Use Affiliate Marketing to Build Your Online Business

David Polivy

Tahoe Mountain Sports

Use Affiliate Marketing to Build Your Online Business

AGENDA:

• Who am I and why am I here?

• What is Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) advertising and why do it?

• What is an affiliate and what do they do?

• Tips and tricks to setting up and running an affiliate program

• Long term results, tweaks and performance goals

Tahoe Mountain Sports

• In business since 2006, started as online only

• ~20% growth YOY, 7 FT/YR employees

• Now, 2500s.f. store in KB, 70% sales online/30% in store

• Cross Channel traffic and conversions growing rapidly

CPC, CPM and CPA – Oh My!

CPC – Cost Per Click

• Good lead, maybe a sale

CPM – Cost Per Impression

• Brand awareness, messaging

CPA – Cost Per Acquisition

• Sale!!!!!

What is an Affiliate and what do they do?

Affiliate Marketing is an Internet-based marketing practice in which a web retailer rewards Affiliates for the sales and/or customers they refer.

Affiliates drive targeted shopping traffic to web retailers using different promotional methods including:

Online Brand Development – They help you build your brand

Search Engine Optimization – They work hard to get you a sale

Web Community Building – They build web communities

Paid Search Engine Marketing (PPC) – They spend money to get you a sale

Affiliate Marketing Overview & Effectiveness

Affiliate compensation is “performance-based” on a “cost per sale” model, meaning retailers only pay the contracted commission after the sale/transaction takes place.

This is why I Love It!Qualified Affiliates work to promote your brand free of charge with

the understanding that you'll convert their referral to a sale, which results in a commission earned.

Affiliate Marketing Overview & Effectiveness

Consider a few of the benefits if you're a web retailer:

Only Pay for Results - You're only charged for the marketing efforts after the sale is complete.

Free Branding - Your pre-configured banner ad campaigns circulate and distribute your brand for free.

New Customer Acquisition - Affiliates are a real time sales force in addition to a tool for acquiring new, long-term customers.

Examples of Affiliates

• Magnifeye

• Trailspace

• Teton Gravity Research

• Retail Me Not

• The Find

• Millions and millions more………..

Examples of Affiliates

Examples of Affiliates

Examples of Affiliates

Tips and tricks to setting up and running an affiliate program

Choosing an Affiliate Platform• Share Similar Goals?

• Right Kind of Space for your business?

• Support Structure?

• Cost?

Tips and tricks to setting up and running an affiliate program

Tips and tricks to setting up and running an affiliate program

Before Affiliate program launch a store/ecommerce system should be working properly and efficiently from usability to order fulfillment.

Once that has been accomplished choose a reputable Affiliate platform and produce program collateral including:

Quality Product Datafeed

Array of Banners & Other Ad Units

Program Terms & Description

Examples – Data Feeds

Product/Price ComparisonsSize/Color/Style/Type OptionsAccurate, In Stock, Updated Daily

Examples – Data Feeds & Blogs

Examples – Banners

Examples – Blogs/Content

Any type of content can be linked and monetized, especially archived content which is potentially some of the most lucrative due to its SEO history

Examples – Blogs/Content

Tips and tricks to setting up and running an affiliate program

Don’t Set it and Forget It

Find an Affiliate Manager!Or, do it internally, but dedicate the necessary resources

Tips and tricks to setting up and running an affiliate program

Affiliate Manager Duties

Communication and responsiveness are crucial components of the Affiliate Manager's role. Other duties include:

Regularly updating ad campaigns & promotional offers

Effectively communicating new promotional offers

Engaging Affiliates to optimize efforts & increase sales

Manage ongoing initiatives to effectively brand the program

Tips and tricks to setting up and running an affiliate program

To build a successful Affiliate program you should: View Affiliates as partners and individuals

Build relationships based on trust

Give Affiliates plenty of notice on promotions

Be responsive and predictable

Remain engaged with regular communication

Establish clear program terms and enforce them (includes trademark or brand PPC bidding)

Long term results, tweaks and performance goals

• Develop your long term conversion rate and click through goals - Adjust and monitor regularly

• Vary your regular vs. seasonal/promotional activity

• Continually recruit new affiliates and build out existing affiliates

Long term results, tweaks and performance goals

Develop your long term conversion rate and click through goals - Adjust and monitor regularly

It is not uncommon for established Affiliate programs to generate 10%-25% of a web retailer's entire sales volume in a year.

***TMS – 1.2% Conversion Rate, 12% of sales, Over 2 million ad impressions

Long term results, tweaks and performance goals

Vary your regular vs. seasonal/promotional activity

Long term results, tweaks and performance goals

Continually recruit new affiliates and build out existing affiliates

• Email introductions, check-ins, anything needed?

• Commission bumps, Incentive levels

• Encourage adoption of all your tools

• Share/Trade content

The End!

David Polivy

Tahoe Mountain Sportsdave@tahoemountainsports.com

Preferred Affiliate Network – Avantlink.com

1) What does CPA stand for?2) Name 1 kind of affiliate marketing3) Name 1 affiliate network4) What is 1 thing you can do to

continually update and improve your affiliate marketing?

Questions?