Affiliate Marketing 101

Davinci InstituteJeannine Crooks

February 20, 2010

Learn basic terms Review the requirements for an acceptable

site How to find merchants Choosing the right merchants How to use PopShops Working with Affiliate Networks Broad Networks Specialty Networks

Today’s Goals

Working with Affiliate Managers Learning More Q&A

Today’s Goals

Definitions

A website owner who sends traffic from their website to another website in order to generate a desired action. Upon completion of this desired action, the website owner will receive compensation.

AKA – Publisher, Media Partner

Affiliate

Affiliates do:◦ Attract traffic originating around the globe◦ Actively promote their websites◦ Encourage site visitors to take action – buy

something, fill out a form, etc.

Affiliates do not:◦ Know the person who has come to their site◦ Know what product the person buys◦ Process any financial transaction for the customer◦ Assist in the delivery process of the product

Affiliate

A website owner who facilitates a specific action on their website such as:◦ Purchase a product◦ Completing a lead form

If the site visitor originated via a link from an Affiliate site, the merchant is obligated to pay a fee or commission to the affiliate for successful completion of the action.

Merchant

Acts as liaison between merchants & affiliates

Investigates both merchants and affiliates before allowing them into the network.

No cost to join. Hidden Affiliate Information All traffic flows through the affiliate network

◦ Affiliate > Affiliate Network > Merchant◦ Merchant > Affiliate Network > Affiliate

Responsible for ensuring Affiliates are paid for successful actions.

Affiliate Network

Usually has 100’s of merchants and 1000’s of affiliates

Source of merchant banners and links Best known:

◦ Commission Junction◦ LinkShare◦ Google Affiliate Network◦ ShareASale◦ Buy.at

Affiliate Network

Usually works for Merchant Works with Affiliate Networks and/or

managing In-House Affiliate Program Recruits affiliates Affiliate Retention, such as day-to-day

affiliate activities

Affiliate Manager

OPM for short Manages affiliate program for merchant who

has chosen to outsource this function. Usually manages multiple programs Charges a monthly fee and a portion of

commissions. Recruits affiliates and handles day-to-day

affiliate activities.

Outsourced Program Manager

Cost Per Action, CPA for short◦ Broad term, could mean:

Sale Registration Inquiry

◦ Commission can be percentage of sale or flat amount Cost Per Lead, CPL for short

◦ Completes lead form◦ Usually fixed payout

Cost Per Click, CPC for short◦ Clicks on ad◦ Google AdSense◦ Usually fixed payout

Actions

Site Requirements

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Sites◦ MailOrderShoppe.com

PPC (Pay Per Click) Sites Coupon Sites

◦ Shopping-Bargains.com Lead Generation Sites

◦ InsureMe.com Incentive Sites

◦ Hard Incentive – Memolink.com◦ Soft Incentive – FatWallet.com

Types of Sites

Network/Affiliate Manager Review Requirements

◦ Active URL◦ Site Description◦ Category

Children, Home & Garden, Gifts◦ Unique Visitors/month

Quantcast.com◦ Business Tax ID number or SSN

Site Requirements

Site topic Promotion method

BrightestCandles.com is a one-stop online candle store, offering a wide selection of products including scented candles, decorative candles, soy candles, and candle holders. Site promotion is primarily SEO though PPC may be used in the future.

Site Description

About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Footer Overall design No typo’s

Site Requirements

Finding Merchants

Niche Merchant – only offers one product line or category of products.

Broad merchant – Amazon, eBay, Wal-mart, Target – can find various types of products

Trial & Error – part of the process.

What Type of Merchant Is Right For Your Site?

Search by Keyword Use PPC results Google search “___ affiliate programs” Check footer of favorite merchants for

affiliate program link Study competitor’s sites Search affiliate networks Use PopShops.com

Ways to Find Merchants

Easy way to find merchants with your desired products.

Fast way to build a datafeed for your site, without technical knowledge.

Free to join – 4 free “shops” Find the design that best fits your site. Review the copy Not “set it and forget it”

PopShops.com

Guaranteed payment Merchants have been vetted Merchants know affiliates have been vetted Apply to Merchant’s program through

network; Merchant has right to accept or reject your application.

Standard banner selection process

Affiliate Network Merchants

Run by Affiliate Manager or OPM Payment direct from Merchant Affiliate Forums may have info about

programs Ease of application process Interface Creative selection

In-House Program

Products Site design – would you shop there? Quantcast.com – evaluate traffic Shopping process – easy or hard Creative available

Evaluating Merchants

Affiliate Networks

www.cj.com Known as CJ for short Largest network Merchant list hidden Commission minimum requirement No affiliate support Keyword search tool Charges for datafeed Uses EPC ranking

Commission Junction

www.LinkShare.com 2nd of Big 3 Affiliate Networks Requires Merchant exclusivity Hidden merchant list Low acceptance rates No affiliate support

LinkShare

www.google.com/ads/affiliatenetwork Formerly Performics 3rd of Big 3 Affiliate Networks Merchants hidden No affiliate support High acceptance rate Only shows merchant one URL Hard to search for merchants

Google Affiliate Network

www.ShareASale.com Largest of smaller networks Some affiliate support Smaller, specialized merchants Decent interface Keyword search tools

ShareASale

www.Buy.at Newer Network, growing fast Some good exclusives; Ticketmaster,

Discount Tire Quirky interface – requires practice Good affiliate support

Buy.at

Digital Downloads◦ Digital River

Name Brand Software products – Norton, Hallmark Cards

◦ Clickbank Lesser known software products, ebooks Primarily promoted through PPC

Specialty Networks

Primarily promote health & beauty products, insurance leads, Dish Network, etc.

Smaller, newer networks Dozens of them!

CPA Networks

Good for blogs with many entries on variety of topics.

Searches site copy to turn into links to merchants.

Matches can be questionable. Epicenter.net

Text Link Networks

Joining Affiliate Networks

1. Identify the merchant programs appropriate for your site.

1. Use PopShops OR 2. Visit merchant sites and determine the network

they use.

2. Visit the network’s website and go through the application process.

Joining Affiliate Networks

Related site, well designed Promotion description Reputation within network Good EPC Traffic sources Incentive vs. non-incentive No Typo’s

What Merchants Look For

Consider them a resource◦ Recommend keywords◦ Restricted keyword list ◦ Best selling items, seasonal sellers◦ Special links◦ Customized banner ads

Okay to call, but don’t be a pain Super Affiliate – when ready, special deals.

Working With Affiliate Managers

Websites & Blogs◦ AffiliateTip.com◦ AffiliateMarketingAnswerBook.com◦ Problogger.net

Forums◦ Affiliate-Marketing-

Forums.5staraffiliateprograms.com◦ ABestWeb.com

Learning More

Events Affiliate Summit

◦ Affiliate Summit.com◦ Twice each year, 4000 attendees◦ Follow @AffiliateTip, can win free Gold pass

Commission Junction University◦ CJU◦ Open Attendance

Learning More

LinkShare Symposium◦ Open to all LS affiliates

ShareASale Think Tank◦ By invitation only

Affiliate Convention◦ AffiliateConvention.com◦ In Denver

Learning More

Jeannine Crooksjcrooksdenver@gmail.com

AIM: jeanninecrooksYahoo: JeannineCrooks

Twitter: @Jeannine_Crooks303-841-0987

Thank You