This presentation is from Affiliate Summit West 2014 (January 12-14, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV). Session description: There is an array of ways advertisers may recruit new affiliates. Unfortunately, most use only a few. This session will equip you with a rich arsenal of methods and tools to recruit quality affiliates.
7. Active Recruitment
“S” Ways to Find Affiliates:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Software/tools
Social media
Search engines
Summits & symposiums
Symbiotic recruitment
Structure-based recruitment
Snail mail
Specific publications
Satisfied customers
13. Recruitment Email
Subject line
Introduce
yourself/company
Explain why you’re emailing
Personalize
Include concrete data on
your affiliate program (don’t
do the math for them!)
Underscore competitive
advantages (tools, cobranding, policies)
Primary & secondary CTA
14. 2. Social Media
The media that they use
1. Blogs (the ones they read)
2. Forums (ABestWeb, PerformanceIN,
5StarAffiliatePrograms, AssociatePrograms)
3. Groups (on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc)
Play by the rules!
15. 3. Search Engines
Or reaching out to websites that
rank high for relevant keywords.
16. 4. Summits, Conferences
2014 Affiliate Marketing Conferences (worldwide)
01/12-01/14 – Affiliate Summit West (Las Vegas, NV, USA)
01/15 – ClickBank Exchange (Las Vegas, NV, USA)
01/29-01/30 – LinkShare Symposium West (San Francisco, CA, USA)
02/06-02/09 – London Affiliate Conference (London, UK)
02/21 – CPA Day (Kiev, Ukraine)
02/25-02/26 – Affiliate TactixX (Munich, Germany)
03/19-03/20 – Affiliate Management Days (San Francisco, CA, USA)
03/25-03/26 – LeadsCon Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV, USA)
05/13-05/14 – Affiliate Management Days (London, UK)
05/29-05/31 – Afiliados Brasil (São Paulo, Brazil)
TBA – Affiliate Dag 2014 (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
06/24-06/25 – Performance Marketing Insights Europe (Berlin, Germany)
06/24-06/27 – Amsterdam Affiliate Conference (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
08/03-08/05 – AvantExpo 2014 (Park City, UT, USA)
TBA – LeadsCon East (New York, NY, USA)
08/10-08/12 – Affiliate Summit East (New York, NY, USA)
TBA – Commission Junction University (Santa Barbara, CA, USA)
10/03-10/04 – Russian Affiliate Congress & Expo (Moscow, Russia)
TBA – Russian Affiliate Days (Moscow, Russia)
TBA – Barcelona Affiliate Conference (Barcelona, Spain)
TBA – China International Affiliate Conference (Tianjin, China)
TBA – LeadConf (Moscow, Russia)
TBA – Performance Marketing Insights London (London, UK)
TBA – Affiliate Konference (Prague, Czech Republic)
TBA – ShareASale ThinkTank 2014
TBA – LinkShare Symposiums (Japan, UK, Australia, Canada)
18. 5. Symbiotic Recruitment
Symbiosis – a cooperative relationship (as between
two persons or groups).
Source: Webster’s Dictionary
Promote your affiliate program on a crossprogram basis.
Form short- or long-term cross-program
recruitment relationships with affiliate
programs run by merchants that sell related
products or services.
24. Recruitment Through Their Eyes
Passive:
Merchant site: 51.3%
Search engines: 38.6%
Directories: 38%
Word of mouth: 20.3%
Support efforts: 14.6%
Source: 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report
25. Recruitment Through Their Eyes
Passive:
Support pages: 47%
Network sites: 44.7%
Search engines: 33.1%
Forums & directories: 17.6%
Word of mouth: 17.5%
Source: AffiliateBenchmarks 2013 Global Affiliate Questionnaire
26. Passive Recruitment
Ways to Get Found by Affiliates:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Program description (with visible link)
Program FAQ and/or support site/blog
Affiliate directories
Social media
Second-tier affiliates
“Subscribe to affiliate news” link
Press releases
27. 10. Program Description
Merchant description + link
Commission structure
Info on cookie life
Availability of data feed
Information on competitive advantages (e.g.:
anti-parasite policy, phone tracking, conversion
rates, EPC)
Underscore tools (widgets, deep linking, cobranding opps, custom creatives/LPs)
Any restrictions and/or special terms that
affiliates should know about
28. Avoid Clichés!
Cliché – a trite expression,
often a figure of speech whose
effectiveness has been worn out
through overuse and excessive
familiarity.
Top 10:
Source: http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/clicheterm.htm
1. “instantly”
2. “ultimate”
3. “easy”
4. “unparalleled”
5. “perfect match”
6. earn/get/make “$X in X days/months”
7. “highest payouts”
8. “impressive conversion rate(s)”
9. “best affiliate program”
10. “number one” merchant/offer/program
29. 11. Affiliate Program Support Site
Minimum
• Program Details (with sign-up link/form)
• Program Agreement
• Blog
Ideally
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
.
Program Details
Program Agreement
FAQ Section
Tips & Ideas
Creatives
Blog
Contact Us
39. Other Methods
Delve In & Dissect:
o
o
o
o
o
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Reach out to influencers
Analyze similar sites
Explore related verticals
Target seasonal (holiday-oriented) affiliates
Study competitors’ backlinks
Monitor keywords and niches
40. 17. Influencer Outreach
20 Tools to Employ
BlogDash (bloggers)
BloggerLinkUp (bloggers)
Business 2 Blogger (bloggers)
BuzzStream (all sorts of content websites)
eCairn.com (bloggers and communities)
FindPeopleOnPlus.com (Google+ influencers)
Followerwonk (Twitter influencers)
Google Blog Search (bloggers)
GroupHigh.com (bloggers)
Klout (an array of social media)
Kred (social media | check out Communities)
Listorious (Twitter)
Outreachr (all sorts of content websites)
Pitch It To Me (bloggers)
Simply Measured (analytics tool for Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+)
SocialBro (Twitter)
Sulia (Facebook and Twitter)
Topsy (Twitter | check their Experts section)
Twellow (Twitter)
Twitter Search (Twitter influencers)
41. 18. Similar Websites
• Similar sites
• Site topics (more
key influencers!)
• Key phrases &
categories
• "Similar search"
(SEO & SEM
rivals)
• "HeatMap"
42. 19. Related Verticals
Travel Websites
Fashion Sites
Consider also sites catering to:
Pilots
Anglers
Golfers
Cyclists
Snow sports fans
Gamblers
Women
44. 21. Competitors’ Backlinks
7 Tools to Consider
Google (link:www.competor.com)
Open Site Explorer (by SEOmoz)
Majestic SEO
Link Diagnosis
Advanced Link Manager
Bing Webmaster Tools Link Explorer
Backlink Watch
45. 22. Ongoing Monitoring
11 Free Online Tools
Google Alerts
Pipes (aka Social Media Firehose by Yahoo)
Omgili
TweetBeep
BuzzMonitor
Collecta.com
BackType
BoardReader
WhosTalkin.com
SocialMention
BlogPulse
47. “…the chief distinction of a diplomat is that he can
say no in such a way that it sounds like a yes.”
– Lester B. Pearson
48. #1. Do Not Burn Bridges!
We are sorry, but the website(s) and/or promotional
methods listed on your affiliate profile do(es) not
meet our approval criteria. We have therefore
declined your application.
If, however, you feel that we have overlooked your
potential, we would like to hear from you. Just email
us a brief explanation of how you were planning on
marketing our product/service, and we will gladly
reconsider your application.
49. #2. Remember to Follow Up
Effectiveness:
Initial email: max. 4% sign up
Follow-ups: ≈12% more join
Frequency:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A week from original email
1 more week down the road
2-3 months
Half a year
A year