program. You will need:

A dedicated account manager who is passionate about brand, with a focus on affiliate relationships and incremental value as well as a publisher recruitment team that is focused on finding content and social influencers who drive incremental value.

Have a strategic commission structure. Here are examples of how to segment:

• Type of affiliate (blogger, coupon, Cashback, Social Influencer)
• Affiliate actions / conversion pathways (link type)
• Attribution (introducer, assist, closer)
• New to file customers vs. returning customers
• Product types / categories

Properly segment and tag affiliates within the program. Three ways to do this include:

Type: coupon/deal, review, Cashback/Loyalty, paid search, display, social influencer, technology

Vertical/niche: mom/babies, family, wedding, fashion, tech, electronic, shoes

Audience: new moms, teens, seniors, home owners, 13-25 female, 24-50 males

Have the right reporting and insights.

They include:

• Publisher performance
• Network performance
• Campaign performance
• Mobile performance
• Publisher comparison
• YoY/MoM/WoW Comparison
• Product/category performance

Affiliate managers must understand and leverage multi-channel and intra-affiliate attribution plus understand buyer behaviors and multi-device opportunities in order to be able to optimize program effectively. Additional ways to optimize include:

Test offers/content for audiences:

• Products/categories
• Free shipping vs $5 off
• % off vs. $ off
• Bundling
• Reviews vs. testimonials
• “Snackable” material vs. article marketing
• Creative type (banner vs video vs imagery)

Test offers / content offers for affiliates:

• Activation incentives
• Performance incentives
• Placement incentives
• Product/category types
• Content type
• Creative types
• Tiered/hybrid commission payouts

A/B Test landing pages:

• By affiliate type
• By content type
• By offer type
• Different combinations
• Remove leaks

Communicate with you affiliates:

• Segmented newsletters
• Engage in social channels
• Facetime at events
• Gifts/thanks/shout outs
• Pick up the phone
• Listen and then execute

Earn placements:

• Homepage
• Category page
• Product page
• Newsletters
• Social channels
• Blog/editorial features
• Co-branded landing pages
• In-app

A critical piece of information is to know your affiliate network/tracking platform capabilities. Do not be so fast to jump on multiple networks.  Approximately only 20%-30% of tools on current network are used and are used correctly. Maximize your current efforts and then think about expansion

Remain compliant to stay profitable:

• FTC regulations
• Affiliate Program TOS
• TM and TM+ Protection
• Brand reputation management
• Click fraud/ cookie stuffing
• Coupon abuse
• Toolbars, browser extensions

Recruitment is still optimization:

• Group High
• 5IQ
• Similar Web
• Ninja Outreach
• Industry publication
• Industry forums
• Network options
• Key influencers

There are numerous ways to optimize an affiliate program and many programs fail to utilize most, if any of the techniques mentioned above. If you are having trouble implementing any of the optimization techniques do not be afraid to hire a professional with experience in the space.

Editor’s Note: We bring you more live coverage from the Affiliate Management Days conference. This series of articles is on topics of interest to businesses that offer affiliate programs.  

This session was conducted by Wade Tonkin of Fanatics, Inc.

Why recruit affiliates? The main reason is to be proactive in the affiliate programs growth.

Here are 3 reasons to recruit:

• The network you are on does not have all the affiliate you will need to be successful
• Your program is not on an affiliate network (then it is a must)
• To build the right balance of affiliates – a well-balanced affiliate program is a successful one

Before reaching out to prospective affiliates, perform the following tasks:

• Analyze the current publishers (if existing) and group them accordingly (bloggers, social, deal/coupons, etc.)
• Dive into KPI’s of each affiliate group
• Know the value of each group to determine their value and worth to the program
• Find out if the network or platform you are running on provides the tools that will be needed to work with the type of affiliates you are targeting.

After performing the tasks above, load your tool box with the following:

• Get your messaging together for each group of affiliates (email, social, etc)
• On-boarding resources…find out if they can be automated
• Have your approaches tailored to the in-network vs. out of network recruiting and by affiliate type for the best results. It’s not a one-size-fits-all project.

Ways to utilize in-network recruiting and external recruiting:

In-network Recruiting

• They are low hanging fruit
  • Already familiar with the network
  • No delays in getting them up and running
  • They know the network tools
  • Can message differently than out of network
  • Play up the tools that work for them
  • Show them 3^rd party tools (i.e. FMTC)

Out of Network recruiting

It takes time and effort and often requires education to the prospect.

• Tools for external recruiting:
  • 5IQ
  • GroupHigh
  • Blogrolls on influential blogs
  • Google
  • Facebook and Twitter searches

How to reach out to bloggers:

• Check their web stats, social following and engagement
• Are they trusted? Does their audience care?
• Do they speak affiliate?
• Do they work with other programs
• Do they write content
• Personalize the outreach, let them know they can make money for their efforts (do not overwhelm them in the initial email)
• Have the data heavy piece ready when they do respond. What is in it for them?

Possible objections from bloggers can include:

• I don’t want to post banners
• I don’t have time
• My readers may think I am spammy
• I’ve never done this before and don’t know how to start
• I get sponsorship money for banners ads
• Can you give me something to give away

What works with bloggers?

• Shop and support
• Product links/text links in content
• Navigation links
• Storefront or widgets
• Reviews
• Let affiliates buy through links for their own use

How to reach out to social affiliates:

• Use a video that works to recruit and on-board as it shows them the process
• Explain what you are looking for and empower them. Provide them a bonus upfront to get them to boost a timely post.
• Engagement is more important than the follower count – watch for volume of discussion driven by members.
• Provide custom images (depending on their niche)

No one ever said affiliate recruiting would be easy and not all affiliates are treated equally. Using a blanket message for all types will not be effective, so grouping them and targeting them with specific message will help in the campaign. Recruiting can be a fun, rewarding experience.

In anticipation of her presentation at Affiliate Management Days entitled A Merchant’s Guide to Cross-Device Affiliate Tracking, our very own Geno Prussakov interviewed Jeannine Crooks, Senior Account Manager of Affiliate Window. View the Q-and-A below to learn about Jeannine’s thoughts on affiliate program management, cross-device tracking, and affiliate marketing, in general. Also, see what’s in store for AM Days 2016.

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Question: If you were to emphasize one important issue that every affiliate manager should be paying more attention to, what would it be and why?

Jeannine:  Many merchants really want to extend the long-tail for their programs via relationships with bloggers, but ultimately treat bloggers the same way as all other affiliates.  They are instead quite different.  Blogging is their business, not a hobby, and needs to be respected as such.  Bloggers need more lead time for posts, as it is not uncommon to be booked out 5-6 weeks in advance, so a last minute sale with no warning may not perform well for them outside of social media, and they may not have time to even post there.  While offering free product is nice, don’t expect every post to be free; a free small appliance or new hoodie doesn’t help pay the mortgage. Don’t expect to dictate or approve content beyond correcting any incorrect statements. The fastest way to irritate a blogger is to pitch something which has absolutely nothing to do with their blog and shows that you’ve obviously never visited their site.

Truly meeting the needs of bloggers can result in tremendous incremental growth for your program, but you must put in the work to achieve that goal.

Question: What was the most important marketing lesson that you learned in 2015?

Jeannine:  I would say learning how to leverage additional big data in managing a program; the insights about the customer purchase process, device influence, and attribution analysis all can play a critical role in taking programs to new heights.

Question: What do you believe to be the main areas of opportunity in 2016 – for online marketers, in general, and for affiliate marketers, in particular?

Jeannine: The growth of smartphones is significantly impacting the last click CPA model.  This model over-indexes for bloggers and long tail publishers, but it is less likely to be tracked or optimized.  Casual browsing, lack of app tracking and several other factors are making the last click model look outmoded and antiquated for certain affiliate models

Question: What do you believe to be the biggest challenge advertisers with affiliate programs face, and what steps could help them overcome it?

Jeannine: Federal disclosure compliance is a growing issue.  There is a segment of publishers who are searching for every possible way to avoid disclosure and are quite comfortable with merchants taking all the risk.  The recent FTC/Lord & Taylor incident didn’t bother them in the least, though it should have served as a wake-up call for all US merchants and responsible publishers.  The EU Data Protection Reform comes into effect in 2018 and is expected to have a significant impact on the handling, processing and storage of data.  Though it is an effort by the European commission, you can bet that the US is looking closely at the legislation and implementation to ensure that US citizens are protected in similar ways.

Question: Please give us 1-3 reasons why marketers should attend your AM Days 2016 presentation, A Merchant’s Guide to Cross-Device Affiliate Tracking.

Jeannine: Ecommerce is now multi-step and multi-device.  Cross device tracking isn’t just the latest fad in our industry, but is now something which will grow to affect all programs on a global basis.  Understanding what is involved, different tracking methods, and the ramifications it can have on a program are vital to keep your affiliate program competitive, especially now that many merchants are including cross device tracking as one of their selling points during affiliate recruitment.

Question: If you were to leave online advertisers, merchants and affiliate managers with one piece of advice, what would it be?

Jeannine: Always be nice. This is a business of relationships, and it is important to establish as many great relationships as possible.  Help everyone you can, regardless of whether you can derive any benefit from doing so.  If you see two people who should be working together, make the introduction.  Treasure your reputation – it takes a long time to create a good one, but it can be over in a moment with a single misstep.

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Don’t miss Jeannine’s conference presentation, A Merchant’s Guide to Cross-Device Affiliate Tracking, at Affiliate Management Days on Monday, April 4, 2016, from 3:30-4:15pm. Click here to register for attendance.

At Affiliate Management Days, we want you to get as much out of the conference as possible. In addition to the packed agenda of sessions and speakers, check out all of the networking opportunities. Here are some of the resources we’ve set up for AM Days 2016 to engage delegates and provide greater networking opportunities.

Connect: Introducing the Mobile App

Download the official event app, Topi, on your smart device via topi.com/get. Sign in using LinkedIn or Facebook, and enter the event code: AMDAYS.

Utilize the app to access the full agenda, speakers, sponsors, maps, & more. Create your very own personal agenda by bookmarking sessions and syncing them to your calendar. Network one-on-one with fellow event participants. You can even communicate with everyone in Live Chat, the group chat room.

Experience: Welcome to the eZone

The eZone (located in Booth 418 onsite) offers networking opportunities galore at AM Days 2016.  Here’s all of the fun that awaits:

• Video Testimonials - Shoot a video testimonial for a chance to win a free conference pass. The winner will be announced in the Exhibit Hall on Tuesday, April 5th at 3:15pm.
• Photo Booth - Take photos with fellow participants complete with hats, feather boas, mustaches and more! Enter some of  your photos into the Photo Contest.*
• Dinner with Strangers Sign-Ups - Sign up at the eZone onsite in Booth 418 to be placed in a networking dinner group. These dinner groups are coordinated to help continue the networking over dinner, but they are not paid for. After signing up, dinner groups meet Monday at 7:15pm at the Marriott Marquis Hotel Lobby.
• Morning Workouts - Stay fit at AM Days! Join us Monday for a 45-minute run/walk and Tuesday for line-dancing. Meet both days at 6:30am at the Marriott Marquis Hotel Lobby.
• Chat ‘n Charge - Charge your smart device in the eZone while mingling with fellow participants.
• Play Games - Have fun networking over Corn-hole, Checkers, Connect Four, and more!
• Feedback & Goals Wall - Whiteboards are placed in the eZone for you to share your goals for attending the conference as well as your feedback.

Learn more about the eZone here.

Capture: Enter the Photo Contest

At AM Days, enter the Photo Contest to for your chance to win prizes. How do you enter the contest? Post photos for each contest category on Twitter with the event hashtag, #AMDays. The photos must be posted by Tuesday, April 5th at 5:00pm and prizes will be announced via Twitter by Wednesday, April 6th.

Categories:

• Best Group Photo
• Best Selfie
• Best Picture with a Conference Chair or Speaker
• Best Random Pic with an Event Logo

Let the networking begin!

In anticipation of his presentation at Affiliate Management Days entitled Attribution and Commission Splitting: Where It’s At And Where It’s Going, our very own Geno Prussakov interviewed Chad Waite, Marketing Manager of AvantLink. View the Q-and-A below to learn Chad’s thoughts about the current state of affiliate marketing, in general, and affiliate management, in particular. Also, see what’s in store for AM Days 2016.

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Question: If you were to emphasize one important issue that every affiliate manager should be paying more attention to, what would it be and why?

Chad: Attribution and using clickstream data to keep all affiliates involved in the commission payout. Why? Because last click wins was invented in the 90s.

Question: What was the most important marketing lesson that you learned in 2015?

Chad: Little, and often untrackable efforts, can have a big impact later down the road. Remember that these moments can be just as valuable as your big, established channels.

Question: What do you believe to be the main areas of opportunity in 2016 – for online marketers, in general, and for affiliate marketers, in particular?

Chad: See answer one! Using real clickstream data to measure the value of each affiliate referral in a singular sales cycle and then taking action on that data to divvy up a traditionally singular commission payment to multiple affiliates is huge. It is Affiliate Marketing 2.0, a new era for the channel, and something that in the next few years will be in demand across the board.

Question: What do you believe to be the biggest challenge advertisers with affiliate programs face, and what steps could help them overcome it?

Chad: Again, determining and recognizing the value of all affiliates in the clickstream and then rewarding those referrals accordingly will be huge. AdBlock is also a major industry challenge that is impacting everyone.

Question: Please give us 1-3 reasons why marketers should attend your AM Days 2016 presentation, Attribution and Commission Splitting: Where It’s At And Where It’s Going.

Chad: Anyone interested in learning about what attribution is and how it specifically applies to the attribution channel should come to the session. Anyone interested in forecasting and predictions for trends in attribution and commission splitting should attend the session.

Question: If you were to leave online advertisers, merchants and affiliate managers with one piece of advice, what would it be?

Chad: Never settle for status quo! The moment a competitor has better technical capabilities, better communications, better anything, affiliates will always go where it’s best for them.

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Don’t miss Chad’s conference presentation, Attribution and Commission Splitting: Where It’s At And Where It’s Going at Affiliate Management Days on Monday, April 4, 2016, from 4:15-5:00pm. Click here to register for attendance.

In anticipation of his participation at Affiliate Management Days on the keynote panel, 2016 Affiliate State of the Union, our very own Geno Prussakov interviewed Choots Humphries, Co-President of LinkConnector. View the Q-and-A below to learn about Choots’ thoughts on the current state of affiliate marketing, in general, and affiliate management, in particular. Also, see what’s in store for AM Days 2016.

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Question: If you were to emphasize one important issue that every affiliate manager should be paying more attention to, what would it be and why?

Choots: For retailers, arming affiliates with data is paramount to helping them uncover new and optimize existing promotional efforts with your brand.

This could be as simple as providing information around your top 10 selling products, the seasonality trends of your brand, or deeper data points such as KPIs across various device types.

In our ever evolving digital marketing landscape, affiliates are the ones at the forefront of creativity.  Ensure they have the data needed to fuel their strategies and effectively advocate for your brand.

Question: What was the most important marketing lesson that you learned in 2015? 

Choots: Turnover (i.e., employee attrition) is inherent in any industry.  The fundamental core (and driver of success) of the affiliate marketing industry is that of building relationships.  When key personnel of customer relationships leave for new endeavors, it is ever more critical to take the time to share your knowledge and nuggets of insight with new contacts. Doing so will help to offset hiccups and help the partnership continue to thrive.

Question: What do you believe to be the main areas of opportunity in 2016 – for online marketers, in general, and for affiliate marketers, in particular?

Choots: For online marketers, mobile continues to dominate as an epic area of opportunity.  Opportunity that exists beyond smartphones and tablets.

Essential in 2016 will be prioritizing your mobile strategy to appropriately include the various device types (e.g., wearables & automobiles) while ensuring the cross-device affiliate tracking.

Even more specific to affiliate marketing, social marketing represents significant opportunity.  Advertisers are all about securing influencer relationships for their brands.  Leveraging proven affiliate expertise to influence your audience and deliver revenue via social marketing will provide an edge for affiliates.

Question: What do you believe to be the biggest challenge advertisers with affiliate programs face, and what steps could help them overcome it?

Choots: Internet Sales Tax Reform will continue to be a big challenge.  More states continue to pass Affiliate Nexus Tax laws, crippling the livelihood of thousands of affiliate marketers and ceasing revenue opportunities for advertisers.  To help in overcoming this, we need more industry leaders to advocate in support of the Marketplace Fairness Act; a bill that will essentially eliminate the Affiliate Nexus Tax laws.  Join and / or donate to the Performance Marketing Association to help make a difference.

Question: Please give us 1-3 reasons why marketers should attend the AM Days 2016 keynote panel presentation, 2016 Affiliate State of the Union.

Choots: The ‘2016 Affiliate State of the Union’ keynote panel will be an invaluable opportunity for marketers to hear from the frontlines about the newest technologies to empower program growth, effective solutions to help you harness this year’s industry trends and, last but not least, the chance to hear questions from your industry peers as they seek solutions to overcome specific obstacles.

Question: If you were to leave online advertisers, merchants and affiliate managers with one piece of advice, what would it be?

Choots: Don’t underestimate the opportunities that could be gained from collaborating with your competition.

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Don’t miss Choots’ participation on the keynote panel, 2016 Affiliate State of the Union, at Affiliate Management Days on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, from 8:40am-10:25am. Click here to register for attendance.

In anticipation of his upcoming Affiliate Management Days conference presentation, A Practical Guide to Affiliate Recruitment, our very own Geno Prussakov interviewed Wade Tonkin, Affiliate Manager of Fanatics, Inc. View the Q-and-A below to see what Wade has to say about managing affiliate programs as well as online marketing, in general. Also, see what’s in store for AM Days 2016.

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Question: If you were to emphasize one important issue that every affiliate manager should be paying more attention to, what would it be and why?

Wade: I wish that every affiliate manager out there had access to metrics that showed the incrementality of business in their program on a per affiliate level. This would empower affiliate managers (both in-house and outsourced) to make much better decisions with how they invest their commission dollars.

Question: What was the most important marketing lesson that you learned in 2015?

Wade: I don’t think it’s a new finding, but 2015 for me was a great year in that we saw some outstanding performances from content affiliates that really reinforced our commitment to reaching out for passionate content affiliates to promote our programs.  It was a win for us on a number of levels in terms of brand exposure, new customers acquired and in terms of revenue growth.

Question: What do you believe to be the main areas of opportunity in 2016 – for online marketers, in general, and for affiliate marketers, in particular?

Wade: Mobile really exploded in 2015 and continues to grow for us. I think that affiliate marketing is just scratching the surface in terms of offering great experiences to shoppers in mobile environments. We’re looking forward to continued growth in this area as we continue to identify what works in this space and as the best publishers surface.

Question: What do you believe to be the biggest challenge advertisers with affiliate programs face, and what steps could help them overcome it?

Wade:  I think that the biggest challenge advertisers with affiliate programs face is a lack of understanding of the real value that different kinds of affiliates bring to the table. There’s so much he said/she said out there on whether coupon sites or loyalty sites deliver value.  It’s important to dive into the data and find out for yourself. Once you have an understanding of this, you can really get a lot smarter about coming up with payment structures that reward the affiliates who drive actual value to your company or client.

Question: Please give us 1-3 reasons why marketers should attend your AM Days 2016 presentation, A Practical Guide to Affiliate Recruitment.

Wade:  I’ll be giving a very practical session on how and why you should be working every day to attract targeted affiliates to your program. Many programs are reliant on their affiliate network as a source of affiliates and the networks should be your starting point. Come to my session and you will take away some tips on how to identify potential affiliates and how to approach them in a way that will move the needle for you and add value to your business.

Question: If you were to leave online advertisers, merchants and affiliate managers with one piece of advice, what would it be?

Wade: Take responsibility for your program’s growth and profitability and aggressively work to build it the right way.  Many merchants are over-reliant on network management teams to grow their program.  This can be a bad idea because the goals of the network aren’t always harmonious with your goals as a merchant.  Educate yourself and network with other managers so you have the best possible understanding of the business and use all the resources at your disposal to grow a program that is a winner for both your company and your affiliates.

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Don’t miss Wade’s conference presentation, A Practical Guide to Affiliate Recruitment, at Affiliate Management Days on Monday, April 4, 2016, from 1:00-1:45pm. Click here to register for attendance.

In anticipation of her upcoming Affiliate Management Days conference presentation, Affiliate Channel Testing – Testing to help improve Affiliate EPC, our very own Geno Prussakov  interviewed A’Lisa Tomatis, Senior Manager of Online Business Marketing at Symantec. View the Q-and-A below to see how A’Lisa views affiliate program management as well as digital marketing, in general. Find out what’s in store for AM Days 2016.

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Question: If you were to emphasize one important issue that every affiliate manager should be paying more attention to, what would it be and why?

A’Lisa: I would say the constant evolution and change in our industry. This includes many different aspects we are all aware of such as attribution, commission structures, diversification of affiliates, etc. It is important for us to be thinking of these changes and preparing and staying ahead of them so we can create strategies for growth in the future.

Question: What was the most important marketing lesson that you learned in 2015?

A’Lisa: I’ve learned to always be open to trying new marketing initiatives and to always be creative. Some may work out and some may not, but I learn from each experience which helps me create our long term growth strategy.

Question: What do you believe to be the main areas of opportunity in 2016 – for online marketers, in general, and for affiliate marketers, in particular?

A’Lisa: The biggest area of opportunity in 2016 comes from what I learned in 2015.  Be creative, think outside the box, and try new things. I believe this is the same for online and affiliate marketers, but an addition for affiliate marketers is to work with and listen to your affiliates. They are business owners and can come up with some amazing ideas for testing and growth.

Question: What do you believe to be the biggest challenge advertisers with affiliate programs face, and what steps could help them overcome it?

A’Lisa: One of the biggest challenges would be recruitment and winning back affiliates who may no longer be promoting our products and services. Building relationships and keeping affiliates engaged is a great way to ensure those affiliates you recruit stay productive and grow. When addressing winning back affiliates this is always a challenge, but constant reaching out and providing ideas of how they can be successful in selling your products and/or services can go a long way. This can include discussing marketing ideas and commission structures to get the relationship back on track.

Question: Please give us 1-3 reasons why marketers should attend your AM Days 2016 presentation, Affiliate Channel Testing – Testing to help improve Affiliate EPC.

A’Lisa: You will learn about our theories and objectives for many tests conducted throughout the customer journey to improve affiliate EPC.  This will include what was tested and how the test was set up, the results/learnings the test yielded and how the learnings were used to influence business decisions.

Question: If you were to leave online advertisers, merchants and affiliate managers with one piece of advice, what would it be?

A’Lisa: Do not forget the importance of relationships. We are in a partner-driven business and keeping lines of communication open to provide support, strategy and optimization is how we all learn and grow ourselves and our businesses.

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Don’t miss A’Lisa’s conference presentation, Affiliate Channel Testing – Testing to help improve Affiliate EPC, at Affiliate Management Days on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, from 1:00-1:45pm. Click here to register for attendance.

In anticipation of his upcoming Affiliate Management Days conference presentation, How to Champion (or Defend) the Affiliate Channel Through Incrementality, and his participation on the keynote panel discussion, 2016 Affiliate State of the Union, our very own Geno Prussakov  interviewed Todd Crawford, Co-Founder of Impact Radius. View the Q-and-A below to learn Todd’s thoughts as well as see what’s in store for AM Days 2016.

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Question: If you were to emphasize one important issue that every affiliate manager should be paying more attention to, what would it be and why?

Todd: Every affiliate manager should have a good understanding of the value each affiliate partnership is driving as it relates to the business objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) for their company. It is important to be able to demonstrate the value of a partnership and how it directly contributes to the metrics that a company values most. This empowers the affiliate manager to champion (and in some cases defend) the affiliate channel within the company.

Question: What was the most important marketing lesson you learned in 2015?

Todd: I think this is something everyone needs to remind themselves of periodically. Never be satisfied with the status quo. Always try new things - test and evaluate new opportunities. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or fail. In order to be successful, you will have failures along the way.

Question: What do you believe to be the main areas of opportunity in 2016 – for online marketers, in general, and for affiliate marketers, in particular?

Todd: The biggest opportunity for marketers in 2016 is cross-device tracking/data. Just as we now rely on a cross-channel perspective across our marketing data, we will soon realize that unless we also include cross-device data, we are missing a big piece of the picture. Cross-device data will provide a more accurate view of their marketing data and allow marketers to better optimize their marketing mix, spend, and ROI.

Question: What do you believe to be the biggest challenge advertisers with affiliate programs face, and what steps could help them overcome it?

Todd: The biggest challenge I see affiliate marketers facing is the lack of cross-channel insights within their affiliate data. Affiliate managers are flying blind if they are still looking at siloed data that only shows last click wins in the affiliate channel. Here is a simple example to illustrate what I mean. If the affiliate channel represents 15% of total online results, then affiliate managers are looking at less than 15% of the data if it doesn’t include cross-channel data.

Question: Please give us 1-3 reasons why marketers should attend AM Days 2016.

Todd: Great content, networking, and learning opportunities in an intimate environment.

Question: If you were to leave online advertisers, merchants and affiliate managers with one piece of advice, what would it be?

Todd: Embrace data! You don’t know what you don’t know. Data can help you discover so much about your channel and business. The more you know, the more valuable you are to your company.

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Don’t miss Todd’s conference presentation, How to Champion (or Defend) the Affiliate Channel Through Incrementality, at Affiliate Management Days on Monday, April 4, 2016, from 10:15-11:00am. Click here to register for attendance.

In anticipation of his presentation at Affiliate Management Days entitled Detecting & Preventing Affiliate Theft, our very own Geno Prussakov interviewed Adam Riemer, President at Adam Riemer Marketing. View the Q-and-A below to learn more about Adam’s thoughts about affiliate marketing, in general, and the management of affiliate programs, in particular. Also, glimpse what’s in store for the AM Days 2016 conference.

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Question: If you were to emphasize one important issue that every affiliate manager should be paying more attention to, what would it be and why?

Adam: Attribution.  Even partners who refer 80% new customers might not be adding much if any value.  The true test is knowing how the person found you, when the affiliate interacted with them and if the sale would have closed without them.

Question: What do you believe to be the main areas of opportunity in 2016 – for online marketers, in general, and for affiliate marketers, in particular?

Adam: SEO…soo many huge stores and merchants are failing on content and answering questions.  By knowing what Google is looking for and making it happy with quick loading pages and content optimized to provide solutions, you can build a resource that drives traffic and revenue.

Question: What do you believe to be the biggest challenge advertisers with affiliate programs face, and what steps could help them overcome it?

Adam: Realizing what adds value to a partner when you’re doing recruitment and keeping your affiliate manager focused.  Affiliate recruitment is very tedious and boring…however customizing each email and outreach is the key to driving success.  Creating a rewards system that also gives you a break from the same boring thing is hard to do but vital in order to keep your manager motivated.  By keeping your manager motivated you can keep them focused on making all outreach relevant for the potential partner.  By creating a good pitch that is relevant, you can beat out other vendors and get more partners to join your programs.  That is the hardest thing for affiliate programs.

Question: Please give us 1-3 reasons why marketers should attend your AM Days 2016 presentation, Detecting & Preventing Affiliate Theft.

Adam:

1. You’ll learn to detect theft in many forms and how to explain it to others
2. Discover how to attribute affiliate’s value properly
3. You’ll learn how to optimize your affiliate’s sites so that they earn more and in turn become loyal to you.  This could also result in more sales for you.
4. You’ll be able to go home and save your company money as well as have advice on growing revenue
5. You’ll learn some tools you can use to track, monitor and remove theft or poaching

Question: If you were to leave online advertisers, merchants and affiliate managers with one piece of advice, what would it be?

Adam: Go with what your gut tells you when you have questions about an affiliate.  Listening to the network recommendation or affiliate saying they’re following your guidelines is the biggest mistake I see.

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Don’t miss Adam’s conference presentation, Detecting & Preventing Affiliate Theft, at Affiliate Management Days on Monday, April 4, 2016, from 4:15-5:00pm. Click here to register for attendance.