Beginner - Part II
Dear Publishers,
Welcome to Commission Junction! In this second of a three-part series we continue our introduction to performance marketing, Commission Junction and our wide breadth of solutions. Hopefully you've tried out what was suggested in the first article to get your program running. In this article, we will address:
- The best business model for your program
- How to find your audience and recommendations on how to impact them
- Tips from successful publishers
These articles are designed to help you establish best practices for a strong and thriving performance-based program. Our advice – start slowly! Yes, you read that right. Master one category or niche at a time using different types of creative. Analyze the data provided in the CJ Account Manager™. Implement strategies to drive traffic. Become an expert at reaching one audience before you move to another. All will help build a solid foundation for a strong publishing program.
At times you might be overwhelmed, especially when reading about different types of business models. Just try to focus, use all the resources available to you and please, let us help at each step of the way! We look forward to working with you!
Good luck and good publishing!
Regards,
Kerri Pollard
General Manager, Commission Junction
Common Publisher Business Models – How Do I Choose?
As we did in the first part of this startup series, we are going to provide you with some definitions and explanations of common terms in performance marketing. In this case, we are going to look at the different business models used by our publishers. Don't be intimidated – just look at the models that best fit your needs now. You can always graduate to more complex methods as time progresses. We want to help you build a long-term program – look at this as a marathon, not a sprint.
- Content Sites – Content site publishers work with advertisers to deliver promotions to users to help sell products or subscriptions. This is our most popular business model for new publishers. Many publishers have or can create specialized Web sites that tailor to a certain niche of consumers.
One type of content site is a specialty site with information specific to a group of people. For example, you might run a Web site on fly-fishing in Montana. Information you provide is the primary draw for your site but you want to help monetize the users that visit by putting up appropriate advertisements or promotions such as fishing equipment, tour groups to the Northwest or books on fishing. Another content site is dedicated to selling one or two types of products from a number of companies. From furniture slipcovers to baby strollers to dinnerware, there seems to be endless possibilities. In each case, you will have a specific audience to target.
- Natural Search/Organic Search- Natural Search supports a content site. When Internet users look for information or products online, they go to search engines like MSN, AOL, Google or Yahoo!. Successful publishers create and design Web sites to rank highly in search results using content, structure, key words, meta tags and title tags. Taking the example from above, you can participate in natural search when someone types in "fly fishing" or "Montana fishing trips" into Google by placing these terms within your Web site. Publishers can earn significant commissions with natural search without the costs associated with bidding on keywords in the paid search business model.
- Paid Search – Paid search is exactly as it sounds – you pay search engines to rank your Web site at a premium spot on a search result to drive traffic to your site. Most search engines call these "sponsored" links and can set the price of the sponsorship depending on demand. While more time consuming and more sophisticated than natural search, paid search can be very cost-effective and profitable for experienced publishers. Paid search also requires some additional up front costs to purchase the rankings. Continuing with our example, you would pay Google or AOL or Yahoo! to rank your Montana fishing Web site when someone types it as a search term. You are guaranteed coverage, but it will cost you for placement. Publishers make money when the commissions, that result from traffic driven through paid placement, are higher than the costs of buying the keyword, resulting in a positive profit. While more time consuming and sophisticated than natural search, paid search can be very cost-effective and profitable for experienced publishers.
- Newsletters – For those of you with opt-in newsletters, adding advertising or promotions is an easy way to increase commissions. Please note, Commission Junction forbids any unsolicited or SPAM emails.
- Loyalty/Coupon – Loyalty sites reward members with points, cash or miles for shopping through their sites or reading emails. It is similar to an online shopping mall. A loyalty site is another level to the content site and requires a higher commitment both in time, resources and skills than a traditional content site. Examples of loyalty sites include uPromise and eBates.
- Shopping Comparison/Search – These are like portals where people can shop a number of other sites and products all in one place. It includes a variety of data from advertisers that allow users to compare deals and prices for the same product. Like a loyalty site, shopping comparison sites are not for the novice publisher, as they require daily attention and a sophisticated skill set to keep the program running and relevant.
Which model is best for you? Only you can decide, but again, we recommend starting slowly and mastering one category and business model before trying to tackle another. You can learn more about publisher business models by watching the interactive CJU tutorial "Increase Revenue with Advanced Performance Marketing Models" to learn more.
Let's move on to looking at your audience.
Knowledge is Power!
Who is on the other end of your Web site? The old saying "Knowledge is Power" is a great illustration of how to be successful in catering to your visitors. The more you know about an audience, the better you can provide targeted offers that will improve performance and increase commissions. There are a number of quality tools – both free and paid—that will help you get to know your visitors. For example, you can do a site survey. This will help you get ratings and comments from visitors about your site's value and content so you can make improvements. You can also take the initiative to ask for feedback from your visitors by providing an email address on your site with a label such as "Feedback" or "How can We Improve?" Think of it as a virtual suggestion box. The more you know about your visitors, the more you will be able to tailor promotions that they will find valuable. In any case, do not build your site until you've completed the critical audience research step!
Here's a list of the types of things you should know about your audience:
- What kind of person is visiting my site? Age? Male or female? Knowledgeable about my content? Internet savvy or novice? Geographical location? Other hobbies or interests?
- How often to they visit my site or read my newsletter? Once or more a day? Once a week? Once a month?
- How often are they buying products online?
- What other Web sites do they visit?
- How did they find my site?
- What pieces of information will they use to evaluate the potential purchase of a product?
Another way to see who is coming to your site will be to analyze the data provided by Commission Junction. Information you might find helpful once your program is up and running includes:
- Which promotions are your top sellers?
- Where are these products and offerings located on your Web site?
- How are you promoting them?
- What types of creative are drawing the most attention?
- Do your users respond to holiday or seasonal promotions?
Keep asking questions like this and you will soon be able to gauge what creative is resonating best with your audience. Getting to know your audience is not a one-time only activity. Most successful publishers constantly analyze who is visiting their site and compare offers. This should become part of your program management routine. Get into the habit of running reports that will help you stay on top of your program. These include Performance Reports, which tally click-through rates, and Transaction Reports, which look at sales. You can find the Reporting tab in your CJ Account Manager under "Run Reports".
If you ever think you want to have a more sophisticated way to get information on your traffic, Commission Junction partners with leading Web analytics firm Coremetrics to give detailed reports about your site traffic. A number of other companies offer widely varying solutions, at a range of price levels. Learn more in the "Partners" section of www.cj.com.
Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak
There is an old advertising adage that says, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak." People buy benefits, not products or services. As you begin to look at advertiser promotions and offers you can decide if they will benefit your audience. It all comes back to knowledge– the more information you have, the better decisions you can make. Remember, you want to provide value to your users. By offering them products or services that they perceive as valuable, you will develop a relationship with them based on trust and experience. And they will want to return to your site for future purchases. Start doing your research on what will make your promotions "sizzle."
That should be enough information for this article! Read the third and final part of this series to gain more insight on launching your program successfully. In the meantime, we suggest you take the following steps:
- Establish your business plan – what is the best model for you at this time. Consider what your site is offering, how much time you can dedicate to the program and what your plans are for growth.
- Who is your audience? We cannot emphasize enough the importance of gathering data about who is visiting your site to help you decide which advertisers and creative to choose.
- Take a look at archived articles and tutorials in CJU regarding business models, choosing the right advertisers and how to convert visitors into buyers.
We are excited to work with you and are eager to help you grow your program!
| Advice from an Advertiser |
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 Affiliate Managers want to help, so if need help reach out and ask them for some guidance. They know how to sell their products and can help you learn how to do so
– Beth Kirsch, LowerMyBills.com
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Success Story: Pedro Sostre
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 Pedro Sostre began brand consulting in 1998 and then moved into affiliate marketing in 2001. Today, Pedro runs FreeBookClubs.com along with owning 70-80 domain names, about 25 of which are active. While still doing brand consulting, Pedro admits affiliate marketing takes up a majority of his time.
Pedro strives to provide real value for customers, with updated, easy-to-navigate content. "Your site needs to be attractive and valuable to existing and potential customers. Make sure they have a good experience once they are there," advises Pedro to new publishers.
Pedro takes advantage of Commission Junction's reporting capabilities and large network of advertisers. "The reporting features are easy to use and the interface is very user friendly."
Pedro also reads the advice articles and newsletters sent by Commission Junction. "I am always looking for new promotions to test."
In finding an advertising partner, Pedro looks for some key features he feels contributes to success. First, he wants advertisers who respect publishers. These advertisers can be identified by the relevant content they provide, a competitive commission structure, a supportive Web site and most importantly, a dedicated account manager. "The advertiser account manager can make a good program a great program."
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