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Great post – I don’t have anything to add but found that a really interesting and educational read!
I have to say when i first started I got treated like a big affiliate from 90% of all the aff mangers out there. I was very suprised the amount of effort and time that was put into myself from these guys, some of them are still great friends today.
Very good point. This differntiates a good program from rest of the crowd. New affiliates always look up to affiliate managers for advise and mentoring. And that is where operators can make a difference.
@allfreechips 211934 wrote:
I have to say when i first started I got treated like a big affiliate from 90% of all the aff mangers out there. I was very suprised the amount of effort and time that was put into myself from these guys, some of them are still great friends today.
For me, obviously it’s great to work with the top affiliates. It’s probably more rewarding on a personal level to work with smaller affiliates, lending my expertise to help them grow in to top affiliates!
On another note, I currently represent a relatively small affiliate program, looking to grow, and we are certainly on the hunt for those smaller affiliates in order to compete. So with that in mind, I think the age, budget and size of the program also effects target affiliates.
You never know who the new super affiliate is going to be.
Looking back over the years, lots of affs who were big then have disappeared. And lots of affs who made little or nothing then are now big.
I also agree, a good number of programs probably have large affiliates signed up with them and don’t know it because the affiliate is not actively promoting them. So, the recent trend to install quotas may be a case of programs biting themselves. If a large affiliate hasn’t found it attractive to promote your brand, s/he certainly won’t feel any better about it after having been locked out and having whatever small revenue withheld. Same thing goes for a fledgling affiliate – s/he is very unlikely to sign with you again once grown up.
A lot of the bigger programs today have grown right alongside with their affiliates. Has it ever occurred to you that you can create big affiliates by helping your small ones grow? And that these will be happily promoting the program that helped them along the way?
Re. the TV campaign – that wants me to get on my branding soap box again. The TV campaign is BRANDING! There is nothing to click on and there are no immediate results. Why is this industry so ignorant about branding? Branding is done so that when the consumer next sees your product as a choice, it will look familiair and elicit a response of trust. That in turn makes the sales. If there are no affiliates carrying your brand, then of course branding doesn’t work.
And on that note – the more websites carry your brand the better for you, whether they ever make you a dime directly or not. They are doing BRANDING for you, and it’s free unless YOU make a profit. I wish I could think of a way to get lots and oodles of sites to carry my banner for free…
This is the best thread of the year :hattip:
I would like to share my experience when I first started up as an affiliate manager for Towergaming / Toweraffiliates
When I started I took all my experience from my work outside the gaming world (had no experience in gaming)- I wanted every single affiliate I worked with to feel like they were part of my team and a true partner. If an affiliate only brought in 1$ or $100,000 I would give them both the equal amount of respect and help were I could. I actually learned from new and old affiliates.
When I first started I started to chat with a new affiliate who was only making $100 a month – we started to share information and trying new things. We both worked very hard and put in a ton of effort to make things happen. Communication and hard work paid off – and with in 90 days the affiliate was making over 6k per month and now makes 30k+ per month and has hired 3 people.
It was never about how much money the company(mine or his) would make – it was about how can we help each other succeed.
I try to install this attitude in all my affiliate managers and the affiliates we work with. It’s not just talk
It truly is a two way street – effort must be made by the affiliate and by the affiliate manager. My first question is always – what do you want to achieve? Then lets work together to help you get there.The cool thing is, that the affiliate that grows because of hard work on both sides it becomes a friendship.
So if the effort and the hard work is there – it’s the foundation of success.
We all started out small :wink-wink
It is always nice to have big affiliates on your program of course; however I don’t see why a program should not open doors to those new guys that are not converting huge amounts. I share the same point of view of Toweraffiliates when he mention that small or big affiliates deserve the same respect and support and even small guys need extra support as they don’t have the expertise of those guys that have been around for years. At the end those small guys that really want to grow and do things the right way will become big source of revenue for your program if you help them get there, the most important thing to me is that they will be loyal to your program because you were always there for them when others didn’t . All affiliates from EarnReal know that I am always available to assist them no matter how easy or complex their situation is and I always provide them with the best support I can no matter if they are big or small.
In a few words I say big or small affiliates should be welcome at any program!Working in this industry for over 4 years now I got to work at big companies which focus on their big affiliates and tend to forget the small affiliates. This strategy is good only for the short term. In the long run you want to build trust and loyalty so the key in my opinion is to remember that first of all there is a person there who works very hard – if you support him (or her) – s/he’ll deliver results.
I have to agree with Dominique who says that there is added value in getting your brand out there – even if there is no delivery (can’t hurt your seo..)
Now that I work for Royal Apollo Affiliates, which isn’t one of the industry giants I find the work with small affiliates more important than ever!!Gotta agree with the other aff managers here… It shouldn’t matter how big or small the affiliate is because one day it may be the total opposite.
Besides that, I have made some amazing friendships with affiliates. That to me is worth the effort alone, even if the effort goes did eventually go nowhere.
Probably I have said this before, but want to reiterate it again – I am of the opinion that affiliates are entrepreneurs and affiliate managers are like their business consultants. The affiliate managers have to invest loads of time in the initial stages of the relationship and help the affiliate. Once the affiliate gets going, it is pretty much on auto pilot. The only regular business support you need to provide is new creative, updated promotions and monthly payments in time.
This however doesn’t stop you from discussing new strategies to get more players or increase conversion or work on retention and reactivation promotions for the affiliate’s players. It may sound strange but some affiliates will also ask you which other competitors they should promote. At this level it is a friendship between you and the affiliate and trust me it feels good that your efforts have won you a good friend.
Please mark the keywords in the posts below. These affiliate managers definitely understand the business and help create that differentiating factor. Thanks guys
@Toweraffiliates.com 211950 wrote:
It truly is a two way street – effort must be made by the affiliate and by the affiliate manager. My first question is always – what do you want to achieve? Then lets work together to help you get there.
The cool thing is, that the affiliate that grows because of hard work on both sides it becomes a friendship.
So if the effort and the hard work is there – it’s the foundation of success.We all started out small :wink-wink
EarnReal_Luis wrote:I share the same point of view of Toweraffiliates when he mention that small or big affiliates deserve the same respect and support and even small guys need extra support as they don’t have the expertise of those guys that have been around for years. At the end those small guys that really want to grow and do things the right way will become big source of revenue for your program if you help them get there, the most important thing to me is that they will be loyal to your program because you were always there for them when others didn’t .Emma@RoyalApollo wrote:In the long run you want to build trust and loyalty so the key in my opinion is to remember that first of all there is a person there who works very hard – if you support him (or her) – s/he’ll deliver results.Renee wrote:Besides that, I have made some amazing friendships with affiliates. That to me is worth the effort alone, even if the effort goes did eventually go nowhere.Thanks Mate, David?
@Toweraffiliates.com 211950 wrote:This is the best thread of the year :hattip:
This is a great thread – naturally most AMs will spend the majority of their time with their big affiliates as they bring a larger proportion of the players.
I am sure every AM would agree with me that it’s more rewarding to see a once small affiliate in the top tier of affiliates than a big one who has always been there doing well
You get out what you put in – simple. Spend the time with the so-called small affiliates and they will collectively grow to be just as important as the big ones
Having said that, (and as said above), this is a 2-way street – affiliates needs to communicate with AMs too
@Chris-Expekt.com 211980 wrote:
Having said that, (and as said above), this is a 2-way street – affiliates needs to communicate with AMs too
This is something I always want to impress on new affiliates.
Pick a program with a good reputation (research!) and then make contact with the aff manager and work with them, ask questions there. A good aff manager will help you make more money – you make money, they make money. It’s a win-win.
If the program won’t give you the time of day, find one that will. Don’t be afraid to ask “stupid” questions. If you don’t ask, you are losing out. The only way to find out is to ask.
Dom
Could you elaborate on doing research, on the affiliate program of choice?
I think payment reliability is #1
affiliate management contact is #2When you first started out – what mistakes did you learn from?
If you a vendor views small/large by the amount of revenue brought in, and not the # of players brought in, then a small affiliate can become quite large rather quickly, by bringing some big players to the table. It is my view, that vendors should never turn their back on “small” affiliates, since those small affiliates can become large affiliates in a relatively short space of time. A good vendor will provide quality support across the board, and not just take an attitude of “what have you done for me lately ?”……those that provide quality support across the board, will have the best long-term results.
