Let’s be honest. It’s been a while since anything interesting has turned up within the realm of online affiliate marketing. Yet that could change and soon. We need to know how and when to exploit the next performance-based marketing opportunity. Rest assured, there are exciting new opportunities for DRTV’ers big and small in affiliate marketing—but serious challenges lie ahead. From managing the intersection of search and affiliate programs to diversifying the mix of distribution points, the key question multichannel merchants should ask is, “How can affiliates be encouraged to send more incremental sales or new customers?â€
Affiliates: Friends or Foes?
It’s a harsh reality: Web affiliates are taking a beating in search marketing. If you’ve been involved in affiliate marketing for more than a year, you’ve likely seen declining sales or leads from search-focused affiliates. Newbies and veterans of the performance-based strategies are noticing affiliates competing for searchers and wondering how to handle it. Do you ban them from using some tactics or all tactics? Do you partner selectively with them? The issue is a familiar one to the DRTV industry and was more thoroughly discussed by SendTec CEO Paul Soltoff in Electronic Retailer magazine. Bottom line is, affiliates are challenged and sometimes embattled. After wrangling with the issues, many DRTV marketers are asking “are affiliates even worth it?!â€
Pockets of Innovation
Most DRTV marketers find such investment to be a difficult pill to swallow, and therefore, rely on affiliate networks to scale their efforts. This begs the question, what are affiliate networks doing to support affiliate innovation? What tools and educational support are available to open new doors? (more…)
