Merchant Affiliate Program Training and Set Up
By Deborah Carney, Amy Ely, Kim Salvino, Vinny O'Hare
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Podcast Description
Podcast and articles about being a successful online merchant with an affiliate program. Whether you are just starting out or a seasoned veteran you will gain insight from our hosts and guests that tell merchants what they need to be successful with adding affiliate marketing to their marketing mix.
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CleanRecap of Affiliate Summit Central and Shareasale Think Tank May 2012 #asc12 #thinktank12 | In this uncharacteristically long episode we talk about the good, the bad and the fun about Affiliate Summit Central 2012 and Shareasale Think Tank 2012. Affiliate ABCs hosts Vinny O'Hare and Deborah Carney discuss what they experienced during what Debbie fondly calls "Conference Week 2012". Two conferences that are normally not at the same time, one smaller than normal and one that is always more intimate. We had a great time, productive with fun time built in. Affiliate Summit is traditionally a large conference, they tried out a smaller, local conference, which I found very beneficial. Less sessions, more focus, easy to meet new people. The full conferences still have a huge place in the industry but I can see these smaller ones having a place also, like the Affiliate Summit local meetups. Vinny sat in on sessions and got a great tip about using http://webpagetest.org/ to test your website loading speed. I had a round table and talked about creating books to create new audiences. On to Shareasale Think Tank, where we had a very hectic schedule that was broken up with relaxing networking and a boating play date. There were an insane number of stairs to descend and climb, but the time of the boats was well worthwhile for us. We stayed in the air conditioning, had a breeze, and talked to affiliates, other OPMs, merchants and providers of services. That was more beneficial than individual meetings actually, I am a big believer in the power of group thinking :) Shareasale Think Tank was originally created as a way for merchants to talk directly to affiliates so that both could find ways to work together, and to give the merchants feedback from the top, and most motivated, affiliates that are in the Shareasale network. Back in the beginning, OPMs were just starting to become a force in the affiliate industry and not all merchants were managed well. From those first meetings came successful merchants and as the industry has grown more merchants hire OPMs (outsourced program managers) to run their programs effectively. However, I still like to have the Think Tank focus be on Merchant to Affiliate, because in the end if the merchants don't attend and listen to affiliates and meet them face to face, merchants just see affiliate marketing as a "channel" and not as people helping them build their business. As an OPM I love to be able to suggest to our merchants to attend events like this where they get to know everything about the industry and the people in it, the good and the shady. The more educated our merchants are (and all merchants) the better off everyone in the "circle" is. | 5/25/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanWhat Merchants Need to Know About Affiliate Third Party Tools vs Affiliate Subnetworks – Merchant ABCs #30 | Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney, Vinny O’Hare and Amy Ely joined Kim Salvino of buy.at and to discuss affiliate tools and sub networks. Topics Include: A Tools Overview – understanding the different types of affiliate “tools” and where to find them Pros & Cons – discussing how these tools can be helpful and also a look at the risks Spotlight On Skimlinks & VigLink – how these companies work and what program managers need to know Industry View – recent developments, new technology and international policies Ultimately, the discussion highlights the importance of transparency, solid relationships, good communication and making the right decisions for your program. Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Amy Ely Kim Salvino Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 5/7/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanSteps to Revamping and Relaunching an Affiliate Program – Merchant ABCs #29 | Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney, Vinny O’Hare and Amy Ely joined Kim Salvino of buy.at and Liz Fogg of Team Loxly to answer a fundamental question for affiliate managers: What key steps should I take when launching (or relaunching) an affiliate program? Key Steps Include: Review the affiliate list – check your program’s placement on the site, understand how they’re promoting your program (and make sure they’re compliant with your PPC policy), ask industry contacts about their reputation, consult your network or OPM, review forums and search online for any positive or negative feedback about the affiliate Evaluate the program terms – make sure you have program-specific terms in addition to network terms, ensure they’re clear and consistent, outline search policies on using brand name in the display URL, misspellings, brand + term bidding, and consider including terms for coupon affiliates to set expectations Assess the creative – include a wide variety of fresh text link and banner creative in IAB standard sizes, create deep text links (deep linking should be a requirement!!), offer a well categorized, regularly updated data feed and provide content for affiliates to use on their site Understand the competitive landscape – is your commission structure, cookie length, conversion rate and creative suite competitive? Develop a communication plan – send out an introductory newsletter to affiliates and an announcement post in forums and social media, consider including a survey to ask what they need, determine when you’ll send newsletters and if you’ll echo communications through social media, provide your full contact details and be approachable, genuine, and responsive to affiliates Walk through the affiliate’s shoes – sign up to the program an affiliate, identify how long it takes for network approval, understand the process for pulling creative, viewing reports, and more so you can identify pain points that may deter affiliates and consumers Test, test, test – test your shopping cart in all major browsers (IE, Firefox, Chrome), complete a test purchase to ensure tracking and reporting are working as expected, confirm that affiliate transactions across different networks track properly There is plenty of additional information in this information-packed podcast. Enjoy! Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) TeamLoxlyLiz Amy Ely Kim Salvino Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 2/24/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanWhen and How to Choose an Outsourced Program Manager – Merchant ABCs #28 | Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney, Vinny O’Hare and Amy Ely discussed the benefits of working with an Outsourced Program Manager (OPM) and how to find the right one for your business. Key Takeaways: · OPMs bring experience, relationships, and expertise that can help grow your business · Understand the OPM’s philosophy and approach – what networks and types of affiliates do they work with? · Determine the levels of service offered and the right fit for your business – is it best to start off as a consulting relationship? Do you need full service? Will you co-manage or leave all the work to the OPM? · Research the OPM’s involvement in the industry and their reputation – are they active in the community? Do they provide helpful and expert information over blogs, forums, podcasts, or through speaking at conferences? · Make sure you agree with the OPM’s approach to recruiting affiliates – will they recruit via email, phone, social media, conferences, etc? Find us on Twitter: Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Amy Ely MerchantABCs Geekcast.fm Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 2/19/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanEngaging New Customers Following Black Friday – Merchant ABCs #27 | Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O’Hare joined Kim Salvino and Amy Ely of buy.at to discuss ideas on engaging new customers gained from Black Friday sales. Topics include: Promotion ideas to recapture the attention and dollars of Black Friday / Cyber Monday customers · Helpful data, creative and resources for affiliates so they can generate additional holiday sales Key takeaways: Consider time-sensitive promotions that encourage customers to keep returning to the site, such as daily deals or a “Countdown to Christmas” – great examples include eBay and Amazon’s daily and weekly deals · As the remaining shopping days dwindle, alter promotions to feature gift cards and/or free overnight shipping · Promote complementary products or add-ons for gifts they’ve already purchased, such as Kindle Edition books if the original purchase was a Kindle Fire · Use Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales data to give affiliates top seller data and popular categories, then let them know if and when you will highlight or offer a sale on these products again · Supply affiliates with shipping deadline dates and when gift card sales are strongest so they can plan and promote accordingly · Recognize that holiday promotions don’t have to stop at Black Friday and Cyber Monday, give affiliates offers that run through the rest of December and into post-holiday shopping promotions – for example, encourage gift card spending after the holidays Helpful statistics: From Shawn Collins’s Affiliate Tip Blog and citing stats from comScore: Online shopping for Black Friday 2011 was a 26% increase versus Black Friday 2010 · Thanksgiving Day (November 24) was also strong with an 18% increase over Thanksgiving 2010 with $479 million in online sales. · There was $1.25 billion in online spending on Cyber Monday 2011, which is up 22% from 2010 · Cyber Monday 2011 was the heaviest online spending day in history and only the second day ever to surpass the billion-dollar threshold Find us on Twitter: Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Amy Ely Kim Salvino Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 12/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanCreate Engaging and Efficient Affiliate Newsletters – Merchant ABCs #26 | Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O’Hare joined Kim Salvino and Amy Ely of buy.at to discuss ideas on how merchants can create engaging and efficient affiliate newsletters Topics include: · Using subject lines, content and a format that is helpful and appealing to affiliates · The pros and cons of using HTML vs text, personalizing messaging, and including tracking code · The importance of understanding legal & illegal practices when communicating with affiliates Key takeaways: · Use subject lines that make sense – don’t title “monthly newsletter” when you can include key words that relate to the information in the email · Consider addressing recipients by name and making the messaging personal · List main topics at the start of the email to immediately engage recipients on points of interest · Think about including code (that works!) when mentioning the great creative available for your program – if you have their attention, make their life easier by allowing for a quick copy/paste · Don’t bother telling affiliates about sales that started yesterday and end tomorrow · Engage affiliates beyond your program details, ask them what they need from you, share helpful industry stats, discuss topics with them on forums, in social media, etc. · Include contact details at the close of each email · Test before you send! Test before you send!!! Helpful statistics: · In a recent survey of 7,000+ affiliates from Affiliate Benchmarks, they listed weekly as the most preferred frequency of affiliate program newsletters · Further, affiliates listed direct personal email, newsletter email, and network email as the top three preferred ways to receive information from advertisers they work with Find us on Twitter: Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 10/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #25 – What Your Affiliates Need to Maximize Black Friday and Cyber Monday | Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O’Hare joined Kim Salvino, Amy Ely, and Jeannine Crooks of buy.at to talk about preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Topics include: · Important information affiliates need to promote your Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals · Considerations when designing a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal Key takeaways: · Plan and send Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals at least 4-6 weeks in advance so affiliates have time to prepare. · Communicating with your affiliates is very, very important. If your deal details won’t be available far in advance, tell your affiliates if you’re planning to run a deal at all – this way they can prepare their sites. If you send them a deal a few days before or on Black Friday, you’ll likely be out of luck. · Don’t try to pass off a standard promotion (ex. Free shipping on orders over $50) as a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal if it’s something you already offer regularly. Your customers and affiliates will find out and be disappointed if you’re trying to pull the wool over their eyes, and might take their business elsewhere. · If you’d rather not discount your entire online store, offer a special on one or a handful of items to drive traffic to your site, and keep the remaining items at regular price. · Ensure you have ample stock of the products you’re featuring for the deal, and if the stock runs out, be prepared to redirect the page to a similar item with a deal. · When sending affiliates (and/or your network) deal details, we strongly recommend providing all of the following information: Offer title & details Official deal start date & time Official deal end date & time Specific landing page URL Required coupon code (if applicable) Helpful statistics: · Black Friday online sales totaled $595 million in 2009 and $648 million in 2010 · The largest online sales day in 2010 was Cyber Monday and the peak week was December 5-12th Find us on Twitter: Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 10/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanHow Merchants Can Make Q4 Better for Affiliates – Merchant ABCs #24 | Merchant ABCs host Deborah Carney joined Kim Salvino and Amy Ely of buy.at to discuss Q4 planning, including tips on how to effectively support affiliates and generate the greatest revenue from this channel during one of the most lucrative times of the year. Topics include: · Important information affiliates need to effectively promote your program in Q4 · Great Q4 holidays (beyond Black Friday) to consider for promotion opportunities · Activities to avoid during Q4 that may cause your program to lose affiliates Key takeaways: · comScore 4th quarter sales reached $39 billion in 2009 and $43 billion in 2010 - presenting a huge revenue opportunity this year · The largest online sales day in 2010 was Cyber Monday and the peak week was December 5-12th · Plan out a promotional calendar and the dates you’ll provide relevant creative to your affiliates · Send a list of best sellers, new Q4 products, and (for PPC affiliates) suggested keywords · Update data feeds daily and consider “changes file,” top sellers, and category specific sub-feeds · DO NOT plan major site updates or affiliate network changes in Q4 · If your gift cards are commissionable, let your affiliates know, if they aren’t – why not? Find us on Twitter: Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 9/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #23 – Introduction to Pay Per Call with Ring Revenue | Drew Thorne-Thomsen from Ring Revenue, joins Merchant ABCs hosts Vinny O'Hare and Deborah Carney to discuss the Ring Revenue service. Pay per call has been around for awhile but it is getting more traction as more affiliates are looking for ways to monetize offline advertising or other untraditional types of advertising and pay per call gives affiliates, networks and merchants a way to start tracking those sales. In addition to the call tracking, there is also a corresponding link that can track. Plus if you think your program is too small or you don't have a call center, there are other options for you to accept trackable and commissionable call. A little background on Drew: Drew Thorne-Thomsen, VP of Customer Development at Ring Revenue - Drew is responsible for partner development and support, as well as new business development. Prior to joining RingRevenue, he was CMO at Trident Marketing, where he was responsible for customer acquisition for several Fortune 500 brands. Drew drove millions of phone calls to their own performance call centers through traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies. Before that, he spent nearly a decade at Commission Junction, where he launched and developed CJ Media and CJ PayPerCall. Drew spent six years on the United States Alpine Ski Team and competed at the World Cup level. He has a bachelor's degree in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Some of the main points for Merchants: - Pay-per-call is delivering millions in new revenue for merchants - Access increased distribution channels online, offline and mobile - Phone sales typically worth 1.5-2X online sales. - Define caller quality criteria - Pay only for quality calls - Visit RingRevenue to find out more: www.ringrevenue.com We would love for you to leave comments and let us know if you are using Pay per Call or what questions you have about it. We will be scheduling a webinar for later in the month and would love to have questions from you! Find out more about Ring Revenue and Pay Per Call: What is RingRevenue? Advertiser Get Started Video Contact info: Drew Thorne-Thomsen drew@ringrevenue.com Find us on Twitter: RingRevenue Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 9/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #22 – Best Practices for Programs on Multiple Networks | Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O’Hare joined Kim Salvino, Amy Ely, and Jeannine Crooks of buy.at to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of running programs on multiple networks. Topics include: · Managing creative, promotions, and information across all networks · Considerations: Ts & Cs, setup and monthly fees, tracking, network quality measures · Identifying network benefits: different affiliates, tools, verticals · Actions that negatively and positively impact program growth Key takeaways: · Avoid confusion – be consistent with promotions and communications across networks unless you’re running separate tests to gauge performance · Be strategic when beginning a new network relationship – consider the added value vs. added time and effort to manage another account · Grow 2-3 relationships vs. joining every network – this will enable program managers to work effectively with each relationship vs. reactive program management to simply keep up · Avoid network hopping – affiliate marketing is a marathon, not a sprint; don’t upset affiliates by repeatedly closing on one network and opening on another Find us on Twitter: Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. Affiliates, in the comments, let us know if you will work with merchants on multiple networks, and why or why not. Merchants, in the comments, let us know if you are on multiple networks and if they perform equally. | 8/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #21 – Why You Need to Test Conversions | This podcast outlines what conversion optimization is and covers the most common questions associated with how conversion optimization works. Lindsay Viscount and Sarah Bundy from All Inclusive Marketing discuss with Deborah Carney of MerchantABCs the most essential “need to knows” about conversion optimization and how it works. An ecommerce conversion rate is one of the most important KPIs to understand and maximize when it comes to online sales. With all things being equal, if your conversion rate increases, your website sales will increase. Conversion rate impacts every channel, from your SEO to your affiliate marketing program and is a main determining factor of each channel’s success. Here is a quick overview of the questions discussed and some of the suggested answers provided by the All Inclusive Marketing team: Q: What is conversion optimization? A: The process of testing and improving the conversion rate of a website. Making sure that the website is generating as many sales, leads or whatever the goal of the website is as possible. Q: Why is conversion optimization so important for ecommerce sites? A: Generally with an ecomm website, you want your website to be your best salesperson and when you are directing customers to your website, you want it to be able to close the deal. If your website isn’t performing at the potential that it could be, you could be losing out on large amounts of revenue daily. Especially if you are spending $$ on advertising, you want to make sure that you are getting a generous return on ad spend. Q: What things are taken into consideration when developing a strategy for conversion optimization? A: Website goals (primary and secondary), page goals (moving traffic to where you want it to go), target audience, the product, current landing page and trends, sales pitch, and common objections. Q: What are the most important pages to optimize and why? A: Home page – this page usually generates the most traffic to a website Category page – to move traffic to the product page Product page – close the sale Each step of the checkout process – once you have closed the sale you don’t want to lose it during the checkout process. Measure drop off and identify issues Q: What are some of the key elements that you test with A/B testing? A: Long page vs short page 1 page vs multiple pages Product imagery Color Content – keyword usage, language, simplicity, headlines Call to actions – buttons, wording, placement Tune in to hear more detail and specific examples on conversion optimization and how this strategy can help your web sales, by some of the leading conversion optimizers in the industry. Where to Find Lindsay Viscount and Sarah Bundy: Sarah's LinkedIn account (bio) All Inclusive Marketing website All Inclusive Marketing blog All Inclusive Marketing Twitter: Sarah's Twitter: All Inclusive Marketing phone: (604) 560 2542 Find Us On Twitter: Deborah Carney Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 8/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #20 – Creating Your Affiliate Agreement | Affiliate and Consultant Eric Nagel joins experienced affiliate managers (OPMs) Vinny O'Hare and Deborah Carney in a very important episode of Merchant ABCs. Many merchants are not aware that if they don't have an Affiliate Agreement in place they are giving affiliates carte blanche to do whatever they want to promote your affiliate program. Eric joined us today to help explain to merchants both new and existing why they need a properly created affiliate agreement. Affiliates want you to have an agreement so they have guidelines and so they know that your affiliate manager and company have thought about the many ways affiliates can promote the merchant's site. Affiliates will also assume that once you have an agreement in place that you will enforce it appropriately. Topics we cover are: Search Engine Marketing - both PPC and organic, Direct to Merchant Linking in PPC and social media, Domain names - including subdomains and subdirectories, Coupon site regulations, Loyalty site regulations, Email restrictions, Social Media links and posts, iFrames and other framing of the merchant site, Policy about adware, spyware, toolbars and other downloads, Prohibited Affiliate Website Content, Unacceptable Web Sites (Banner farms, PLR sites etc). Find us on Twitter: Eric Nagel Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Team Loxly Vinny O'Hare Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 8/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanCan You Afford To Start An Affiliate Program – Merchant ABCs #19 | This should actually be the first podcast any company considering starting an affiliate program should listen to. Karen Garcia of GTO Affiliate Management and Liz Gazer of Growthspurt Media Affiliate Management join Merchant ABCs Training Podcasts host Deborah Carney to discuss the realities of starting an affiliate program. Many merchants think it is an inexpensive channel that they can just put out an affiliate offer either in-house or on a network and the money will start rolling in. Below is a *basic* outline of what we discussed. This podcast contains so much valuable information that it will be made available in other formats, if you want to be notified when those formats are available, go to MerchantABCs.com and sign up for the mailing list. Whether you are considering opening an affiliate program or already have one running, it would be helpful to you to spend the time to listen to three experienced OPMs (Outsourced Program Managers) that want to help you be sure that an affiliate program is a good addition to your company as a marketing channel. CAN YOU AFFORD YOUR AFFILIATE PROGRAM? What an Affiliate Program IS: • A Cost Effective means of growing brand/sales online • An effective way to reach segments of the market you might not otherwise be able to reach without a LOT more time, effort or money • A real marketing channel, requiring all the same components as any other business channel you might employ to get your product to market and grow sales over time What an Affiliate Program is NOT: • Magic! • Guaranteed to double or triple your sales overnight, or within a few weeks or even a few months. • Something you can launch and leave running on auto-pilot – it needs daily management by someone well-connected, educated/experienced/seasoned and well-versed on the ins and outs of both business management and the ever-changing needs of affiliates • Something you can launch and then NOT expect to pay for once the sales start rolling in Affiliate marketing has always been and still is today, one of the most cost effective ways of growing brand/sales online - aside from the costs of actively managing the channel, this method of advertising is always performance based, meaning that you only pay out the commission after the sale has been closed – and usually, verified. Despite that, there ARE costs involved and being honest about whether or not you can afford them up front, can save you thousands of dollars, in the long run. Examples of costs involved/what to expect: • Monthly management fees – whether you pay someone in-house on a salary or outsource to one of the many qualified OPMs available to help you run your program ◦ varies depending on experience, reputation, etc. • One-time network registration/set up fee ◦ varies by network from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand for set up • Monthly network usage fee and/or network transaction fees ◦ % of sales or % of amount equivalent to affiliate commissions • Email marketing/newsletter costs (if you hire an OPM this may be covered/included for you depending on your negotiated contract) • Affiliate commissions as set by you – a % of sales • Bonuses tied to volume or for promotions/seasonal lift • Advertising the program in key industry locations online as well as offline and in person (conferences/tradeshows, etc.) ◦ Conference/tradeshow booths (the space, the booth, the materials, the staff) – optional but recommended for best results COMMON MISTAKES MADE BY MERCHANTS WHO CAN'T AFFORD THEIR AFFILIATE PROGRAMS: • Being dishonest about what kind of funding exists for the program expenditures during early talks with a prospective or newly hired AM/OPM • Expecting the channel to pay for itself within a few weeks to a few months of launching • Pitting internal channel managers against one another (i.e. PPC vs. AM) for “last click” so they work AGAINST one another instead of WITH one another | 7/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanThe Cardinal Rules of Affiliate Loyalty – Merchant ABCs #18 | Karen Garcia of GTO Management and Liz Gazer of Growthspurt Media join Merchant ABCs Training Podcasts host Deborah Carney to discuss how many merchants treat the affiliate channel as the "red headed step child" of their marketing efforts. Building on... | 7/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Clean5 Steps to Writing an Integrated Marketing Plan – Merchant ABCs #17 | Sarah Bundy of All Inclusive Marketing joins Merchant ABCs host Deborah Carney to discuss why your company should have an integrated marketing plan that includes affiliate marketing as one component of many. Below are the outlines of what we discuss and links to Sarah's sites that have more complete notes. Even with the notes, you really will want to listen to this podcast, even though it is a little longer than our average podcast. 5 Steps to Writing an Integrated Marketing Plan By creating a strategic online marketing plan, you put your best foot (and brain, and dollar) forward in ensuring you achieve the best success for your new online presence. Here is a brief outline of what AIM usually covers in their integrated marketing plans for their clients. 1. Situation Analysis (research of the industry and online sales potential) a) Product Description and Overview b) Market Analysis / Potential c) Identification of Target Groups d) Selection of Primary Target Groups 2. Competitive Analysis a) SWOT b) Suggested Value Propositions 3. Positioning and Main Messaging a) Suggested Brand Positioning b) Suggested Main Messages (according to selected target groups) 4. Online Marketing Channel Strategy a) Marketing Channel Analysis and Selection b) Keyword Analysis c) Competitive Analysis (narrowed down) with Competitive Edge d) Customer Retention Strategy f) Channel Rollout Plan (Setup and Execution) 5. Financial Analysis a) Sales Projections b) Budgets c) Timelines The 5 Decisions Every Customer Makes before they Buy (in this order!) are: 1. About you 2. About your business 3. About your product 4. About your price 5. About the time frame in which you can deliver. These 5 decisions are almost ALWAYS made in this order and by almost EVERY customer. This decision process remains true whether you’re buying a car or a piece of pizza. Where to Find Sarah: Sarah's LinkedIn account (bio) All Inclusive Marketing website All Inclusive Marketing blog All Inclusive Marketing Twitter: Sarah's Twitter: All Inclusive Marketing phone: (604) 560 2542 Find Us On Twitter: Deborah Carney Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Leave us some comments on points you agree or disagree on or how your company utilizes Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 7/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanUtilizing Coupon Sites to Your Brand Advantage – Merchant ABCs #16 | Merchant ABCs Training podcast hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O’Hare joined Kim Salvino, Amy Ely, and Jeannine Crooks of buy.at Affiliate Network to talk about best practices when creating coupons and deals and how to effectively work with coupon affiliates. Topics include: · The benefits of working with coupon affiliates · Best practices when creating a coupon code · Common concerns when working with coupon affiliates · Opportunities that could give your company an competitive advantage Discussed in the podcast – when putting together a coupon code for affiliates, consider the following: · Test to make sure the coupon works · Ensure the promotion is a “real deal” vs. an everyday benefit (ex. free shipping on orders over $50) · Give at least 3 days notice to affiliates before the promotion goes live · Add time zones when defining coupon expiration dates and times · Clearly define any restrictions · Make sure the code is NOT case sensitive Find Us On Twitter: Vinny O'Hare Deborah Carney Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 7/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanWhat Should an Affiliate Do When Their State Passes an Affiliate Nexus Tax (Amazon Tax) | This is an ABCs Plus Special edition podcast that is being posted to Affiliate ABCs, Blogging ABCs and Merchant ABCs because of the importance of the issue. Your hosts Vinny O'Hare and Deborah Carney are joined by Karen Garcia, Outsourced Affiliate Program Manager to try and explain the Affiliate Nexus sales tax laws that states are enacting to attempt to get more companies to collect their state sales tax even though the companies do not have a physical presence in their state. States are trying to establish that affiliates and affiliate marketing gives companies a physical presence in their state, making the merchants liable to collect sales taxes in states they shouldn't have to. Some Resources we mention: Coffee Talk with James Martell, Karen Garcia and Jeannine Crooks PMA List of States and their status and links to their bills. NexusAware - a listing of what companies already have to collect sales taxes in what states There is a lot of information out there and much confusion by affiliates, merchants, bloggers and even the legislators themselves. If you are in a state that hasn't passed this tax yet, check and see if they have a law drafted or on the table. Basically states are treating this as an amendment to their state sales tax laws and not as new laws, so they pass easier and sometimes with no press about it at all. Please feel free to contribute additional information in the comments. We are not lawyers, so you need to check with a local lawyer familiar with internet law if you are in an affected state. What we also discuss in this podcast is how affiliates can find merchants that already collect sales tax in their state, what types of merchants that sell items that are exempt and how to talk to your merchants to find out how they are going to handle it if their state passes such a law. | 7/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #15 – Merchant Policies Regarding Natural SEO | Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O’Hare joined Kim Salvino and Amy Ely of buy.at to talk about affiliate program SEO policies and important considerations when constructing terms and conditions. Topics include: · The impact of placing restrictions on affiliates who rank for SEO/natural search terms · Understanding why advertisers may put restrictions in place and how affiliates use SEO · Suggestions on how to structure a search policy and additional Ts & Cs Key takeaways: · Be smart – advertisers benefit by learning industry best practices and from other programs before finalizing their affiliate terms and conditions · Be aware – think about the impact on affiliates in addition to the impact on the advertiser · Be clear – write terms and conditions in a way that affiliates can clearly understand the rules Also, be fair –affiliates are an advertiser’s marketing partners. Great communication will go a long way in developing a profitable relationship. Find us on Twitter: Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 6/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #14 – Newsletters and Recruiting Emails | James Martell joins Merchant ABCs hosts Vinny O'Hare and Deborah Carney discuss what merchants should and shouldn't have in their newsletters and how frequently they should be sent out. They also dive into what merchants should include in recruiting emails. Find us on Twitter: Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) James Martell Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 6/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #13 – Starting a Program: Choosing Your OPM | Join Merchant ABCs hosts Vinny O'Hare and Deborah Carney as they discuss how Jeff Grill, Vice President, Marketing at Mimeo.com decided to start their affiliate program and the steps they took to find the right fit for a network and an OPM (Outsourced Program Manager). We discussed the following: OPM Selection/Starting a New Program - Merchant View: 1. Preparation - Documented recruitment and revenue goals - Affiliate ready website in terms of conversion rates - Product margins that will allow all parties to make money - Internal program support - Familiarity with the Tax Nexus issue and implications for your business - Get educated - attend affiliate summit, listen to podcasts - Ask question in the affiliate groups on LinkedIn 2. OPM or no OPM - Internal resource availability - Margin allowance of your product or service - Expertise in starting a program 3. Network, no network and OPM Selection - Self hosted or network solution - Networks such as CJ offer OPM services (pro/con) - It pays to research networks and OPM's concurrently (OPM expertise with specific networks) 3. Selection Criteria Networks: - Similar Merchants to your product/service and their success - Fees, Commissions - A la carte pricing - Support - Geographic Reach - Policies regarding coupon sites etc. - Publisher access OPM: - Experience with specific networks - Familiarity with your product/service (also consumer, B to B) - Case studies - Track Record - Team Chemistry/who will work on your specific business - % of recruitment time allotted to your business - Reporting/frequency - Industry reputation/awards - Fee Structure (monthly, % of revenue) - Access to merchant/publisher events - Documented process - Recruitment approach (coupon sites etc.) 4. Final Selection - Should be clear after going through above - 3 month process - 1 month setup prior to launch 5. About the Mimeo.com program - Who we are - What we offer - Program Structure Find us on Twitter: Jeff Grill Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm | 5/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #12 – Why Merchants Need an Editorial Calendar | Join Merchant ABCs host Deborah Carney and guest Jeannine Crooks as they discuss why merchants need to use an editorial calendar to provide information and creatives that are appropriately timed for affiliates to use to promote products appropriately. If you sell a product you should listen to this podcast for tips and advice on getting materials to affiliates in time for them to be able to create pages ahead of the holidays. Find us on Twitter: Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Jeannine Crooks Merchant ABCs Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 5/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #11 – Embracing Video Creative | Deborah Carney of Merchant ABCs hosted a panel discussion that included James Martell of Affiliate Buzz and Affiliate Marketers Boot Camp,and buy.at regulars Jeannine Crooks and Amy Ely to continue the discussion on supporting affiliates with content and creative. Moving beyond the basics, this episode focuses on creating, sharing, and using video creative. Topics include: · Why video is important for merchants to consider · Tools available to create and tag video on different networks · Video formats – product reviews and demonstrations, the manufacturing process, testimonials, and more · Creating professional and polished clips vs. simple and personalized video · The three main video components – the establishing shot, mid shot, and close ups · Methods to share videos with affiliates · Creating motion graphic videos and slide shows with audio During the conversation, participants shared a few recommended video editing companies and software to help merchants get started. These include: Elance, Camtasia, Jing, and ScreenFlow. Also mentioned are the Shareasale network video players for both affiliates and merchants, the buy.at video tools available through Coull.com and an article by Rosalind Gardner about how affiliates can create players with links using LinkedTube. One more not mentioned in the show, but that was posted as another alternative by Shawn Collins on the subject is ViewBix (powered by Qoof). Find us on Twitter: Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) James Martell Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 4/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #10 – Supporting Your Affiliates with Content & Creatives | Deborah Carney of Merchant ABCs hosted a panel discussion that included James Martell of Affiliate Buzz and Affiliate Marketers Boot Camp, as well as Kim Salvino, Jeannine Crooks and Amy Ely of buy.at. Everyone joined in to provide guidance on content and creatives that help affiliates promote a merchant’s business more effectively. Topics include: · Why supplying a variety of creative is key to program growth · The types of content and creative to consider · The value of text links, banners, and offering unique sizes · Providing a comprehensive list of product information, company facts, and statistics for affiliates to use when creating articles and unique content · Ideas for communicating creative changes and key messages · Best practices in the merchant-affiliate relationship · The under-utilized power of video This podcast wraps up with information on video creative, which will be covered in more detail on the next episode. Enjoy! Find us on Twitter: Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) James Martell Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 4/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #9 – Conversion Conference Tips and Tricks | Merchant ABCs host Deborah Carney talks to Jeannine Crooks and Amy Ely at buy.at about key merchant takeaways from Conversion Conference (started by Tim Ash), which took place March 14-15 in San Francisco. This podcast discusses several ideas that merchants can implement right away to increase their conversion rates. We covered six main points during the conversation: 1) Look at your site through the eyes of your visitors – acknowledge that we (the digital marketers) are online regularly and can be considered super users. As such, we may not think and interact with the site the way that 99% of our visitors do. Learn how they search, how they look for products or categories and improve your site based on the user’s perspective. 2) A clear call to action is key – make the call to action prominent with colors and placement. Avoid common roadblocks (discussed further in the podcast). 3) Address the “peakaboo” problem - if a user fills out a field incorrectly, show the message to correct their entry at the relevant location, not at the top of the page after they submit the form. Don’t make your users scroll up and down to figure out how to fix their information. 4) Use the power of “scarcity” – if your site sells products, list the remaining number of that product to encourage visitors to buy while they can. If your inventory is large, use messaging similar to “9+” to still incite a level of urgency. 5) Never stop testing – enough said ;) 6) Don’t force a user to login when making a purchase – if they forgot their credentials, they may give up and purchase elsewhere. Instead, give them the option to shop and purchase as a guest, then sign up as a member after the sale completes. Learn about these points and more on the podcast. Enjoy listening! Find us on Twitter: Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 3/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #8 – Q&A on B2B Merchants in the Affiliate Industry | Continuing on from Merchant ABCs #6 – Tips for B2B Merchants in the Affiliate Industry, this podcast answers two great B2B Merchant questions: 1) What is keeping more B2B companies from starting up affiliate programs? 2) I've often read that the B2B buying cycle is a different creature than the consumer buying cycle, so how can an affiliate program be structured to ensure that an affiliate gets paid appropriately? Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O’Hare discuss answers to these questions with Kim Salvino (Sr. Account Manager & Affiliate Evangelist) and Amy Ely (Marketing Manager) of buy.at. Topics include: • Common concerns of running B2B programs in the affiliate industry and how to address them • The benefits of B2B affiliate marketing, and how networks have adapted • Tips on how to structure a program for success and establish strong affiliate relationships • How to adapt programs to accommodate a longer buying cycle Key takeaways include: • B2B companies may not start affiliate programs because they think they’re: 1. Too small scale or niche 2. Unable to track sales offline 3. Too complex to market 4. Unable to effectively manage an affiliate’s promotion of their business • To alleviate these concerns, B2B merchants should consider that: 1. Many affiliates prefer small scale or niche products because they can focus on that topic 2. The B2B space is far less competitive, which is also attractive to affiliates 3. B2B products typically generate a higher margin and commission for affiliates 4. Many networks can track conversions offline 5. Merchants can manually approve affiliates to ensure relevancy 6. Merchants with clear, well constructed Ts & Cs reduce the likelihood of any promotional issues • Concerns regarding the B2B buying cycle apply to many B2C programs as well, and can be mitigated in the following ways: 1. Set the cookie duration to 365 days 2. Develop a commission structure (ideally using a batch upload process) that pays on an initial lead as well as full customer acquisition For example, Raven Tools pays 1 cent for initial signup, then a much higher payout for a full registration 3. Establish an offline tracking solution to ensure affiliates don’t lose out on sales More questions are welcome! Find us on Twitter: Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 3/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #7 – Special Affiliate Summit #ASW11 Edition | Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O’Hare talk to Kim Salvino (Sr. Account Manager & Affiliate Evangelist) and Amy Ely (Marketing Manager) at buy.at network about the upcoming Affiliate Summit January 9 - 11, 2011 where you can come by the buy.at booth to be recorded on Merchant ABCs Live :) We are inviting Merchants to come ask questions about starting or running an affiliate program, and inviting Affiliates to come tell Merchants what your pet peeve is or what you would like to see them doing differently. This is your chance to ask industry experts your questions and share your own thoughts about affiliate marketing. We will be at the buy.at booth #300 Monday and Tuesday, but you can email questions in advance to dc@merchantabcs.com if you are unable to attend, but would still like to ask a question for the group to answer, or tweet your question to @buyatUS or @merchantabcs, we will be monitoring both accounts before, during and after the show! Find us on Twitter: Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 1/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #6 – Tips for B2B Merchants in the Affiliate Industry | Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O’Hare talk to Kim Salvino (Sr. Account Manager & Affiliate Evangelist) and Amy Ely (Marketing Manager) at buy.at network about ways that B2B merchants can succeed in the affiliate industry. B2B customers might not be the same as defined a few years ago, and more B2B merchants are establishing affiliate programs on traditionally B2C networks. B2C affiliates are realizing that more of their audience is in need of B2B products. In this podcast we discuss this plus what merchants should expect and what they need to provide to succeed. Topics include: ·Observing the growth of B2B advertisers in the affiliate industry ·How B2B services apply to many affiliate sites and audiences of all sizes ·Helpful tools, creatives, content, and resources that B2B merchants can provide to support their affiliate partners With a sampling mentioned during the podcast, examples of B2B programs that gain traction in the affiliate industry include: ·Email marketing support – ex. Aweber and Vertical Response ·Tools for SEO and social media – ex. Raven Tools SEO Tools ·Resources to start a business – ex. CorpNet Incorporation Services ·Business and office supplies – ex. Carrot Ink ·WordPress and Blogging platform premium themes and plugins – ex. Thesis Theme Find us on Twitter: Vinny O’Hare Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Geekcast.fm Learn more about buy.at: Visit the buy.at blog Facebook Fan Page Twitter: @buyatUS Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 12/1/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #5 – Managing New Merchant Expectations | Merchant ABCs hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O'Hare are joined by long time affiliate manager and OPM/AM Wade Tonkin to discuss expectations of new merchants that are starting affiliate programs. Managers and OPMs (Outsourced Program Managers) are challenged by companies that expect big things right after launching an affiliate program. Experienced managers often have to bust the bubble to be sure everyone understands that good affiliate programs don't bring "instant money". Affiliate Marketing is a marathon not a sprint. Show Notes and Points: It can be 3 - 6 months or more before a new affiliate program makes a sale. Site issues can extend that out even farther. Managing expectations is important. Developing long term relationships, can't rush the affiliates to promote a new program. Affiliates need to know a company isn't going to disappear. Not only do they need to know you have a good manager, they need to know you are in it for the long haul. Reality: If affiliates are making good money with your competitor you have to convince them why they will make more with you. The metrics aren't there (within the network) for affiliates to see when a program is new. Non-affiliate channel metrics - a merchant needs to show affiliates that they convert without affiliate traffic. The affiliate program shouldn't be a merchant's only traffic source. Affiliates take their time and vet programs. Merchants need to get on their radar, on their todo list, then stick around long enough and be patient so that when affiliates are ready the merchant is still there. Good OPMs will tell merchants that they aren't ready or will let merchant know what needs to be done before they can launch a program. And will not manage a program that will not make the changes that are needed to make the site and company successful. Money vs Reputation: Reputation first. Good OPMs will not take money for management from clients that aren't ready. They will consult to get them ready, or recommend someone else that can help them get ready based on their needs. Merchant needs to be affiliate friendly, don't reverse affiliate sales because you think that you should have gotten the sale yourself. Don't make a change to your TOS that restricts a type of promotion, then change your mind and expect affiliates to come back. PPC affiliates have their place and establish a good policy from the beginning. Offer development, be sure you can afford what you are paying out because moving commissions to a lower level after being established will kill your program. Do short term promotions instead. Be very clear what your payouts are. Offer bonuses and tiers instead, tiers based on volume. Go to top affiliates and offer higher right away, based on better placement. Include room for network and management fees. If you have higher conversions than the competition. Make sure you budget for ongoing management, whether inhouse or OPM, for at least 6 months. This is a long term channel, not PPC or CPA lead gen for a quick hit. Once you are established affiliates will come to you and your management. Contact on Twitter: @gtoman @merchantabcs @loxly @vinnyohare Websites: GTO Management Merchant ABCs Team Loxly ABCs Plus Affiliate Marketing Forum Many thanks to GeekCast.fm for hosting Merchant ABCs podcasts and many other podcasts that marketers should be listening too. Check them out! | 11/27/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #4 – Using Analytics for Affiliate Recruiting | Join your hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O'Hare with their guest Angel Djambazov, Managing Editor of Revenews and Affiliate Manager extraordinaire - Custom Tailored Marketing. Today's topic is using analytics to help merchants find affiliates to target for recruiting, and to find their traffic sources to help budget to advertising and affiliate channels. Google analytics, Omniture Traffic Sources - who is sending you traffic that isn't an affiliate? Could be using Adsense, get them to be a direct affiliate. Hitwise - Who is sending you or sending your competitors traffic Alexa.com - url of your website and do lookup, under details - clickstream and related links Compete.com Social Media Find people interested in and talking about your products Radian6 - agregator of topics Raven Tools - Social Media Monitor Twitter - data mining about your products or services and your competitors. Who is talking about you? Two cookie system to track first referrer plus last affiliate referrer to find out your traffic patterns and what the click path is. In Google analytics - set traffic sources and goals so that you can find where your traffic is coming from. Twitter: @merchantabcs @loxly @djambazov Many thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcast. Be sure to go check their site out so you can listen to not only our podcasts, but podcasts from many other great marketers. | 11/27/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #3 – Merchant Readiness for an Affiliate Program | Join your Merchant ABCs host Deborah Carney and Affiliate Eric Nagel as they talk about things merchants need to consider before they start an affiliate program. Look at merchant site from shoppers perspective - missing images - broken links - lack of professionalism, would you give them your credit card - links on same site? Go offsite right away? As affiliate: - goes through checkout looking for leaks, places where shoppers could abandon cart, phone prompt, - live chat that is commission based (bad) - cart recovery - giving away info to 3rd party - privacy policy - bad color combination - bad design - about us should be complete - consistent branding, does tracking carry over Is merchant acting as an affiliate? Here is an article Deborah wrote for FeedFront Magazine about this topic. - sending traffic away to same or complementary products - if you are running affiliate program can't do that, need to get the merchandise in your cart Really Basic: Must link to only your own products on your own site or sites of yours that still track all the sales to your affiliate Have very clear privacy policy, about us, and contact us pages and information Live Help - not commission based, convert the sale with the affiliate retaining credit for sale Make it clear to affiliates about non-commissionable items No adsense, affiliates can target you Adsense is a separate bot from the Googlebot, Adsense doesn't bring search engines to you Phone numbers: Sales - must be trackable, via tracking ID visible on site for operator to ask for, operator must ask for it, affiliates will test this before they promote you - Pay per Call: affiliates get paid for the call by time in call, may be able to track percentage per sale soon If Customer Service - as long as sales are completed by the customer online, not a problem Make sure tracking works, test test test Back up analytics so you can track where transactions came from and can find problems if they exist. Get a good management firm, at least do a consultation with an expert, don't try to do it all yourself. Find us on Twitter: Eric Nagel Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly) Merchant ABCs Team Loxly Geekcast.fm Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general. | 11/27/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CleanMerchant ABCs #1 What is an Affiliate Program and How Does it Work | Merchant ABCs is hosted by Deborah Carney and Vinny O'Hare of Team Loxly internet marketing. In this first episode they talk to merchants that are considering setting up an affiliate program and outline what merchants need to know before making the jump into creating an affiliate program. Things we will be doing in future podcasts: Case Studies Merchant reviews Covered in this podcast: Setting up and starting an affiliate program. Whether you should have an affiliate program. What is an affiliate Our podcasts focus on Retail, not ebooks or information products, or lead generation affiliate marketing Something that people need PMS - Solve a problem - Problem Make Solution Set up your site to sell - affiliates won't promote a site that isn't already converting. Get a consultant to optimize your site for conversions before you even think about about adding an affiliate program. After your site is optimized to sell, decide if you want to have an inhouse or network affiliate tracking solution. Affiliates get paid commission, networks get a commission and may have a monthly minimum. Managing your program - networks don't manage and recruit, they are just for tracking and payment. We don't recommend adding the network services for management, they may not be in your best interests. Some things to think about for your program Terms of Service Network Vs Inhouse Set up - Graphics, text links, other creatives Affiliate Manager - Inhouse or Outsourced. Sales manager or PR person shouldn't be the guy running the affiliate program. Outsourced Program Manager - OPM - company that manages multiple programs, short term or long term. OPM - can find you good graphics people, help you decide on a network, introduce your program to appropriate affiliates - they are your shortcut to do things the right way. Merchant - Affiliate - Network - OPM/Inhouse AM Affiliate links to your site, the links track through the Network or your inhouse tracking - shopper goes to your site and completes purchase. Network takes the affiliate commission and their fee at the time of the purchase, but is invisible to the shopper. Links to companies mentioned in the show: Outsourced Program Managers Shareasale Commission Junction Google Affiliate Network Linkshare Zen Cart Affiliate Summit West and East Follow us on Twitter: Merchant ABCs @MerchantABCs Deborah Carney @loxly Vinny O'Hare @vinnyohare Many thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts and many other educational and entertaining podcasts related to all things geeky :) | 11/27/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 31 Episodes |
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