Rethinking Today’s Hot Issues Affecting Affiliate Programs

Affiliate Summit East2014

As technology changes, new issues arise demanding a decisionGrowth/RisksFair/Unfair advantage

Merchant - John LoBrutto◦1&1 Internet

OPM - Rick Gardiner◦iAffiliate Management

Affiliate – Alan Rapoport◦DealTaker.com

Network - Jeannine Crooks◦Affiliate Window

You’re part of it too!Tell us your thoughts and why you reached your decision

Coupon sites – pay them the same or less than other types of affiliates?

Less value becauseDidn’t really drive the sale -people were only looking for a coupon code.Less revenue from sale because of the couponOverwriting an existing cookie

Same Value as Other Affiliates because:Cost conscious customers start shopping process thereDiscount is just the cost of doing businessCoupon sites often generate a higher average order value

Toolbars – Work with them or not?

Less Value Because:Cookie stuffing, so they really didn’t earn the saleSome overwrite existing cookies, so steals sales from other affiliates

Worth having in the program because:Drive large volumes of traffic from loyal usersTechnology exists to prevent cookie stuffing or overwriting existing cookies

Click Attribution – Makes things fairer, or not worth the trouble?

Worth the trouble because:Every touch along the way helps the conversion and should be rewardedStops coupon sites from getting the full commission just because they had the last click

Not worth it because:Not all touches added value in the conversion processIf they did add value, not at the same level in each conversion so same % each time wouldn’t be accurate

Multiple Networks for Merchants – Growing the program or waste of time & money?

Multiple networks will help to grow the program because:Access to different affiliate baseSome affiliates prefer one network over anotherMore exposure in the industry

Not worth the effort because:Original network has sufficient affiliate base so the incremental addition can be minimalCost factor – another set of fees Time factor – more affiliates to manage through a different interface

Transparency – Grows relationships or too much information

Transparency improves everything because:Much easier to contact the affiliate or merchantLess guessing about how an affiliate promotes a merchantEasier to develop a strong relationship

Better to only provide limited information because:Affiliates don’t always want to be contacted by merchants, and vice versaAffiliates want to keep their trade secrets privateDanger of going direct, cutting out the network

In-House vs. OPM Program Management – Better to have complete in house control or hand it over to an outside company?

Better to manage in-house because:No one knows or loves your product like a staff member doesLess program controlFees and overrides add additional costs to having an affiliate program

Better to hire an outsourced expert because:They can grow a program quicklyFixed cost can be easily managedNo need to hire and train a new staff memberEasier to change if there’s an issue

Your Questions or Hot Topics?

John LoBrutto◦John.LoBrutto@1and1.com

Rick Gardiner◦rgardiner@iAffiliateManagement.com

Alan Rapoport◦alan@dealtaker.com

Jeannine Crooks◦Jeannine.Crooks@AffiliateWindow.com