MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR PROGRAM IN 2007

As you settle into the New Year you will no doubt be looking back over your past year’s success and pondering how to make it even better in 2007. Here at Commission Junction we want to make sure that you get the most out of your program and have put together the following seven tips that are easy for you to achieve and sure to drive revenue in 2007!
Don’t Procrastinate, Pursue New Areas
Update Your Ads and Your Web Site Regularly
Slim Down Your Publisher Base
Build Better Relationships With Your Publishers
Set Your Goals and Define Your Objectives
Mix and Mingle with Your Peers
Read More Industry Blogs, Books and News

Don’t Procrastinate, Pursue New Areas
If you have been putting off exploring additional publisher verticals or models, NOW is the time to start! Look for publishers that perform in complementary verticals and recruit them into your program. For example, if your target demographic is women age 30-60, consider what other Web sites this demographic may frequent or shop on, and then look for publishers that perform well in these complementary verticals. Look into expanding your program into additional publisher models. For example, do advertisers in your category successfully drive revenue through Coupon or Loyalty publishers? Sometimes a value-add offer will perform just as well as a true coupon. Ask your account management team to assist you in defining complementary verticals or additional publisher models that will work well for your program. You can also distribute a recruiting e-mail newsletter through the ‘Mail – E-mail Campaign’ section of the CJ Account Managerâ„¢. The CJ Account Manager will allow you to gauge the number of publishers you aren’t working with in these other verticals. Expanding and diversifying your publisher base will help you avoid saturation and ultimately drive more revenue.

Update Your Ads and Your Web Site Regularly
When was the last time you looked at your new publisher e-mail or your program description? What about your coupons or offers? Assess and update your banners, text links, & creative regularly to make sure they are fresh and consistent. Remember – consumers are continually looking for what’s newest and hottest. Coupon offers, for example, peak in the first two weeks – and we find that a new offer will out-perform an old offer even if the old offer is more attractive. You should also make sure that your ads match the creative and the look and feel of your Web site. To ensure that your advertising message is consistent, do your best to coordinate your affiliate ads, offers, and your Web site with the rest of your advertising efforts, such as TV and print. Always be thinking of your audience, and update elements of your program accordingly. If you are a lead based program, you might want to examine your application form’s question flow and page layout. The more streamlined, simplistic and dynamic you can make your lead form, the better your conversion will be. Remember that for every click, question, or page a consumer has to visit you increase the probability that they will abandon your application. The same is true of shopping carts. Ultimately the more fresh, consistent and streamlined your ads and Web site are, the better conversion rate you and your publishers will have.

Slim Down Your Publisher Base
Trim the fat on your affiliate program. Your EPC is the marketing metric most used to attract new publisher opportunities. By trimming down publishers that may be hurting your EPC, or optimizing low performing publishers you can increase your EPC and attract top performing publishers to your program. At least once a month run performance reports in the ‘Run Reports’ area of the CJ Account Manager. Sort by top clicks and make sure that all of your top click drivers are converting within a comfortable bandwidth. You should make an effort to reach out to any publisher that is driving some volume but not quite meeting your conversion expectations to see what can be done to help them better target your consumers. If you are unable to reach or rehabilitate the publisher then you should consider expiring them from your program. A good rule of thumb is to look for any single publisher or combination of publishers in a given month driving 10% of your overall program volume in clicks, but not converting. These publishers can negatively impact your EPC.

Build Better Relationships With Your Publishers
Make sure you communicate with your publishers regularly. On a one-on-one level, be sure to speak with your top publishers at least once per month. If you have an account management team, have them bring your top publishers in on your weekly calls. When you speak to your publishers, have an agenda or action items to discuss. Use this opportunity to engage their opinion of your program, find out what they need from you to help them perform even better. Offer them special rates, offers, or unique coupons in exchange for increased promotional efforts. On a one-to-many level, be sure to send out a monthly newsletter, communicating your latest offers and seasonal efforts. Your publishers are your external sales force, the more you educate them on your customers, seasonality and business, the better they can target your customers.

Set Your Goals and Define Your Objectives
Achieve what you set out to accomplish this year by defining clear goals and objectives. Review what you did last year; assess what worked, and what didn’t work, by running performance reports in the ‘Run Reports’ area of the CJ Account Manager. Create a plan of action, mapping out your actions for each quarter. Be sure to plan ahead for holidays and seasonal trends as your competitors could steal valuable inventory from you with your top publishers. Communicate your goals, objectives and seasonal trends clearly to your publishers. Engage them involve them more in your campaign by relaying your sales goals, and defining sales targets for them. Offer rewards or bonuses for hitting their sales targets, whether it is a revenue target or a quarter- over-quarter growth goal. Publishers prefer individually tailored goals and rewards as opposed to general tiered program terms. When defining goals for your publishers, think SMART – Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time Based – these are the types of goals your publishers can achieve and that will ultimately help you drive sales and increase revenue.

Mix and Mingle with Your Peers
Attend at last one more industry event than you did last year and make it a goal to connect with 10 new people per event. The key in our industry is relationships, and while you may work on building your relationships throughout the year via e-mail and phone, there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction. Take advantage of the opportunity to network and learn from your colleagues at some of the industry events that take place throughout the year including CJU, Affiliate Summit, and Ad Tech.

Read More Industry Blogs, Books and News
Make an effort to stay abreast of industry news and trends. Sign up for online newsletters such as those offered by MediaPost, MarketingSherpa, and eMarketer. Search for the latest and greatest books authored by industry experts. Subscribe to blogs – many of the top names in the industry have their own blogs and provide information, strategy, news and happenings.

We hope the above tips give you a solid jumping off point for ideas of your own for increasing revenue and program success in 2007. Good luck with your goals this year!