Are the new breed affiliates going to dominate?

Nov 30, 2004
by

The last couple of months I’ve been speaking with more affiliates that are breaking the affiliate marketing mold.

Seems like these folks are bent on changing the stereotype of affiliates and affiliate marketing.

Gone is the “loose cannon, niche site, working from home” image.


It’s being replaced by savvy, well organized and efficient PPC, SEP and Content writing specialists. Generally they seem to have clearly defined strategies and well planned revenue models.

Am I attracting a better quality affiliate or is the industry moving towards a more formalized and better educated marketing partner base? I’m not entirely sure – but one thing I know, it’s a pleasure to work with these affiliates.

It’s not all easy though – they’re metrics driven and are asking for more in-depth analysis and reporting than is the norm. They want to know about page & content relative conversions, comparative EPC’s, demand elasticity and other insightful questions on merchant business models, fulfillment and affiliate channel policies.

We’re happy to bend over backwards to accommodate them as by all accounts they’re able to produce the goods.%

About Jonathan Miller

I’m the CEO of Forge Media Investments Limited and its Online Marketing subsidiaries including the Forge Outsourced Affiliate Program Management & offerforge.com Affiliate Network.

I’m more talent scout & ambassador than Business Manager. I do strategy, high level planning & client engagement. I love getting my hands on a project, working with clients to figure out what they need then letting my team get on and do it.

I love finding new businesses for us to grow & opportunities for us & our clients to capitalize on.

I’m well known in Performance Marketing circles and judging by the fact that I keep getting invited back, seem to be rather an engaging, or at least a passable speaker.

I live in Johannesburg with my wife, 2 daughters and assorted pets! I travel relentlessly between our markets in the US, UK and South Africa and consequently my kids often refer to me as stranger ;-(

You can find Jonathan on Twitter: @JonathanAtForge .

Filed under: Affiliate Marketing
  • http://bblmedia.com Franklin

    I have been following this basic formula myself for several months. I am a team of 1, but I do focus on relevant content, I have a network of sites in place that are already in the "G" index, I use communities although they are not necessarily my own and I purpose build sites that target my visitors in the specific niche I am marketing.

    I even place test orders, to both test the integrity of a new program and to verify the quality of a product line, etc.

    This information is exactly right on!

  • http://www.tipztime.com Wendy Shepherd

    Nice article Jonathan. :)

  • http://www.northfacejacket.com/bc/xs/shop.html GearGuy

    Every affiliate needs to run their opertaion like a business. If your only strategy is to get a high ranking in Google then keep your day job.

  • http://www.overweight-teen-solutions.com Carlos

    My business model is exclusively Affiliate Marketing and I've targetted the most capricious group on the planet (teenagers) by publishing http://www.Overweight-Teen-Solutions.com. I find this article very true, thanks.

  • http://www.team-affiliate.com Jonathan

    Thanks for your comments all.

    Keep them coming!

  • http://www.dell.co.uk Aurelia

    Hi Jonathan very good article and very well written. I can see this phenomenon coming in "old Europe" as well and as a merchant I do love those types of affiliates, they are as you said time consuming but are so great to work with. I've been in affiliation marketing for nearly 3 years and must say I am learning new things everyday. Can be a good ecomXpo track if you are part of it :)