I put this little video together this morning after driving my favorite vehicle to work.  Yes that is a two-tone, 1973 Scout II.  Unfortunately it runs about as good as it looks at the moment.  Watch the video and then please share with me your story.  Do you feel like you have a good idea of where your program stands?  Are you ready to tackle all your obstacles and opportunities through the end of the year?

Just a few moments ago, I wrapped up a meeting with our Director of Affiliate Management and all our affiliate managers.  We went over our affiliate scorecard during this meeting.  We use scorecards pretty extensively in managing our clients’ programs to ensure that we continue a methodical march forward to make sure we hit our clients’ goals.

The video below talks about our scorecard process and outlines why these are so valuable and some basic ideas on how you can create yours.  With the launch of our new service, MyAffiliateCoach - Affiliate Manager Coaching and Mentoring, going over our scorecards was pretty timely.  We go over two to three different types of scorecards we use to manage our programs every day.

If you find yourself interested in our Coaching/Mentoring just click on the image below.

(side note - not real sure why my hair always looks on camera like Lyle Lovitt stuck his finger in an electrical socket, but oh well.  We all have burdens to bare.)

What do you think?  Do you use a scorecard?  Am I off the grid on this one?  Would love your responses.

GetElastic, an enterprise ecommerce solution provider, recently posted about preparing for the ever-important Christmas and holiday season.  I honestly can’t believe that we are actually starting to think about that already, I am just starting to enjoy the summer that came a little late and looks like it will be leaving all to soon.

But, we do have to plan and they make some great points here.

This post focuses on your overall e-commerce site and areas such as performance (do you know that 47% of web shoppers expect a page to load in under 2 seconds, unbelievable), site testing, SEM and SEO, email, Merchandising and of course affiliate management.

Check out the post, it is well written and includes things the affiliate manager and the e-commerce directory/VP, should be thinking about now.  Read it here.

It also got me thinking of what affiliate managers should be planning on now.  Here is a short list:

• Merchandising schedule - what should affiliates be promoting when
• Consumer offer schedule - do you know what coupons, discounts and promos are to be offered
• Creative and Text links
• Affiliate Communication Strategy
• Producing affiliate outreach - do you know what your affiliates are planning this season?  You should.
• Recruiting target identification and outreach - don’t spam them please.
• Affiliate promotions
• and more

What else do you feel you should be planning on now for Q4?

Now is also a great time to audit your affiliate program, find a great outsourced affiliate management agency to help you grow the program and get any training or mentoring you might need to make sure you meet every opportunity this year.  If you need help with any of that, we have a solution for you.  Contact us at 1800-208-6215 x 101.

Zak Stambor wrote a great article at InternetRetailer.com about online office supply retailer Shoplet.com and their amazing feat of increasing sales by triple digits in our current economic climate.

“Even last year, in one of the worst economic environments in the past 50 years, it grew an Internet Retailer-estimated 33%, to an estimated $100 million in online sales, helping it secure the No. 134 spot among North American retailers in online sales, according to the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.”

That growth is impressive, especially when you compare it to the big box office supply retailers with established brands, offline presence and marketing machine behind them.  How did they do it?

“Key to that success were three simple principles, Tony Ellison, Shoplet CEO, said today at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition during a featured address:

• Differentiate from the competition.
• Focus on a niche market.
• Earn customer loyalty.“

Ah, differentiation.  Many companies focus on carving out their niche and their branding overall, but so many forget to allow, or force, this to bleed through to their affiliate program.  Are your affiliate’s differentiating you from the competition?  Have you provided them with the education, information, collateral, training and guidelines to allow them to do that?  If you are seeing great success by firmly differentiating yourselves like Shoplet.com has (and we’ll be watching them closely as we launch our client OfficeFrog.com soon), are you sure you are doing everything necessary to carry that through to your partners so that not only can you see added benefit (new customers, sales, etc.), but your affiliates are better able to take advantage of your position in the marketplace too?

You see, this comprehensive affiliate management strategy isn’t all that difficult to complete, it’s just takes resources, time and consistency.  If you need any help with that, call us at 1-800-208-6215 x 101 or chat With JEBCommerce Now!

JEBCommerce, a leading affiliate and performance-marketing agency, today announces that homeTRADER.ca, a leader in the real estate market, has selected JEBCommerce to grow and manage their affiliate program on the Commission Junction Affiliate Network.

homeTRADER is Canada’s real estate destination. Users can find and post rental properties as well as properties for sale, both resale and new homes and condos. homeTRADER publications include: New Homes, Renters News, Condo Guide, Home Renters Guide, Renovations, Home & Décor and many more. homeTRADER.ca is loaded with content, tools and functionalities to tour properties and neighborhoods.
Affiliates can leverage homeTRADER’s presence as the premiere real estate company in Canada to grow this affiliate program. Now affiliates are able to promote the homeTRADER.ca affiliate program on Commission Junction, managed by the JEBCommerce team.

Bryce Saunders, Senior Brand Manager – Real Estate at Trader Corp. “We’re thrilled to launch this new initiative with JEB Commerce. We see this partnership as a great fit and opportunity for both of us. Leveraging their affiliate marketing expertise with our significant reach in the Canadian marketplace is something we see really contributing to our business.”

Stephen Robinson, Director of Affiliate Marketing at JEBCommerce (an outsourced affiliate management agency), looks to leverage homeTRADER’s presence as the leader in the Canadian real estate market and JEBCommerce’s experience in lead generation to grow this program quickly. “We are very excited to be working with homeTRADER. They are the leader in the Canadian real estate market and their robust multimedia package allows sellers to maximize the exposure of their listings to potential buyers. For over 15 years they have built awareness to over 65% of Canadian consumers. and we are excited to combine their real estate expertise with the potential of affiliate marketing to help them grow their business and help affiliates generate more revenue. We want to encourage affiliates to join the program in the Commission Junction Affiliate Network today or contact us at trader@jebcommerce.com or 1-800-208-6215.”

JEBCommerce is excited to add homeTRADER to its current list of clients that includes philosophy, LuggagePoint.com, Elance, LiveChime, iFloor, 1800Pharmacy.com, Dean & Deluca, OverstockDrugstore, AmyAdele, OfficeFrog and more.

If you are an affiliate or website owner who is interested in working with the homeTRADER affiliate program, please contact JEBCommerce at trader@jebcommerce.com.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010- JEBCommerce, a leading outsourced affiliate management agency, today announces that AmyAdele.com, a leader in hand-made, unique and irresistibly cute stationary, party invites and t-shirts, has selected JEBCommerce to grow and manage their affiliate program on the Linkshare Affiliate Network.

“We interviewed several affiliate management organizations and chose JEBCommerce because of their experience, professionalism and attention to detail. Jamie Birch and his staff have already hit the ground running. We are very excited about our partnership with JEBCommerce and look forward to growing our program” – Joseph M. Wike, CEO AmyAdele.com

Jamie Birch, founder and president of JEBCommerce (an affiliate management agency), looks to leverage AmyAdele.com’s outstanding and original, custom designed products and JEBCommerce’s experience and innovation to grow the program quickly and expand upon their current success. “We are very excited to be working with AmyAdele.com. Their products are unlike anything available. Affiliates are able to offer these wonderful, and highly sought after products and promote them with a great foundation of creative as well as new tools we are currently developing. We want to encourage affiliates to join the program in the Linkshare Affiliate Network today or contact us at affiliates@AmyAdele.com or 1-800-208-6215.”

JEBCommerce is excited to add AmyAdele.com to our current list of clients that includes philosophy, LuggagePoint.com, Elance, iFloor, 1800Pharmacy.com, Dean & Deluca, OverstockDrugstore and more.

If you are an affiliate or website owner and are interested in working with the AmyAdele.com affiliate program, please contact JEBCommerce at affiliates@jebcommerce.com.

When Should We Expect Our Affiliate Program to be Profitable?

As outsourced affiliate program managers, or OPM’s, we often get this type of question from new clients and potential clients—and it is a great question. WHEN do you expect to see your program pay for you? The answer, however, isn’t as easy as many would like. There are a few things to take into account, such as:

• Is your’s a retail, lead gen, or business to business affiliate program?
• If it’s retail, are you starting out in your busy period, in your down quarter, or somewhere in between?
• How well known is your brand?
• What network or platform are you launching on?
• Are you launching with ALL the tools your affiliates will need or is this more of a soft launch?
• What is the competitive space like?
• Are your products and services already proven and their demand already demonstrated?
• How long have you been selling products online?
• How long has your site been around and what other channels are you using to sell?
• Are you dedicating resources to this program, such as an in-house affiliate manager or team or an affiliate management agency such as JEBCommerce?

Answers to these questions will help you adequately plan for the performance of your affiliate program. But let’s start with the ballpark figure that you might be looking for right now. Here is our basic rule - you shouldn’t expect true performance and profitability before month 6. That is our general rule. Why? Managing an affiliate program takes time, it is resource intensive, and you are dealing with a relationship based initiative. It takes time to identify partners, contact them, get them excited, and get them optimized.

Basically, at month 6, if your program isn’t meeting expectations and delivering an acceptable percentage of your online business, either big changes need to be made, you are missing a few key points, you need new affiliates, and/or new tools, or this may just not be a great channel for your company.

Six months provides you, your affiliate manager, outsourced affiliate manager enough time to alter strategy, recruit affiliates, test promotions, product merchandise strategies, and more.

Can We See Success in Our Affiliate Program before Month 6?

Definitely! Many of the programs we have managed have produced a healthy percentage of sales or leads by month 3. But by that time, you should be able to identify things that are working and things that aren’t and alter your strategy and/or the execution of it accordingly. If you are around your third month and seeing little to no traction, you or your affiliate management team should be reinforcing or altering your launch strategy.

Programs of unproven companies or products with little brand recognition and companies with no other marketing in other channels, will most likely experience a longer ramp up time as you need to factor in product education and a little brand recognition into the whole process.

Retail programs tend to show results between month 3 and 6. Lead gen can show results right away or, at times, take longer than retail, and business to business programs tend to be more complex and challenging. So some additional time may be necessary.

These aren’t hard and fast rules, but a decent guideline to show you that it does take some time to build a strong and profitable affiliate program. But you should see results, successes, and failures within the first six months and a good affiliate manager will recognize these as you are launching to ensure the quickest success possible.

I’ve managed a lot of programs in my times, and quite a few multi-channel retailers.  One of the issues I ran into a lot, and still do, is the use of un-authorized coupons by my affiliate partners.  I’ve attempted to explain this issue a number of times, but the question comes up again and again.  I thought this would be a good opportunity to put “pen to paper”, so to speak, about this issue in an attempt to clarify why it is important to follow coupon guidelines.  I hope that any affiliate reading this gets a better understanding as to why it is so important to only post authorized coupons for your merchant partners.  It’s all about clean data.

Clean Data

Merchants use coupons for a number of reasons. Some include: more sales, increase sales from a given segment or simply to track a given group of customers or new marketing initiative.  Often the coupon’s main function is not to provide a discount, but a way to better track a certain activity.  When a merchant sends a coupon via a catalog, email or other channel and does not make it available to an affiliate, they are usually testing the offer to a specific audience.  After the campaign is complete, they look over the stats.  How did the coupon perform overall?  How did that group or campaign perform compared to other activities or groups?  How profitable was this activity?  How many redemptions?  How many new customers?

When an affiliate grabs this un-authorized coupon, the results of that campaign, coupon and test are fuzzy and unclear.  The merchant is now making decisions on incorrect data.  They either throw more resources at what they thought was a successful endevour or they retract and stop sending resources to something that was really profitible, but the stats show otherwise.  All of this means they are making decisions that effect you, the affiliate, based on incorrect information.  And that means less success for you.  Even if you may have seen success with that given coupon, there are more metrics that are measured than sales and the merchant may see it otherwise.

Your Agreement

This is pretty simple here.  If the affiliate agreement you have agreed to explains the coupon policy, get to know it and make sure you are abiding by it.

Your Best Interest

It really is in your best interest to abide by those policies and only use the coupons you are authorized to.  Have you seen programs shutting down?  Have you seen merchants getting much more restrictive in what they are doing with affiliates? I’m not sure if you know this, but the affiliate industry gets a bad wrap amongst large multi-channel retailers.  This issue is a huge issue at the executive level within these organizations.  Programs are becoming more restrictive in who the let in as they are looking for more “partners” and less opportunists.  I’m sure that statement will get a lot of feedback and I look forward to hearing what you have to say.  I’m just the messenger on this issue, so hold back on the arrows and rocks :).  But it is true.  Programs are increasingly getting rid of affiliates that can not partner with them in a mutually benefitial relationship.  Those affiliates that are able to work together in this way are getting the higher commissions and increased support.  Are you?

If you are helping to muddy up the results of a merchant’s campaign, you are helping them make bad decisions.  When they make bad decisions they supply you with bad as well.  And slowly you both become less successful.

Merchants

I have some tips for you as well.  In order for your affiliates to be able to abide by your coupon policy, you need to do a number of things:

1. Clearly state your coupon policy within your network interface, in your affiliate education site, and in any newsletter that includes a coupon.
2. Police this actively.  Nothing upsets your partners more than not being able to promote a coupon when another affiliate is and nothing happens to them.  Be fair, be consistent and be alert.
3. State your coupon policy clearly.  Wait, did I say that before?
4. Provide clear information on the coupons they are allowed to use such as start date, end date, restrictions, and coupon code.
5. Notify affiliates of coupons they are NOT allowed to use.  Often this is much easier for the affiliates to monitor.
6. Police this activity.  Wait I said that before too.
7. Provide coupons before they go live.  Notify of unauthorized coupons before they go live.  Communicate, communicate, communicate.
8. Build relationships with your affiliates.

I’m sure I’m missing a few things on both ends, but this should serve as a pretty good start.

Another note to merchants - if you aren’t working with coupon affiliates because you think they only send customers you would already get, only send discount shopppers, or all of them use codes you don’t authorize, you need to give it another look.  I work with many very respectible and responsive affiliates that have built their own brand and if you aren’t there, customers will buy from someone who is.  Check out my coupon series for more.

Affiliates - there are a lot of great and respectable coupon sites that I have not only been fortunate and blessed to work with, but to also call close friends.  For those of you that fall into that category, you are doing all the right things.  For others who don’t think it’s that big of a deal, let me stress that this is a big issue for merchants.  It is casting a shadow on our industry and I encourage you to reach out to these merchants and truly partner with them.  When you look out for them, they really begin to look out for you.

So there is my $.02 on Super Bowl Sunday, what do you think?  Agree, disagree?

I love to cook.  I don’t mean every day cooking like meatloaf and such.  I mean elaborate meals for all my friends.  4 or 5 course events with entirely home-made food that takes me days to put together.  Along with loving to cook, I love to watch cooking shows. My favorite isn’t so much a “how to cook” show, but more of a how to run a business show with a lot of cooking wrapped into it.  I am glued to the tube when Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmare is on.  My wife and I can’t get enough of Gordon Ramsey and this show.

The premise is simple.  Chief Ramsey goes to a restaurant that is struggling and on the bring of collapse.  In one week he attempts to help the owners of the restaurant turn it into a profitable venture.  Chef Ramsey, between f-bombs and “are you flipping kidding me”’s, educates the owners and staff on how to run their business and cater to their customers.  It’s a hell of a show and one of the most entertaining hours of TV I think you can find.

While watching this show one night, a thought came to me.  Chef Ramsey isn’t just showing these restauranteurs how to run there business, he is laying down sound business principles.  Not only that, there are some solid lessons to be learned for affiliate managers, affiliates and others in the performance marketing area.  And a blog series was conceived
So, this is the first in an ongoing series on what we can learn from Chef Gordon Ramsey.

Rule #7 - Don’t try to cook the elaborate stuff if you don’t have any of the basics down.

During one episode, Chef Ramsey showcased Rule #7 - Don’t try to cook elaborate stuff if you don’t have the basics down (paraphrased).  I love this bit of advice and it is good for both affiliate managers and affiliates.  The “chef” in this episode had a menu full of elaborate entries and crazy food combinations.  This guy was trying to cook complex dishes when he couldn’t heat up a pizza.  And it showed in the cash register.  He focused on the fancy before he could cook the simple.  We can learn a lot from this.

Affiliate Managers - Have you been pushing advanced creative options but leaving out start and end dates?   Have you been pushing your datafeed tool but haven’t updated your text links in 2 months?  What about contact info?  Are you expecting affiliates to promote your products and drive sales but you are completely unavailable to your partners?  Do you provide your creative in all the standard sizes?  It helps to look at your program from time to time from the eyes of an outsider to see how it stacks up.  Make sure you aren’t overlooking something simple and important.  (We do an affiliate audit if you need help).  Concentrate on the basics first; product inventory, conversion rates, commission rates, return days, competitive positioning, creative available, contact information, contact methods, information distribution, compliance analysis and more.  Get those down and ensure that you are taking care of those basics (not a comprehensive list) then, and only then, reach beyond that and start doing some of the more advanced affiliate marketing initiatives.

Affiliates - What do you think?  What are the basics that you feel are important to conquer before you go to advanced activities?  I think my post about affiliate applications runs down some of the very basic ones.

I’ve seen too many merchants ignore the basic and fundamental aspects of their programs and expect affiliates to turn up their sales for them.  It just doesn’t happen.  I often tell my sons: “how can I expect you to handle the big things if you can’t handle the small.”  It’s a fitting question.

What are some of the basic things you’ve seen affiliates and affiliate managers miss?

It took a bit of time to get back to this series, but I’m hoping that the research we did on coupon sites was well worth it. This series is meant as a primer for bloggers and anyone else who is just starting out in affiliate marketing. As I said in my first post in this series, this is not meant to be a series for the experienced affiliate marketer, but is a high level introduction to our industry. So if you have been around for a while, you may not get much out of this one either.

Ok, so for those of you still sticking around, let’s go over the networks. Networks basically provide a marketplace where affiliates (you) and merchants (Zappos, Luggagepoint.com and others) can connect, form partnerships and be successful together. The networks act as trusted 3rd parties that track each transaction and provide the technology and distribution tools needed by both merchants and affiliates. If there were no networks, you would over 8,000 affiliate programs with different tracking systems, different logins and different accounts. Most of your time would be spent simply logging in to check your stats. Networks consolidate all of this so you can concentrate on selling.

So let’s give a brief run down of each of the major networks and some of the up and coming ones:

• Linkshare - “LinkShare Corporation provides ecommerce businesses with a wide range of online marketing services including Search Marketing (SEM), Lead Generation and Affiliate Marketing.  LinkShare clients include Fortune 500 and other prominent and emerging companies doing business online, including J.C. Penney, 1-800-Flowers.com, American Express, and Avon Products. LinkShare was founded in 1996  headquartered in New York City, with offices in San Francisco, Chicago, Tampa, London and Tokyo.” That is from their website.  Linkshare does have an awful lot of those Fortune 500 companies, so if you think that your audience wants those big brands, I’d definitely look here first.  They do have some advanced linking and distribution tools available, one of their newest being their wordpress plugin.  Signup here is free and pretty easy.  Their reporting is ok and grabbing links is pretty easy.
• Commission Junction - “Founded in 1998, Commission Junction, a ValueClick company, is based in Santa Barbara, California and has offices around the world. Since our inception, we have taken great pride in being customer service fanatics while establishing ourselves as a global leader in the online advertising channels of affiliate marketing and managed search.” That is also from their site.  CJ used to be the network to go to if you were looking to promote lead generation programs.  Programs such as LowerMyBills.com and other finance type lead programs could be found there.  They are still available, but CJ has made large gains into the retail space the last few years.  You can’t really go wrong and if you created an account in Linkshare, you should create one here as well.  I believe there are many more companies within CJ and you may find the interface and reporting a little easier to use.
• Google (formerly Performics) - “Google Affiliate Network connects advertisers and publishers who want to increase sales and drive leads through affiliate marketing.  As an advertiser using Google Affiliate Network, you’ll discover pre-screened publishers who can refer consumer traffic to you. As a publisher, you can market your site to advertisers in the network; if selected to participate in an advertiser’s program, you’ll earn a percent of sales or a referral bounty.” Again from their site.  I haven’t had much experience with this network from the affiliate side.  They do have many big merchants, so if you had to join 3, I would add this to my list.  Companies such as Barnes & Noble, Kohls, Circuit City and other brands are on this platform.  It’s also now owned by Google, so expect more interfacing with the other google tools and services.
• ShareASale - “There are currently over 2,000 Merchants plugged in to the ShareASale Network. Each of these merchants has a different type of product that they are selling - and each is ready to commission you on that sale if you bring a customer to them. The idea - and the implementation - are simple. You decide which merchants to promote and how to promote them, and when commissions are generated, you can see your stats in real-time. All payments are consolidated from the programs you participate in, and are paid with one check or direct deposit by ShareASale.” ShareASale is rapidly become one of the top networks to work with.  I know many of the people there personally and can attest to their professionalisms, ethics, turnaround and innovation.  With over 2,000 merchants, you are sure to find one that fits your audience here.  They also have many unique tools available.  Sign up with them and check out their merchant list.
• AvantLink - “We’ve created a unique, open environment for Cost Per Sale Affiliate marketers. One reason we’re unique is because we only work with high-value merchants with substantial catalogspercentage of sale. This particular advertiser segment can best utilize the industry leading Affiliate tools AvantLink is known for. Tools that are free to qualified Affiliates.” I’ve only recently been exposed to AvantLink, but all I can say is Wow!  They have a tool called the Affiliate Link Encoder that is really a must have for any blogging affiliate.   You basically put a small snippet of code in your footer files of your blog.  You then configure it to code certain words and domains in the copy of your posts to go to a certain trackable link of a merchant within the AvantLink network.  This means that you don’t necessarily need to make each post that contains the word “ski”, for example, link to a ski merchant.  You simply set the tool to encode certain words to go to certain merchants.  And it does it all for you in your entire blog, even archived content.  Becoming an affiliate of AvantLink is a little more difficult than the other networks.  They don’t accept downloads of any kind or affiliates that are considered parasitic in any way.  This only ends up protecting the affiliates the do get in.

There are a lot of other CPA (cost per action) networks that are considered to be in the group above.  I won’t really talk about them too much here as I think that is a pretty good list to get started with.  For each of the networks I did discuss, joining is the first step.  You’ll need to apply to become an affiliate. If you want to know what to put in your affiliate application, check out my blog post on the subject.  Make sure you avoid some of those mistakes so you can get past this first step.

After that, you’ll need to spend some time identifying who you want to work with.  Each merchant and each network requires that you apply to join their program, then you are either approved or denied.  When you are approved you’ll have access to all their links, banners and other distribution methods, I’ll outline some of the neat tools that are available in my next post.

So that is pretty much my brief run down of the networks I think you should get started with.  I do recommend you working with all of them as they do have different merchants in each and each one offers something different than the other.

I’m sure I’m missing some things, so if you are an experienced affiliate marketer reading this post, please feel free to add anything in the comments section that you think a blogger getting started in AM will need to know.