This presentation is from Affiliate Summit West 2015 (January 18-20, 2015 in Las Vegas, NV). Session description: Geno will uncover 55 tools that effective affiliate managers use to streamline processes of affiliate recruitment, compliance policing, communication, program optimization, and more.

1. 55 Must-Haves in Every
Affiliate Manager's Toolbox
Geno Prussakov
CEO, AM Navigator (affiliate management agency)
www.amnavigator.com
Founder, Affiliate Management Days (conference)
www.amdays.com
888-588-8866 | Washington, DC
geno@amnavigator.com | @ePrussakov
.

2. Instead of Introduction
Methane - the most
common
hazardous gas in
the mines,
contributing to
more than 10,000
miner deaths
during the past 60
years.
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide
(CO) are the two most dangerous and frequently
found gases in underground mines. They kill
quickly, without warning.
Source: Miner's Manual: A Complete Guide to Health and Safety Protection on the Job by J. Davitt McAteer

3. Instead of Introduction

4. Miner's Canary & Analogy

5. 2 Kinds of Tools
DIRECT INDIRECT
Originally intended for
affiliate managers
Those managers can
adapt for their usage

6. 5 Key Responsibilities

7. Streamline It!
stream·line
verb /ˈstrēmˌlīn/
: to make (something) simpler, more effective, or more productive
Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
: to make (an organization or system) more efficient and effective
by employing faster or simpler working methods
Source: Google
Use tools to streamline the routine tasks
that support the 5 pillars!

8. - 1 -
Tools for Recruitment

9.  Linkdex Publisher Discovery

10. Interrogation of program-specific tracking domains
 Linkdex Publisher Discovery

11.  NerdyData

12.  5IQ
Database of 125k+ affiliates sending traffic to
over 15k brands searchable by:
1. Category
2. Traffic source
3. Traffic destination (competitor analysis)
Fee is charged per line of exported data.

13.  5IQ

14. Source: Technorati Media 2013 Digital Influence Report
Influencer Outreach

15. Bloggers & Niche Websites
 BlogDash
 Blogger LinkUp
 eCairn.com (bloggers & communities)
 GroupHigh.com
 inkybee
 Outreachr (websites & social profiles)
 Pitch It To Me

16. “DO-IT” Approach to Bloggers
Key Elements:
o Disclosures
o Openness
o Incentives
o Targetedness

17. Source: AffiliateBenchmarks 2013 Global Advertiser Research Report
Most Desired Affiliate Types

18. Source: AffiliateBenchmarks 2013 Global Affiliate Research Report
Social Media Used by Affiliates

19. Social Networks
 CircleCount (Google+)
 FindPeopleOnPlus (Google+)
 Google+ Ripples
 AgoraPulse (Facebook and Twitter)
 LinkedIn Tools:
 LinkedIn.com/pulse/discover
 LinkedIn “Posts” Search

20. Twitter
 Followerwonk
 SocialBro
 Topsy (analytics tool | see “Experts” section)
 Twellow
 Twitter Search

21. Cross-Platform
 BuzzStream (all sorts of content websites)
 Klout (an array of social media)
 Kred (social media | check out “Communities”)
 Little Bird
 NOD3x
(free for Google+ and YouTube, upgrade for Twitter, FB, blogs)
 PeerIndex
 Simply Measured
(analytics tool for Twitter, FB, YouTube, Google+)

22. Similar Websites

23.  SimilarSites.com

24.  SimilarSites.com
Check out also their Firefox add-on & Chrome plugin!

25. More:
 Related Websites (Chrome Plugin)
 SimilarPages.com
 SimilarSiteSearch.com
Similar Site Tools

26. Bonus: Google related:URL.com

28. Backlink Tools
 SEOquake (free toolbar)
 Ahrefs (from $79/mo)
 Backlink Watch (free)

29. Bonus: Google link:URL.com

30. Email Address?

31.  WHOIS Database

32.  Peepmail

33.  Peepmail
http://samy.pl/peepmail/




34.  MailTester.com

35.  Affiliate Directories
Nearly 1/5th of affiliates use them
Just a few to consider:
AffiliatesDirectory.com
AffiliateFirst.com
AffiliatePrograms.com
AffiliateRanker.com
AffiliateScout.com
AffiliateSeeking.com
AllAffiliatePrograms.com
AssociatePrograms.com
JamAffiliates.com
Top-Affiliate.com

36. Source: AffiliateBenchmarks 2013 Global Advertiser Research Report
Top Recruitment Methods (adv)

37. Source: AffStat 2014 Report by Affiliate Summit
Top Recruitment Methods (aff)

38.  Find & Invite (on Network)

39.  Find & Invite (on Network)

40.  Find & Invite (on Network)

41.  Free Exposure Opps (Network)
Examples:
o CJ: “CJ Monthly” newsletter
o Rakuten: “New & Notable Advertisers” blog
o ShareASale: “New & Notable Merchants”
posts, deals databases (regular & BF/CM)
o AvantLink: social media announcements
o Webgains: publisher newsletter

42.  Paid Exposure Opps (Network)

43.  Paid Exposure Opps (Network)

44. - 2 -
Tools for Activation

45. Only ≈10% of Affiliates = Active
OPPORTUNITY!

46.  Affiliate Segmentation
“As a retailer, you likely segment your
consumers…
Segmentation can also be applied to your
affiliate marketing channel. Just as different
types of customers require different levels of
service, different types of affiliates require
different resources.”
— Carolyn Kmet, former Director of Affiliate Marketing at Groupon

47.  Affiliate Segmentation
Criteria:
o Type
o Performance
o Niches
o Terms/Payouts

48.  Email
Source: AffStat 2014 Report by Affiliate Summit

49. GROUP INDIVIDUAL
E.g.:
 Regular newsletter
 Segment-specific email
 Announcement
E.g.:
 Acceptance email
 Tool/feed approval email
 One-on-one outreach
 Email

50. Example
Congratulations! You have just been approved for FTP access to
the HalloweenMart.com's affiliate datafeed.
Import our datafeed soon, send $799 in sales by February 28,
2015, and I will deposit a $50 cash bonus (on top of your
commissions) into your ShareASale account. With our 30-day
affiliate-referred AOV exceeding $50, reaching this goal is not
hard, and we are looking forward to your participation!

51. - 3 -
Tools for
Policing Compliance

52. Remember…
Do not call it a “violation” unless you’ve
defined it as such in your TOS!

53. What to Police
o Trademark abuse
 in paid search
 in domain names
o Coupon usage
o FTC disclosures
o Brand placement(s)

54.  BrandVerity (search)

55.  BrandVerity (coupons)

56. Knockout value – metric which helps estimate
advertiser’s loss (expressed in percentage of the
time that the wrong ad is showing).
http://www.leadtrackr.com/leadtrackr.php?id=59995
 The Search Monitor (search)

58.  Typo Assassin (URLs)

59.  CitizenHawk (URLs)

60. FTC Compliance (Disclosures)

61.  Media Thirst

62. Monitoring Brand Placements
Brand = your most valuable asset.
Safeguard it!!

63. Linkdex for Policing (on SAS)
Filter on specific affiliate ID reveals sites with their links

64. Linkdex for Policing (on CJ)
Filter on tracking domain for a single affiliate ID

65. Link Intelligence Tools
Dissect redirects (for free) with:
 Tamper Data (Firefox add-on)
 Rex Swain's HTTP Viewer
 Fiddler Web Debugger

66. Link Intelligence Example

67. Judging by Address Bar:

68. Tamper Data (However) Reveals:
CJ tracking URL

69. - 4 -
Communication Tools

70.  CRM Platform
 HTML Editor
Streamline affiliate relationship management with
a CRM platform (e.g., Nimble, SugarCRM,
Salesforce CRM, InfusionSoft, Microsoft CRM).
E.g., Adobe Dreamweaver ($20/mo), Weebly
(from $4/mo), Firebug (free browser add-on),
Coding the Web (Chrome extension), etc.

71. - 5 -
Optimization
(Intelligence Tools)

72. Keep in Mind…
Competitive intelligence – “the process
by which companies inform themselves
about every aspect of their rivals’
activities and performance”
(Christopher West, Competitive Intelligence, p. 12)
“The real purpose of competitive intelligence
is to learn and to act” …not merely
collect data or “develop information”.
(Seena Sharp, Competitive Intelligence Advantage, p 101)

73.  SEMrush

74.  SEMrush

75.  SEMrush
AdSense publisher search yields prospective affiliates
(that offer space where competitor's ads appear)

76. R
C
T
E
A
Research (terms, stats, etc)
Evaluate (how you stack up)
Apply (the knowledge)
Craft (your own strategy)
 Become Their Affiliate
Tear (them) apart!! 

77. In Conclusion…

78. I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a
fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful
gift, that gift should be curiosity.
— Eleanor Roosevelt