Hello?  Hello? Is there anyone out there? Merchants… it’s me, Kirsty!

Despite all the networks, talented agency types, and in-house affiliate managers there still seems to be an issue with communication between us Jupiterites and the Martians who we work for. Somewhat puzzling, because lots of people seem to be shouting about their affiliate programmes. What I don’t understand is why do I never seem to hear the right ones?!?!

It’s Like Being Single Again…

Lingerie site owner with GSOH, ample traffic assets, and penchant for selling copious amounts of knickers.

Seeks like minded underwear or hosiery merchant for underwear fun and long term relationship. Reply to PO Box 157, Jupiter.

A few years ago I’d wondered at the lack of approaches by merchants, but put it down to not having quality content sites.  However, having remedied this in recent years I still find the number of “do you think you might be able to feature us on your site” type approaches surprisingly disappointing.

I’m not saying such approaches are non existent.  As a good example of sods law two nice agency people have approached me with very interesting undies sites in the last week. However lets not let the facts get in the way of a good rant here – I still find it surprising that this doesn’t happen more often, particularly given that I now have nice content sites in several niches.

So What’s The Issue?

There could be several reasons why merchants aren’t flooding me with requests to promote them and prostrating themselves at my bejewelled affiliate feet: -

• I don’t have bejewelled feet, and if I did merchants most probably wouldn’t grovel at them. Bummer. Still, a few free bras or the odd box of chocolates wouldn’t go amiss.
• People don’t do “Affiliate Research” any more because we’re rude buggers and don’t respond, thus making such pursuits an unproductive waste of time.
• The best use of management resources is targeting the 5% of affiliates that’ll drive 85% of your sales. Big sites such as MyVoucherCodes.co.uk can drive massive volumes.
• My location – maybe face to face networking is where the red hot merchant action is at. Australia makes it difficult for me to meet people over a nice beverage or ten.
• Too many merchants view affiliate marketing and management as a “passive” process. Build a programme and they will come. Which, of course, they quite often don’t. Said merchants then throw in their programme and tell anyone who’ll listen that “affiliate marketing is shite, and doesn’t work.”

Perhaps what it comes down to is that affiliate marketing is a lot of work, and the online nature of the industry, combined with the problems of attempting to manage and communicate with a large pool of business partners (many of whom aren’t available during business hours), means we get shoved on the “too hard” pile. Overall though, I think my 85:5 rule point above is probably very close to the mark.

The Solution?

Hah, I’m backing away from this one!  Too big a question for this affiliate blogger to answer without descending into utter conjecture and upsetting people who spend their entire working lives trying to look after us affiliates. Technology driven solutions such as Affiliate Window’s catchily named “Darwin” affiliate admin area may help considerably.

And Of Course, It’s A Two Way Street…

I’m also aware that this is my business and it’s my responsibility to build it and find new people to partner with on my own.  Maybe merchants prostrating themsleves at my feet, or even finding out about me before I start sending them sales is just a romanticised pipe dream.

This post is from: Kirsty's Affiliate Marketing Guide - Affiliate Stuff UK

Affiliates Are From Jupiter and Merchants Are From Mars

This is a guest post by Ran Nir, Affiliate Manager of Photo Paper Direct

Two months ago we decided, despite the gloomy economic outlook (it has improved a bit! since then), that the Affiliate channel was a good fit for our products, pricing and customer base. As a UK based online retailer with big ambitions, we know that in order to achieve maximum market penetration and to reach as many customers as possible, a multi channel sales strategy is vital and it must include Affiliate marketing. Since going live two months ago we’ve had our fair share of successes and stumbling blocks, some because we were a bit ‘green’ and some because we had the wrong Affiliates. I’d like to think that since then and together with our Affiliate partners, we have improved our act which leads me to write my personal view of 10 ways in which both Merchants and Affiliates can work closer together for better results.

What could we as Merchants do better?

1. Put on our Affiliate hats and think about ‘what’s in it for me?’ – It’s very important to always ask yourself what’s in it for your Affiliates and why would they sign up with you, sometimes even at the expense of a similar Merchant. If you have low conversion rates or take your sweet time to approve sales and your commission structure isn’t competitive then don’t expect the programme to succeed. As Merchants, it is our job to first conduct extensive research and with our Affiliate hats on, make sure the ‘what’s in it for me’ is answered by high sales and attractive payouts.
2. Communicate more frequently and communicate everything – Many Merchants, especially those who have been selling online for years have extremely useful information, which, when communicated to their Affiliates can really turn the programme around. Data such as historical and seasonal trends, for example, can help Affiliates invest resources on products which are more likely to convert. As a Merchant, our responsibility is to communicate as much relevant information and as often as possible.
3. Offer product feeds, custom landing pages and other goodies – The days of running an Affiliate programme with only a set of banners are probably nearing their end. As Merchants we have to cater for as many Affiliates as possible, meaning that having the ability to create up-to-date product feeds, promotional codes, product bundles and Affiliate custom landing pages are a must to cover as many Affiliates as possible.
4. Incentives, incentives and more incentives -  Targeting and rewarding Affiliates on a regular basis should hopefully increase sales but also inspire confidence in the offer or product. As Merchants, we should set targets and incentives on an ongoing basis to get the most out the channel, because leaving the Affiliate channel with no real aim or goal is a receipt for failure.
5. Manage the programme – Having in house or external resources to manage the programme is crucial. As Merchants, we need to offer direct and open communication  with the Affiliates in the shape of a dedicated resource, phone number and even on the very basic level  like having dedicated Affiliates@ email address which gets priority over other company emails will go a long way.

What could you as an Affiliate do better:

1. Ask and you shall receive – Making an Affiliate programme work requires work from both sides and although us Merchants think we offer enough tools, creative and product information, Affiliates should demand more from Merchants.  As an Affiliate if ,for example, you are sending a newsletter featuring the Merchant to hundreds of thousands of people, why not ask for help with creatives or increased commission for that week?
2. Take risks and funnel back your feedback – If you continue to offer the same products, from the same Merchants your options to increase revenue will depend on increasing traffic to your site or increased conversion rates on the Merchant’s site. On the other hand, by taking small risks and trying new products or offers from new Merchants you might just discover another gem. If the new programme doesn’t meet your expectations don’t be too quick to judge, try and contact the Merchant and funnel back your feedback.
3. Use all your marketing channels to promote the programme – If you take the plunge with the new programme, don’t walk into it half-halfhearted. Put your entire resources behind it. As an Affiliate, look to promote the new Merchant on your blog, place it on the homepage for a few days and use all your marketing vehicles such as the newsletter, paid search (in accordance with the Merchant’s policy) and SEO to really give the programme a chance.
4. Don’t promise anything WE can’t deliver on – Driving traffic to the Merchant site is one thing, while driving converting traffic is another. As an Affiliate, make sure you are not promising offers or products which the Merchant does not have e.g don’t promote a 10% promotional code if the Merchant only has 5% promotional code, don’t promote expired offers and make sure even the smallest details such as delivery cost match.
5. Stay current and update your creatives frequently – Following on from not showing expired offers, make sure creative and other promotional aids are up to date. If ,for example, the Merchant has special creatives for Christmas, update your site in time to make the Merchant’s offer as relevant as possible.

What would you like to see Affiliates / Merchants do better?

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Guest post by Ran, marketing manager of Photo Paper Direct. For more information on Photo Paper’s Direct Affiliate Programme head to our affiliate page.

This post is from: Kirsty's Affiliate Marketing Guide - Affiliate Stuff UK

In time for Christmas – 10 Ways Affiliates and Merchants Could Work Better