Affiliate Program Case Studies: Strategies and Practices

Affiliate Summit West 2010

Affiliate Program Case Studies: Strategies and Practices

Melanie Seery, President, Affiliate Advocacy (Moderator) Karen Garcia, Partner & Co-Founder, GTO Management Kristen Grace, Affiliate Marketing Mgr, BuyCostumes.com Jon Nunez, Affiliate Manager, Football Fanatics

Affiliate Program Case Studies: Strategies and Practices

Twittering?Remember - use hash tag ASW10 (#ASW10)

@Mellies@karengarcia@KristenGrace@Jon_Nunez

You need more performing affiliates

But

How??

Attracting affiliates – is there a secret formula?

Getting Your Affiliate Channel to the Next Level

How do you get them?How do you keep them??

The AWESOME Test

•Attitude and Approach•Website•Ease•Sellable/Saleable•Offer•Motivation•Education

Case Study -

•Hands on dedicated affiliate manager•10% commission, generous 120 day cookie•Effectively extends beyond season•Clearly values and supports all size affiliates•Attractive•Results of the AWESOME Test•Results of test purchase

Case Study –

•Dedicated manager•10% commission, 60 day cookie•Over 100,000 products in datafeed•Year round appeal•Results of the AWESOME Test•Feedback on the customer experience•Available on multiple networks and in house

Give Them the Tools

•Make life easier for affiliates•Access to different tools to appeal to all affiliates•Organized datafeed•Variety of banners and links to appeal to all niches•Offer assistance•Frequently updated creatives•Multiple networks

Exclusive vs Multiple Network

Do the pros outweigh the cons?

•Benefits of being on multiple networks vs single network•Disadvantages of operating on multiple networks vs single•Overcoming the challenges – how to avoid duplicate commissions

Case Study - BowlingShirt.com

•Starts at 10%; 60 day cookie•Manual approval•Datafeed•Links with personality•Outsourced Program Manager•Management - personal touch•Results of the AWESOME Test•The customer experience

BowlingShirt.com

•Activation for BowlingShirt program is 21%•Play to the strength of the brand•Individual attention to each affiliate•Keep it personal

Uh oh! What happened??

What to do when something goes wrong:

A. Pretend all is wellB. Acknowledge problem AND

then identify and implement solutions

C. Run and Hide

Respond and Solve

It’s not just the problem –It’s the response!

•How do you handle the problems that will arise?•Affiliates will look at how problems are handled and base their decisions on your actions. •Frank discussion of some of the challenges and problems faced by our panelists in each of their programs.•Effectively handling problems minimized damage.

Contact Moderator:Melanie Seery, President, AffiliateAdvocacy.comEmail: melanie@affiliateadvocacy.comTel: 516.690.6228 Twitter: @Mellies

Panelists:Karen Garcia, Partner & Co-Founder, GTOManagement.comEmail: karen@gtomanagement.comTel: 530.554.1369 Twitter: @karengarcia

Kristen Grace, Affiliate Marketing Manager, BuyCostumes.comEmail: kristen@buycostumes.comTel: 262.901.2000 ext. 1134 Twitter: @KristenGrace

Jon Nunez, Partner Manager, FootballFanatics.comEmail: jnunez@footballfanatics.comTel: 904.421.4713 Twitter: @Jon_Nunez

Questions and Discussion?

Thank you!