1. Maximising Affiliate Revenue
in a Digital Age
Presented by: Liane Dietrich
Managing Director, LinkShare Ltd.

2. Today’s Agenda
 Introduction
• Liane Dietrich, Managing Director, LinkShare
• LinkShare Corporation
Industry trends – LinkShare‟s Online Consumer Trendwatch 2009

 Maximising affiliate marketing success
• Make the most of the diversifying advertiser base
• How this creates more opportunity for all
• How can you adapt to/make the most of the shift
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

3. The LinkShare Network
First affiliate marketing network –

founded in 1996
 Over 2.2 million publishers have joined
the LinkShare Affiliate Marketing and
Lead Generation Network
 One of the largest performance marketing
networks in the world based on Gross
Merchant Sales (GMS)
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

4. Brands are doing it…
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5. Online Consumer Trendwatch Survey 2009
Commissioned by LinkShare in association with
Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates Inc., March 2009
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

6. In the coming year, Online is set to increase, offline to decline
+22% -19%
vs.
Online net Offline net
Fewer
The same
More
In the next year, do you think that you will make more, the same amount, or fewer purchases
than you did last year?
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

7. Clear majority in favour of shopping online
On both sides of the Atlantic there is a clear preference for online shopping over
offline.
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

8. Why are they preferring offline?
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9. Why are they preferring online?
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10. Why do they prefer shopping online?
Online shoppers are choosing it for convenience and price, but also to compare
products and get the information they need
“With much less time
to do a normal shop it’s much easier
for me”
“I find it easier to
change between retailers and
find the bargains I'm looking for”
“I like it because you
see a much wider choice and price of
goods and spend no money on
transport”
“You’re able to compare
products much more”
Which of the following are reasons for why you prefer shopping online?
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

11. Finding the info they want online
 78% don’t get enough information from TV
advertising
 92% have more confidence in online
information than salespeople
 81% are doing online research “most of the
time” before buying a product
 73% conducting online product research
several times a month
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

12. Online research is now mainstream
Info shopping is on the increase
How frequently do you do online research before
you purchase each of the following types of
products? (Most of the time / Occasionally)
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13. Finding info from a wide range of sources
Online shoppers are finding a number of different channels useful – they are
looking for value from multiple sources
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

14. Online shopping driven by shopaholics
Over half of all purchases are made by 24% of customers – let’s call them
Shopaholics
Proportion of all online purchases
Shopaholics as a proportion of the online shopping
population
Excluding everyday items like food, how many times do you think you purchase something
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. each month?
online All rights reserved.

15. For non-shopaholics, bad time may provide a nudge
However, 29% of the remaining, lower frequency shoppers expect to migrate
their shopping online if their financial situation gets tougher – so let’s think of
these people as our Recession Shoppers
If your financial situation gets tougher, which of the following do you think you are most
likely to do?
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

16. Why do they prefer shopping online?
Our Recession Shoppers are more concerned about price than other online
shoppers and also use the net to research their goods
“For a better
price”
“Ease of getting
relevant items and
price”
“Cheaper and can
compare prices and also
read reviews”
“Good offers, good
prices”
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. the following are
Which of All rights reserved. reasons for why you prefer shopping online?

17. So how do we reach out to them?
 43% of Recession Shoppers have
purchased a product online that they wouldn’t
otherwise because of a voucher
 69% have found a review by another
consumer helpful
 83% have used a comparison shopping
engine
“Online you can thoroughly
 60% cite being able to research research what you want before
purchase.”
information as a reason for shopping online
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

18. But online shoppers are looking for value...
 26% of online shoppers are receiving email alerts from
voucher sites
 41% of online shoppers say that they find voucher sites very
or somewhat useful
 1 in 200 visits to online retail sites come directly from
vouchers sites – and it is the fastest growing area of internet
retail (Robin Goad, Hitwise)
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

19. What are they going to buy more of?
Clothing and groceries are the most likely candidates for online shopping growth
over the course of the next year
% expecting to spend more online on this
item in the next year
And do you expect to spend more, less, or the same amount online on these types of
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. Allin the next year?
products rights reserved.

20. What are they going to buy more of?
Looking at the net change in spend – beauty, home and travel all represent
opportunities – they have lower than average spend at present, but above
average potential growth
Groceries
Clothing
Music
Current online annual spend
Toys & Games
Books
Beauty & Personal Care
Computers & Electronics
Office Supplies Travel
Luxury or designer goods
Home & Garden products
Sport, Health & Fitness
Jewellery Flowers Products
Net change in online spend
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

21. Reasons to be cheerful
 31% of shoppers will make more online purchases this year
 58% expect to spend the same or more online next year
 66% will purchase the same proportion or more online if their
economic situation gets tougher
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

22. CHALLENGES
Hidden costs
“Delivery charges”
“Shipping and handling charges can be expensive”
Online becomes too complicated
“Stores are less time consuming”
“You can see what you want without having to trawl through
different web pages.”
Empathy with the high street
35% of those who shop in store say “it is important to support
community shops in a recession”
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

23. CHALLENGES
...and whilst purchases online look set to increase, consumers
expect to spend less in the coming year
Consumers are going to put pressure on you to give them a good
deal!
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

24. Conclusion - Key time for Affiliate Marketing
Online purchases set to increase, with consumers actually
preferring to shop online
Internet has become a tool for researching all purchases
Recession shoppers  internet is a means of saving money.
Leverage the Recession Shopper
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved. Source: LinkShare Online Shopping Survey with JupiterResearch 2008

25. MERCHANTS and AFFILIATES
1. Expand your approach for long-term goals
 Merchants (theoretically) ~ 80% of sales by top 20% of affiliates
Affiliates – Same: majority of income from the big programmes

Expand Partnerships – across verticals, outside the box

Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

26. MERCHANTS
1. Expand your approach for long-term goals
 Say yes to more publishers
Prospect – Find New Affiliates tool

Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

27. MERCHANTS
1. Expand your approach for long-term goals
Consider
all types of
Sales Partners
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

28. MERCHANTS
1. Expand your approach for long-term goals
 Broad Distribution
 New Types
 Use affiliates for Research & Development
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

29. AFFILIATES
1. Expand your approach for long-term goals
 Focus beyond brands
 Showcase your strengths rather than a brand logo
 Leverage what consumers want
 Link types & merchandising
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

30. AFFILIATES
2. Utilise all the tools at your disposal
•Product Linkfinder
•Search across multiple
advertisers for specific
products
•Sort results by
price, name or category
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

31. AFFILIATES
2. Utilise all the tools at your disposal
•Deeplinking
•Link to specific pages
on an advertiser site
•Send traffic to the most
qualified page possible
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

32. AFFILIATES
2. Utilise all the tools at your disposal
•Look out for Deeplinking solutions
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

33. AFFILIATES
2. Utilise all the tools at your disposal
•WordPress Plugins
1. RSS DealFeed
• Display & manage RSS
feeds in your blog
2. AdMix
• Use advertiser RSS feeds
as blog posts
3. LinkLookup
• Create deep links
• Search for product links
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

34. MERCHANTS
2. Utilise all the tools at your disposal
•Product Feeds!!
•Now you can see why
it‟s so important to
provide them…
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

35. MERCHANTS
3. Increase Conversion Through Merchandising
How it is typically How it should be
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

36. AFFILIATES
3. Increase Conversion Through Merchandising
•Be creative
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

37. AFFILIATES
3. Increase Conversion Through Merchandising
•Dynamic Rich Media
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

38. AFFILIATES
3. Increase Conversion Through Merchandising
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

39. MERCHANTS and AFFILIATES
4. Focus on seasonal activities
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

40. MERCHANTS and AFFILIATES
5. Improve working relationships
Merchants:
Communicate
Incentivise
Equip
Special affiliate offer
Affiliates:
Utilise
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

41. MERCHANTS and AFFILIATES
5. Improve working relationships
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

42. MERCHANTS and AFFILIATES
6. Test What Works
Perfect channel to “test” what is bringing you the best commissions

 Make sure you understand the reporting tools
 Recreate success with other advertisers/websites
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

43. SUMMARY
• Leverage the recession shopper
• Expand your approach to maximise your long-term return
• Use all the tools available
• Merchandise – give consumers what they want
• Merchants - make your affiliates your „partners‟ and „brand advocates‟
• Affiliates – respond & feedback
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.

44. Thank You
Liane Dietrich
ldietrich@linkshare.com
Copyright 2008 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.