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Learning the Hands-On Basics of Affiliate Marketing from the Ground Up Affiliate Marketing is one of the hottest ways to make money online. For a few dollars, anyone can buy a URL and start a blog or website. By placing the right links on those websites, it’s possible to make anywhere from a few dollars a month to six-figure incomes or more. Before you start, however, it’s important to learn the basics of the business. By understanding some of the fundamentals, such as terminology and functions, you’ll have the foundation to make the decisions to build the type of affiliate marketing business that suits your interests and skills.
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Affiliate Marketing 101
Davinci InstituteJeannine Crooks
February 20, 2010
Learn basic terms Review the requirements for an acceptable
site How to find merchants Choosing the right merchants How to use PopShops Working with Affiliate Networks Broad Networks Specialty Networks
Today’s Goals
Working with Affiliate Managers Learning More Q&A
Today’s Goals
Definitions
A website owner who sends traffic from their website to another website in order to generate a desired action. Upon completion of this desired action, the website owner will receive compensation.
AKA – Publisher, Media Partner
Affiliate
Affiliates do:◦ Attract traffic originating around the globe◦ Actively promote their websites◦ Encourage site visitors to take action – buy
something, fill out a form, etc.
Affiliates do not:◦ Know the person who has come to their site◦ Know what product the person buys◦ Process any financial transaction for the customer◦ Assist in the delivery process of the product
Affiliate
A website owner who facilitates a specific action on their website such as:◦ Purchase a product◦ Completing a lead form
If the site visitor originated via a link from an Affiliate site, the merchant is obligated to pay a fee or commission to the affiliate for successful completion of the action.
Merchant
Acts as liaison between merchants & affiliates
Investigates both merchants and affiliates before allowing them into the network.
No cost to join. Hidden Affiliate Information All traffic flows through the affiliate network
◦ Affiliate > Affiliate Network > Merchant◦ Merchant > Affiliate Network > Affiliate
Responsible for ensuring Affiliates are paid for successful actions.
Affiliate Network
Usually has 100’s of merchants and 1000’s of affiliates
Source of merchant banners and links Best known:
◦ Commission Junction◦ LinkShare◦ Google Affiliate Network◦ ShareASale◦ Buy.at
Affiliate Network
Usually works for Merchant Works with Affiliate Networks and/or
managing In-House Affiliate Program Recruits affiliates Affiliate Retention, such as day-to-day
affiliate activities
Affiliate Manager
OPM for short Manages affiliate program for merchant who
has chosen to outsource this function. Usually manages multiple programs Charges a monthly fee and a portion of
commissions. Recruits affiliates and handles day-to-day
affiliate activities.
Outsourced Program Manager
Cost Per Action, CPA for short◦ Broad term, could mean:
Sale Registration Inquiry
◦ Commission can be percentage of sale or flat amount Cost Per Lead, CPL for short
◦ Completes lead form◦ Usually fixed payout
Cost Per Click, CPC for short◦ Clicks on ad◦ Google AdSense◦ Usually fixed payout
Actions
Site Requirements
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Sites◦ MailOrderShoppe.com
PPC (Pay Per Click) Sites Coupon Sites
◦ Shopping-Bargains.com Lead Generation Sites
◦ InsureMe.com Incentive Sites
◦ Hard Incentive – Memolink.com◦ Soft Incentive – FatWallet.com
Types of Sites
Network/Affiliate Manager Review Requirements
◦ Active URL◦ Site Description◦ Category
Children, Home & Garden, Gifts◦ Unique Visitors/month
Quantcast.com◦ Business Tax ID number or SSN
Site Requirements
Site topic Promotion method
BrightestCandles.com is a one-stop online candle store, offering a wide selection of products including scented candles, decorative candles, soy candles, and candle holders. Site promotion is primarily SEO though PPC may be used in the future.
Site Description
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Footer Overall design No typo’s
Site Requirements
Finding Merchants
Niche Merchant – only offers one product line or category of products.
Broad merchant – Amazon, eBay, Wal-mart, Target – can find various types of products
Trial & Error – part of the process.
What Type of Merchant Is Right For Your Site?
Search by Keyword Use PPC results Google search “___ affiliate programs” Check footer of favorite merchants for
affiliate program link Study competitor’s sites Search affiliate networks Use PopShops.com
Ways to Find Merchants
Easy way to find merchants with your desired products.
Fast way to build a datafeed for your site, without technical knowledge.
Free to join – 4 free “shops” Find the design that best fits your site. Review the copy Not “set it and forget it”
PopShops.com
Guaranteed payment Merchants have been vetted Merchants know affiliates have been vetted Apply to Merchant’s program through
network; Merchant has right to accept or reject your application.
Standard banner selection process
Affiliate Network Merchants
Run by Affiliate Manager or OPM Payment direct from Merchant Affiliate Forums may have info about
programs Ease of application process Interface Creative selection
In-House Program
Products Site design – would you shop there? Quantcast.com – evaluate traffic Shopping process – easy or hard Creative available
Evaluating Merchants
Affiliate Networks
www.cj.com Known as CJ for short Largest network Merchant list hidden Commission minimum requirement No affiliate support Keyword search tool Charges for datafeed Uses EPC ranking
Commission Junction
www.LinkShare.com 2nd of Big 3 Affiliate Networks Requires Merchant exclusivity Hidden merchant list Low acceptance rates No affiliate support
LinkShare
www.google.com/ads/affiliatenetwork Formerly Performics 3rd of Big 3 Affiliate Networks Merchants hidden No affiliate support High acceptance rate Only shows merchant one URL Hard to search for merchants
Google Affiliate Network
www.ShareASale.com Largest of smaller networks Some affiliate support Smaller, specialized merchants Decent interface Keyword search tools
ShareASale
www.Buy.at Newer Network, growing fast Some good exclusives; Ticketmaster,
Discount Tire Quirky interface – requires practice Good affiliate support
Buy.at
Digital Downloads◦ Digital River
Name Brand Software products – Norton, Hallmark Cards
◦ Clickbank Lesser known software products, ebooks Primarily promoted through PPC
Specialty Networks
Primarily promote health & beauty products, insurance leads, Dish Network, etc.
Smaller, newer networks Dozens of them!
CPA Networks
Good for blogs with many entries on variety of topics.
Searches site copy to turn into links to merchants.
Matches can be questionable. Epicenter.net
Text Link Networks
Joining Affiliate Networks
1. Identify the merchant programs appropriate for your site.
1. Use PopShops OR 2. Visit merchant sites and determine the network
they use.
2. Visit the network’s website and go through the application process.
Joining Affiliate Networks
Related site, well designed Promotion description Reputation within network Good EPC Traffic sources Incentive vs. non-incentive No Typo’s
What Merchants Look For
Consider them a resource◦ Recommend keywords◦ Restricted keyword list ◦ Best selling items, seasonal sellers◦ Special links◦ Customized banner ads
Okay to call, but don’t be a pain Super Affiliate – when ready, special deals.
Working With Affiliate Managers
Websites & Blogs◦ AffiliateTip.com◦ AffiliateMarketingAnswerBook.com◦ Problogger.net
Forums◦ Affiliate-Marketing-
Forums.5staraffiliateprograms.com◦ ABestWeb.com
Learning More
Events Affiliate Summit
◦ Affiliate Summit.com◦ Twice each year, 4000 attendees◦ Follow @AffiliateTip, can win free Gold pass
Commission Junction University◦ CJU◦ Open Attendance
Learning More
LinkShare Symposium◦ Open to all LS affiliates
ShareASale Think Tank◦ By invitation only
Affiliate Convention◦ AffiliateConvention.com◦ In Denver
Learning More
Jeannine [email protected]
AIM: jeanninecrooksYahoo: JeannineCrooks
Twitter: @Jeannine_Crooks303-841-0987
Thank You
