“I go to a fast food chain if I want a quick meal, but I go to a restaurant if I want fine dining.”

The Dining Experience

Fast Food Chain

• Uniformity of menu with predictable taste
• Efficiencies of scale = inexpensive (food and atmosphere)
• Minimal, low skilled labor

Fine Dining Restaurant

• Complex menu with exotic taste
• Unique, difficult to mass-produce = more expensive (food and atmosphere)
• Centered around a creative chef with experienced staff (Host/hostess, Servers, Sommelier)

The Affiliate Experience

“Fast Food” Affiliate

• Limited value-add (links, presentation, content, etc.)
• Efficiencies of scale = maximize automation (site and user-experience)
• Minimal effort exerted (outreach, branding, voice)

“Fine Dining” Affiliate

• Extensive customization and value-add integrations
• Unique user experience = high value proposition (site and user-benefits)
• Centered around a creative niche and focus
  • Person (blogger, celebrity, expert)
  • Idea (loyalty, cause, entity)
  • Need (“scratches an itch”)

17 tips to enrich your “menu” and rating as a master chef.

Take your savory experience from “greasy spoon” to five-stars. Food = Content!

Tip #1. Your Publisher Profile

• Keep it updated and interesting. Include a call to action!
• Concise, current network profile
• Why do I want to join your program?
• How can I help you, the advertiser?
• What is my value-add (to you)?

Tip #2. Affiliate Links

• Optimize banners and images as “web-friendly”
• Compare .jpg and .png quality and size
• Imagify (https://imagify.io) can do this for you!
• Why optimize?
• Fast sites = higher conversion rates (check @ https://tools.pingdom.com)
• Many users are on mobile devices
• Don’t overdo banner ads and links
• Ask affiliate manager for more!
• Custom banners
• Deep links

Tip #3. Commission

• Reward Generously
• Default commissions need to be efficient, competitive, easy to understand, yet tantalizing.
• Sell the sizzle to get the attention of publishers.
• Keep it simple – no one likes a confusing menu.
• Dynamic Commissioning
• Larger or niche publishers and advertisers require a more detailed and complex commission.
• Different verticals need different commission structures.
• Some larger publishers will be paid a much higher commission rate. Advertisers and Publishers need to cater to the needs of each other.
• Attribution Settings
• Attribution separates who gets what and why. Know how you get paid and what works best!

Tip #4. Incentives

• Boost Campaigns & Bonuses
• Menu Specials
• In Fast Food, across the board commission boosts encourage recruitment, activation or re-engage a dormant publisher.
• Fine Dining publishers may be encouraged to promote a specific product with a boost or are offered more per sale in a bonus based on volume tiers.
• Contests
• Set up a program to encourage sales activity, make the rules simple and measurable, then let everyone know how it works.
• Used to promote new products or encourage more sales activity.
• Top Partner Events
• The Ultimate Fine Dining Event. Sometime Fine Dining is actually part of the event.
• Solicitation of high volume players or Top Revenue producers.
• 1×1 opportunity for relationship building.

Tip #5. Coupons

• Coupon Tracking, Suppression & Attribution
• Ensures proper attribution for the Publisher.
• Advertisers prefer automation to determine attribution.
• Process needs to be standard, efficient and built for scalability.
• Promo Codes / Custom Codes
• Most Promo Codes designed for the masses like $1.00 off on Hamburgers.
• Advertisers can use Vanity Codes or Custom Promo Codes for top-tier Publishers.
• Publishers can use this tool as a co-branding tool or exclusive offer.
• Coupon commissioning
• Advertisers need to refrain from making discounts so deep that they impact commission amounts.
• Publishers need to understand the commission terms and if coupon affects commission.
• Data Feeds
• Great tool for Publishers to receive current coupons from multiple advertisers.
• Advertisers use data feeds to distribute their offers to many publishers.

Tip #6. Communications

• Emails
• Email exchanges are 1×1 (Fine Dining) experiences.
• Consistent communication between top Advertisers and Publishers are essential for optimization.
• Newsletters
• Newsletters are mass communication to a large audience.
• Newsletter communications are vital to developing relationships with a large number of affiliates.
• Press Releases
• Great way to communicate a message or announcement to a large population.
• Like Fine Dining, message is well crafted and the process more formal.

Tip #7. Be Mobile-Friendly

• Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test: https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly
• Many users are not on computers
• Nearly 3 Billion smartphones in use now worldwide but only 2 Billion personal computers!
• MediaPost: 53% of smartphone users purchase with them
• Ad blockers more common on desktops
• Don’t forget about tablet users also.
• Cross-device tracking

Tip #8. Cross-Device Tracking

• 50% of all transactions begin on mobile
• Tracks a transaction across multiple devices, such as first click on mobile device, final purchase from desktop
• Average sales increase 3-24%
• Greatest percentage gain from CDT – Content Publishers
• Nothing required from affiliate – implementation occurs on advertiser’s site

Tip #9. Affiliate Tools

• Product Feeds
• Enables advertisers to send detailed product information to a large group of publishers.
• Gives publishers all the info they need to promote specific products and deep link into carts.
• Reduces clicks and increases conversions.
• Widgets
• Allows publishers to put a little piece of the advertiser’s site on their landing page.
• Product choices made with a widget are then deep linked into an advertiser’s cart.
• Allows for a seamless sale in a franchise-like experience.
• Custom Landing Pages
• Custom / co-branded landing page – ultimate fine dining experience
• Pages are optimized to maximize conversions with custom promotions or offers.
• The special meal not on the menu!

Tip #10. WordPress

• It’s free and used by ~27% of all websites!
• Huge selection of templates
• Massive plugin options that add features (over 40K)
• Other WordPress advantages
• Translated into more than 50 languages
• Highly consistent and flexible design elements
• Frequent upgrades and security enhancements
• Highly customizable (blog, how-to, journal, forum, membership site, etc.)
• Mobile-ready (responsive) “out of the box”
• Social media friendly
• Search engine optimized
• Scalable (grows with you)
• Easy to use!

Tip #11. Technical Integration

• Most networks offer advanced APIs
• Affiliate service provider APIs
• FMTC
• Datafeedr
• WordPress affiliate plugins
• Networks
• Service providers
• Shopping cart extensions
• WooCommerce integration with product catalogs
• Use “sub-networks”
• Skimlinks & VigLink
• Others

Tip #12. Attribution

• Dividing commission based on role in sales process
• Last click doesn’t take it all
• Advertiser’s choice
• Methodologies vary by network
• Fixed portions based on location in sales process
• Bonus based on involvement
• Soft click – won’t overwrite existing cookies

Tip #13. Site Monetization

• Paid Placements
• Reviews
• How-to articles (with product suggestions)
• Blog posts
• Paid content
• Sponsorships
• SEO
• SEM/PPC
• Social media

Tip #14. Expand the Affiliate Channel

• Look at affiliate marketing through a bigger lens
• Search Promotion
• Social Media Tracking
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram – Snapppt.com
• App tracking (Oplytic)

Tip #15. Reporting

• Many reports available through network interface. Learn all of them.
• Fast food – Conversion statistics, timing
• Fine Dining – EPC, AOV
• Best sellers
• Custom Parameters – best performing pages
• Commission status
• I wonder if…
• Google Analytics – not designed for affiliate marketing

Tip #16. Partnerships

• Strategic Alliances
• Well thought-out partnerships between advertisers and publishers.
• Agreements can be from multiple groups of both.
• Fine Dining experience for the Advertiser, Publisher and Shopper, taking advantage of synergies and maximizing traffic revenue for both parties.
• Can be exclusive or semi-exclusive
• Both parties rely on each other's brand to maximize sales.
• Reciprocal Agreements
• Great way to promote synergies between partners
• Each advertiser can become a publisher for the other, provide links to purchase on their site / cart.
• Burger company teaming up with a bun company and selling their products in a way that offers both.

Tip #17. Account Management

• Service levels
• Varies by management agreement
• Could be managed by in-house Affiliate Manager, OPM or network team
• Get to know the management team
• Best sellers
• Seasonal specials
• New Products
• Special site promotional opportunities
• Read the Newsletters!