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Ignore the long tail at your peril
By Gary Bicker
How to engage and develop your long-tail affiliate base
engaged and driving sales revenues or traffic to their site. Second, that their affiliate network is able to provide a constant feed of high quality new affiliates coming onto the programme. Traditionally, there has been a discernable divide within most affiliate programmes: the top performing affiliates, who drive the majority of sales, and the remaining long tail of affiliates. This long tail is often sizable and includes a range of publishers that may bring fewer sales, relatively speaking, or less frequent spikes in activity. This dichotomy is perfectly natural but it’s important not to rely solely on the top- performing affiliates and retain a focus on the future growth of the programme by developing the long tail.
W Looking beyond
your top affiliates In some ways, it should not be a surprise that the UK’s top publishers are likely to be the best performing across a wide range of programmes as these are increasingly sites that also conduct a lot of their own consumer outreach in order to increase traffic. In some cases, we have experienced advertisers who believe this is reason enough to cull the long tail from their campaigns altogether. While there may be a number of reasons for working with a smaller group of affiliates, such as time or resource pressures, this ignores the value that can be gained from developing a wider base. By growing the long tail, the natural reliance on a programme’s top affiliates is reduced and advertisers can broaden their reach and exploit untapped potential consumers. There are a number of tips we would offer to advertisers that are looking to reactivate publishers that may have seen a recent dip in activity and attract new long-tail affiliates:
hen it comes to affiliate marketing, retailers generally want two things
from their programme. First, that a large proportion of their affiliate base is active,
Define your recruitment strategy from the outset A business wouldn’t hire staff without planning and setting objectives for the role, and likewise advertisers should plan for success in their affiliate marketing. It is always important to align your affiliate recruitment strategy with the overall objectives of the programme. It’s also integral that this information is communicated to your publisher network, including live and inactive publishers, as this will give them all a clear understanding of the kind of goals you have and types of affiliates you believe will add value to your programme.
Be patient—activation is not always immediate When launching a new affiliate programme, the most important thing for advertisers is to be patient. Once an affiliate has signed up to the programme, give it time to start activity and be sure to provide it with the best creative possible to allow it to be successful. If an affiliate signs up to a programme and does not start generating sales straight away, there is usually a reason for this. If in doubt, get in touch; the worst thing you can do is remove affiliates from a programme without an explanation.
Take the time to reactivate existing partners Do not assume that lack of activity means affiliates are disinterested in a programme. Providing new creative or enhancing the range on offer can be an extremely effective way of reactivating the long tail. Providing email creative, for example, can open up opportunities to engage new affiliates. By understanding publishers’ reasons for being dormant or having driven limited sales traffic, advertisers will be able to formulate an improved strategy for successful engagement in the future.
Targeted communication is key There are a variety of tools available to help advertisers segment their affiliate base into more manageable groups, allowing them to then be targeted with different strategies via a selection of mass-communication channels, such as email and communities. Product and seasonal updates are also vital in order to retain the flow of information, as you never know what a publisher might deem newsworthy. Though be careful to avoid going over the top with too much information.
The control factor
One of the major appeals of affiliate marketing is that it’s a performance-based discipline and thus very accountable. However, some programmes have very strict terms on how copy and advertising creative is used, and therefore limit the number of partners they work with. Before disregarding the long tail, take time to research the potentially valuable publishers you could engage with further.
Investing long term Finding long-tail affiliates that are relevant to your product or service can be labour-intensive, but through talking with the affiliate network, advertisers can have all the information they need at their fingertips. For example, extrapolating keywords throughout the product range and along seasonal or demographic lines enables advertisers to better understand their customers and the various online touchpoints in the purchase cycle. Granular research and recruitment, whilst time-consuming, will generate more qualified traffic and more valuable customers in the long term.
Ignoring the long tail
is a risky business In order to engage and grow the long tail, advertisers should be sure to liaise with their network from an early stage. It’s not enough for an affiliate network to simply help maintain existing relationships with large publishers, but to provide insight into the value of the long tail too. After all, it’s this group of affiliates that holds the key to a wealth of sites, and with careful management, can become the driving force behind the success of a future campaign. Ultimately, the message is not to give up on the long tail, as one of these publishers could be in your top ten next year.
Gary Bicker is operations director at affiliate
marketing network
Affilinet UK
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