Archives for December 2006

Q: What is the best way for an affiliate to sell a product without using Google AdWords or e-mail marketing?

A: Different types of marketing work best for different types of product leads. In other words, what works well to promote one vertical in affiliate marketing may not work well in others.

Also, it depends on whether you are looking to make a quick hit or intent on building a sustainable business.

There are lots of ways to approach product sales as an affiliate. You could run a coupon/rebate site, reward/loyalty site, comparison shopping site, content site, data feed site, etc.

You could also move into the realm of Web 2.0 and do some things with blogs, RSS, social networks, wikis, video, podcasts,etc.

Personally, I would encourage you to sit down, write a business plan, and work on a site with a long term vision. Come up with a unique value proposition and test out all sorts of methods with different affiliate programs to determine what works best for you.

Q: I want to set up an affiliate program for my business, but I really do not know where to start. We have a booking system that clicks from the main site to the reservation form which is on a separate URL. I am new to this affiliate stuff so any advice would be welcome.

A: The first thing you’re going to need to figure out who is going to manage your affiliate program. That person will take the lead on all of the elements involved in developing your affiliate program.

There are a few routes you can go when it comes to affiliate program management. You can pull somebody internally at your company into the position, hire an experienced affiliate manager, or outsource to an OPM (outsourced program management).

If you go with a current employee, odds are they don’t have a background in affiliate marketing. So you’re going to need to get them up to speed ASAP.

I would recommend checking out Anik Singal’s Affiliate Manager 1st Edition. This is a robust package of educational materials for affiliate managers. Anik also runs an Affiliate Manager Boot Camp to train affiliates.

Another training seminar is run by industry veteran, Andy Rodriguez. Andy runs the Affiliate Manager Certification Seminar and his site indicates that dates will be announced shortly for the next installment.

And the twice yearly Affiliate Summit conference features educational sessions for affiliate managers of all levels.

Hiring an experienced affiliate manager can be a challenge. The universe of talented and well networked affiliate managers is fairly small, so their compensation tends to be pricey.

Try listing a want ad in the typical places like HotJobs, Monster, or Craig’s List.

Outsourcing an affiliate program is an increasingly popular option. On the plus side, you can get some seasoned pros to run your affiliate program without the bother of a learning curve, vacation time, benefits, etc.

Of course, the outsourced affiliate manager won’t be in your office, save for some occasional onsite visits.

Q: It’s been challenging to find appropriate publishers, and therefore recruit quality merchants that sell B2B. What do you feel the future of affiliate marketing is in the B2B Space?

A: I think the future, as well as the past, is all about managing expectations of merchants. The universe of available affiliates is inevitably smaller in B2B affiliates due to the focused nature of the products and services.

I think you’ve got to look at it almost like B2C affiliate marketing in the late 90’s when it was a matter of selling Webmasters on affiliate marketing before you could recruit them as affiliates.

So if you’ve got a client that’s selling some sort of construction products, take a list of all of their relevant keywords and search through Google, Yahoo, Ask, etc. to see which sites are coming up in the organic and paid results.

Start pitching the affiliate program to those sites. Plus any construction related blogs, newsletters, wikis, or any other type of potential affiliate.

It’s certainly more of a slow burn than a typical affiliate program selling widgets that have a mass appeal, but I think there’s a lot of potential if you are willing to put in the legwork.

Q: Why do most of the sites I have visited look and present so unprofessionally, and these guys are claiming that they are making huge dollars? The Revenue magazine articles seem to be about sites that are somewhat hokey too, but some of the sites look and are legit. I’m interested and feel that i could do this, but must admit I am very skeptical based on the some of the numbers that are being thrown around and some of the sites that I have seen.

A: The claims of wild success in affiliate marketing are a dime a dozen. And I’d say most of them come from wannabes.

They pretend to make the big cash and put up long sales pages with supposed pictures of their houses, cars and lifestyles.

The reality – most people that are making money in affiliate marketing are not sharing their secrets.

There are exceptions – Rosalind Gardner and Jeremy Palmer spring to mind as authentic success stories who wrote books on their experiences as super affiliates.

I’d suggest reading what they have to say, but don’t expect a magic bullet. Rather, tap into your creativity and come up with a unique angle for your affiliate venture.

Expect to put a lot of time into your affiliate efforts. Write a business plan, spend money, and test every possible angle.

Legitimate affiliate marketers aren’t overnight sensations.