forsure

I’ve just updated some new Winter creative for Ramada Jarvis and next month we’re looking to boost banner sales.  This might be a bit premature but thought I’d get the word out there for anyone sneaking any pre-holiday work.  So it goes like this: the affiliate who generates the largest number of sales via banner ads during the month of January will be awarded £300. We also have a second place prize of £200. A lot of our banners are deeplinked and feature a discounted deal.

Ramada Jarvis pays 8% commission on a 30 day cookie, has a 99% acceptance on sales and is on Buy.at or TradeDoubler.

Good luck y’all – and be sure to contact me if you need anything – even if it’s just to know your standings!

There are so many people in the affiliate marketing industry whose dogged hard work has lifted the perception of this channel to the level where it is today.  It would be a horrible shame to taint the professionalism of affiliate marketing with only a few disrespectful actions.   

Admittedly, our type of industry provides a lot of opportunity to represent yourself by making comments and voicing opinions – whether on forums, blogs or general sites.  We also get the chance to represent ourselves in person.  Expressing our opinions and acting on them is completely acceptable as long as you’re not hurting anyone or passing the boundaries of respect. 

One of the components of affiliate marketing is that a lot of people work for themselves or own their own companies.  This means that at events or anywhere in the public eye they are representing only themselves.  You would think that this type of setting would encourage a respectful environment.  We are all working together to benefit after all.   

The feeling of respect should therefore be one of the main underlying ingredients of every relationship built in affiliate marketing.  Although there will always be those few people who take liberties, I hope that for the most part our acts at events and in public forums always reflect that the players in affiliate marketing value mutual respect.

A fantastic resource, an aggregate of affiliate blogs, has just come to my attention: Aggregate Blog Site

Excellent work Keith!

On the principle that many of anything (especially maltesers) is better than one, this must apply to networks too right?  A conversation in Kieron’s hot new ride on the way to the affiliate expo got us to debating the worth of having multiple networks over just one.  Yes, this has been a long-standing debate (in fact I even remember asking the question in my first months as an affiliate manager).  But thought I’d wrap up my view, based solely on my experience.

With the dozens of programmes I’ve managed I know that the number of networks a programme can support relates back to how big the programme is.  It takes time to manage a slew of networks, getting across branding messages, making sure there are no duplicate sales, making updates, consolidating reports.  But in my experience I can say that a programme gets a minimum 10-20% uplift when it launches on a new network.  And I don’t mean by existing partners just swapping links.

Need some facts?  When we took over Ramada Jarvis on TradeDoubler over two years ago we believed there was room for another network.  We decided to launch the programme with Buy.at.  After just over a year of launching (admittedly it does take awhile to get going), the programme is generating over 300% more sales month over month than in 2005.  Now, TD has also increased it’s sales so the programme has grown naturally but its undeniable the results adding an extra network has produced.

Some question the value of having more than one network, arguing that if its a decent programme affiliates will find you, no matter which network you are on.  Again, my response goes back to experience and having come across affiliates out there who will NOT deal with certain networks.  There are also affiliates who can significantly add to your campaign that haven’t had the time to sign up to another network (I spoke to a big Ramada Jarvis affiliate about this just last week – he only deals with 4 of the UK networks).  You want to cast that net as far as you can to reach as many people.  I know this goes a bit against the whole 5-95 rule but you never know who your next big affiliate is going to be and I’m a staunch believer in supporting the guys who bring in a handful of sales a month.

Again, it comes down to value.  If your programme is big enough to support multiple networks and the time it takes to manage them all then of course its worth it.  Depending on the size of your programme a network might not be as interested in becoming the secondary network and so charges you set up fees and network fees.  Although there are some who just want the biz.  So you need to shop around for secondary networks that fit into your goals, then calculate the investment and extra time it takes to set up and manage.  Is it worth getting that 10-20% more sales?

Two networks should cover you off – more than that and you’re spreading yourself a bit thin.  Just make sure you’ve squeezed everything you can out of your first network before making the leap!

And that’s exactly what I did with my confidence-filled “we won we won” post… Unfortunately, we didn’t win at the a4uExpo Awards held last Thursday night.  BUT Fiona worked out an honourable mention for Wickes, and that’s pretty darn good. 

Don’t want the subject of this post turning it negative as the expo was fantastic!  From the seminars to the events it was ace and the Existem team deserves a nice big pat on the back.  To go from the straightforward networking events the affiliate industry has been treated to in the past to what this expo amounted to is a huge leap and moves this channel to the forefront where it belongs.

In the interest of beating a dead horse I’m listing here a post that I made on the affiliates4u forum a couple of months ago.  It got a handful of views but no replies.  It’s one of those things that bothers you – maybe not keeping you up at night – but kind of nags.  Why didn’t anyone reply?  Was it such an obvious statement?  Was it a ridiculous thing to point out?  Completely irrelevant?  During the nagging times my paranoid mind is telling me that its because there is an essence of truth and that a good number of people in this industry are guilty of it.  Maybe I’ve been watching too much CSI.  I’m obviously losing it a tad to be re-posting a post that nobody was interested enough to reply to the first time…  So I’m still answerless and my paranoid brain is a churning.  Anyway, here it is…

A recent post on Fraser Edwards’ fantastic blog got me to thinking about something that seems to be a trend nowadays. Anyone else finding the roles in affiliate marketing blurring a little bit?

I know there are affiliates from way back who’ve started up networks (and made some great leaps there for the industry) but it just seems like lately everyone involved in affiliate marketing has got their toe in a couple of different roles. So we’ve got networks buying up search marketing co’s, merchants becoming affiliates, more and more often affiliate sites are setting up merchant programmes, affiliates are providing affiliate management and search… will there be a point where everyone involved is a merchant who is actually an affiliate who is actually a network who provides affiliate management and search consultancy on the side?

I’m not saying it’s all bad, I believe it makes us more empathetic when dealing with the other side of the fence. I just wonder if this is the way affiliate marketing is going to go? Does it mean that those of us who stick to our one job are missing out or is all this diluting the industry?

As I’m thinking about this it made me chuckle reading Peter Dickenson’s post here saying: The biggest affiliates will deny all knowledge they are actually affiliates!

Thought this would be a perfect place to round up the affiliate programmes we have the pleasure to manage:

Contact:  Fiona MacPherson

Wickes on Affiliate Window – 4% commission
M&Co on Affiliate Window – 8% commission
Fiona has a few others up her sleeve right now – please feel free to contact her to get the details.  She also manages the DFDS affiliate programme on Buy.at and TradeDoubler.

Contact: Tara Moar

Ramada Jarvis on TradeDoubler and Buy.at (scroll to the bottom of the page) – 8% commission
RSPCA Pet Insurance on Buy.at – £15 (with 20% of the sale going straight to the RSPCA)
Direct Travel Insurance on Buy.at – 9% commission
Clothing at Tesco on Affiliate Window – 42p per sign up (customer gets £25 worth of vouchers for signing up)

I actually have a few up my sleeve as well! 

Give us a shout if you’re interested in any of these programmes and we can give you the low-down.

OK, maybe not quite… but we have been nominated for 3 of the a4uexpo Awards and it feels almost as good as winning!!!   

The a4u Awards People have contacted the nominees and we have been nominated for Publishers Choice of Agency 2007 and Best New Merchant of 2007 for one of our programmes – Wickes on Affiliate Window.  And our very own Fiona MacPherson has been nominated for Best Affiliate Manager 2007! Proud?  You bet we are! 

The voting is set to begin today here so be sure to cast your vote.  And if you think we deserve it then you know who to pick hint hint wink wink you know what I mean?