90+ Tips, Tricks,Tools, and Techniques for

Effective Affiliate Recruitment

Geno PrussakovCEO & President, AM Navigator LLCwww.amnavigator.com Founder & Chair, Affiliate Management

Dayswww.amdays.com

(+1) 888-588-8866geno@amnavigator.com

@ePrussakov .

The 5 Pillars

≈80% of time

2 Kinds of Affiliate Recruitment

Active PassiveYou reach out to them They find you

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Recruitment Through Their Eyes

Source: 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report

Active:

Direct contact: 42.4%

Conferences: 8.9%

Print publications: 4.4%

Recruitment Through Their Eyes

Source: AffiliateBenchmarks 2013 Global Affiliate Questionnaire

Active:

Network emails: 36.3%

Blogs: 29.6%

Online ads: 17.8%

Aff. manager emails: 13.9%

ActiveAffiliate

Recruitment

Active Recruitment

“S” Ways to Find Affiliates:

o Software/toolso Social media o Search engineso Summits & symposiumso Symbiotic recruitmento Structure-based recruitmento Snail mailo Specific publicationso Satisfied customers

Software / Tools

Free Paid

Free & Inexpensive Tools

1. Internet Success Spider (free)2. SEO Quake (free)3. Backlink Watch (free)4. Citation Labs (~$20 per 500-1000)5. BuzzStream ($29/mo - $249/mo)6. Raven SEO Tools ($99-$249/mo)7. iBusinessPromoter ($250-$500)

Paid Tools

8. AffiliateRecruitment.com

9. Linkdex

10. Syntryx

Linkdex (screenshot #1)Dashboard (shows relative number of links and domain backlinks; yields new mid to long-tail prospects)

Linkdex (screenshot #2)Publisher Discovery (interrogating affiliate network- or program-specific tracking domain(s), showing affiliate sites linking in)

Recruitment Email Subject line Introduce

yourself/company Explain why you’re emailing Personalize Include concrete data on

your affiliate program (don’t do the math for them!)

Underscore competitive advantages (tools, co-branding, policies)

Primary & secondary CTA

Social Media

The media that they use

11. Blogs (the ones they read)

12. Forums (ABestWeb, PerformanceIN, 5StarAffiliatePrograms, AssociatePrograms)

13. Groups (on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc)

Play by the rules!

14. Search Engines

Or reaching out to websites that

rank high for relevant keywords.

15. Summits, Conferences2014 Affiliate Marketing Conferences (worldwide)

01/12-01/14 – Affiliate Summit West (Las Vegas, NV, USA) 01/15 – ClickBank Exchange (Las Vegas, NV, USA) 01/29-01/30 – LinkShare Symposium West (San Francisco, CA, USA) 02/06-02/09 – London Affiliate Conference (London, UK) 02/21 – LinkShare Symposium Japan (Tokyo, Japan) 02/25-02/26 – Affiliate TactixX (Munich, Germany) 03/19-03/20 – Affiliate Management Days (San Francisco, CA, USA) 03/25-03/26 – LeadsCon Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV, USA) 04/01 – CPA Day (Kiev, Ukraine) 04/03 – LinkShare Symposium UK (London, UK) 04/16 – CPA Life (St. Petersburg, Russia) 05/13-05/14 – Affiliate Management Days (London, UK) 05/15 – Affiliate Konference (Prague, Czech Republic) 05/22 – Affiliate Dag 2014 (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) 05/29-05/31 – Afiliados Brasil (São Paulo, Brazil) 06/24-06/25 – Performance Marketing Insights Europe (Berlin, Germany) 06/24-06/27 – Amsterdam Affiliate Conference (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 06/25-06/26 – LinkShare Symposium East (New York, NY, USA) TBA – Affiliate Marketing Master Class (Athens, Greece) 08/03-08/05 – AvantExpo 2014 (Park City, UT, USA) 08/14-08/15 – LeadsCon East (New York, NY, USA) 08/10-08/12 – Affiliate Summit East (New York, NY, USA) TBA – LinkShare Symposium Australia (Sydney, Australia) 09/09-09/11 – Commission Junction University (Santa Barbara, CA, USA) 10/03-10/04 – Russian Affiliate Congress & Expo (Moscow, Russia) 10/19-10/21 – ShareASale ThinkTank 2014 (Charlotte, NC, USA) 10/28-10/29 – Performance Marketing Insights: London (London, UK) TBA – Russian Affiliate Days (Moscow, Russia) TBA – Barcelona Affiliate Conference (Barcelona, Spain) TBA – China International Affiliate Conference (Tianjin, China) TBA – LeadConf (Moscow, Russia) TBA – LinkShare Symposium Canada (Toronto, Canada)

15. Summits, Conferences

Consider also niche- and audience-specific conferences

16. Symbiotic Recruitment

Symbiosis – a cooperative relationship (as between two persons or groups).

Source: Webster’s Dictionary

Promote your affiliate program on a cross-program basis.

Form short- or long-term cross-program recruitment relationships with affiliate programs run by merchants that sell related products or services.

Structure-Based Recruitment

17. Network-based 18. External tools

Newsletter inclusion Directory listing Internal recruitment opps

Forums Other platforms

19. Snail MailExperiment with postcards! (they do catch attention)

Especially, when they come with a gift card, or contain a "private" offer.

Specific Publications (Ads)

20. Revenue Performance

21. FeedFront

22. Conference programs/guides

23. Electronic Retailer

24. Internet Retailer

25. Visibility

26. Website Magazine

27. Target Marketing

28. Satisfied Customers

Invite them to become affiliates on:

Order confirmation page Newsletters Social media

PassiveAffiliate

Recruitment

Recruitment Through Their Eyes

Source: 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report

Passive:

Merchant site: 51.3%

Search engines: 38.6%

Directories: 38%

Word of mouth: 20.3%

Support efforts: 14.6%

Recruitment Through Their Eyes

Source: AffiliateBenchmarks 2013 Global Affiliate Questionnaire

Passive:

Support pages: 47%

Network sites: 44.7%

Search engines: 33.1%

Forums & directories: 17.6%

Word of mouth: 17.5%

Passive Recruitment

Ways to Get Found by Affiliates:

o Program description (with visible link)o Program FAQ and/or support site/blogo Affiliate directorieso Social mediao Second-tier affiliateso “Subscribe to affiliate news” linko Press releases

Merchant description + link Commission structure Info on cookie life Availability of data feed Information on competitive advantages (e.g.:

anti-parasite policy, phone tracking, conversion rates, EPC)

Underscore tools (widgets, deep linking, co-branding opps, custom creatives/LPs)

Any restrictions and/or special terms that affiliates should know about

29. Program Description

Avoid Clichés!

Cliché – a trite expression, often a figure of speech whose effectiveness has been worn out through overuse and excessive familiarity.

Source: http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/clicheterm.htmTop 10:

1. “instantly”2. “ultimate”3. “easy”4. “unparalleled”5. “perfect match”6. earn/get/make “$X in X days/months”7. “highest payouts”8. “impressive conversion rate(s)”9. “best affiliate program”10. “number one” merchant/offer/program

Minimum

• Program Details (with sign-up link/form)• Program Agreement• Blog

Ideally1. Program Details2. Program Agreement3. FAQ Section4. Tips & Ideas5. Creatives6. Blog7. Contact Us.

30. Affiliate Program Support Site

30. Affiliate Program Support Site

Affiliate Directories

Nearly 1/5th of affiliates use them

Directories to Submit Your Program To:

31. AffiliatesDirectory.com32. AffiliateFirst.com33. AffiliatePrograms.com34. AffiliateRanker.com35. AffiliateScout.com36. AffiliateSeeking.com37. AllAffiliatePrograms.com38. AssociatePrograms.com39. JamAffiliates.com40. Top-Affiliate.com

41. Social Media (forums)

42. Social Media (networks)

Social Media

Whatever the media, design conversions

This is the key to succeeding with social

(not only for affiliate recruitment purposes)

One-time bounty Recurring payouts

43. Second-Tier Affiliates

44. Affiliate News Subscription

45. Press Releases

• Branding benefits

• SEO benefits•

Visibility/exposure• Spread of news

Other Methods ofAffiliate

Recruitment

Other Methods

Delve In & Dissect:

o Reach out to influencerso Analyze similar siteso Explore related verticalso Target seasonal (holiday-oriented) affiliateso Study competitors’ backlinkso Monitor keywords and niches

Influencer OutreachTools to Employ

46. BlogDash (bloggers)47. BloggerLinkUp (bloggers)48. Business 2 Blogger (bloggers)49. BuzzStream (all sorts of content websites)50. eCairn.com (bloggers and communities)51. FindPeopleOnPlus.com (Google+ influencers)52. Followerwonk (Twitter influencers)53. Google Blog Search (bloggers)54. GroupHigh.com (bloggers)55. Klout (an array of social media)56. Kred (social media | check out Communities)57. Listorious (Twitter)58. Outreachr (all sorts of content websites)59. Pitch It To Me (bloggers)60. Simply Measured (analytics tool for Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+)61. SocialBro (Twitter)62. Sulia (Facebook and Twitter)63. Topsy (Twitter | check their Experts section)64. Twellow (Twitter)65. Twitter Search (Twitter influencers)

66. Similar Websites

• Similar sites• Site topics (more

key influencers!)• Key phrases &

categories• "Similar search"

(SEO & SEM rivals)

• "HeatMap"

67. Related Verticals

Travel Websites Fashion SitesConsider also sites catering to: Pilots Anglers Golfers Cyclists Snow sports fans Gamblers Women

68. Seasonal Affiliates

January-September: 13,000 UVs/moOctober: 95,000 UVsNovember: 2,000,000 UVs

Competitors’ Backlinks

Tools to Consider

69. Google (link:www.competor.com)70. Open Site Explorer (by SEOmoz)71. Majestic SEO72. Raven Backlink Explorer73. Link Diagnosis74. Ahrefs75. Advanced Link Manager76. Bing Webmaster Tools Link Explorer77. Backlink Watch78. MonitorBacklinks.com

Ongoing Monitoring

Free Online Tools

79. Google Alerts80. Marketing Grader81. Pipes (aka Social Media Firehose by Yahoo)82. Omgili83. TweetBeep84. BuzzMonitor85. Collecta.com86. BackType87. BoardReader88. WhosTalkin.com89. SocialMention90. BlogPulse

3 Points in Conclusion

“…the chief distinction of a diplomat is that he can say no in such a way that it sounds like a yes.”

– Lester B. Pearson

#1. Do Not Burn Bridges!

We are sorry, but the website(s) and/or promotional

methods listed on your affiliate profile do(es) not

meet our approval criteria. We have therefore

declined your application.

If, however, you feel that we have overlooked your

potential, we would like to hear from you. Just email

us a brief explanation of how you were planning on

marketing our product/service, and we will gladly

reconsider your application.

#2. Remember to Follow Up Effectiveness:

Initial email: max. 4% sign up Follow-ups: ≈12% more join

Frequency:

1. A week from original email

2. 1 more week down the road

3. 2-3 months

4. Half a year

5. A year

#3…persistence is key!

Thank you! Questions?