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How to Grow a Profitable Affiliate Channel - eBay Interview
I got the opportunity to interview Caroline Malifaud from the eBay Affiliate team yesterday around how eBay has grown their affiliate channel into probably one of the largest affiliate channels in the world. I’ve met Caroline many times and she really knows her stuff - I thought it would be good to get her to give her perspective on things as advice for other affiliate managers.
Here’s what she had to say:
VL : What advice do you have for affiliate managers?:
CM: Two main things that affiliate managers should do:
1. Look at your partners - their business models, trends, etc. What has their performance been up to now?
2. Engagement - talk to them, be available and reach out at every occasion. Share the news proactively - good news and bad news. Look for feedback and listen to what partners have to say about your program. eBay has a large account management team that allows us to leverage across marketplaces.
VL: What are the best channels for recruiting affiliates?
CM: Commission Junction (our affiliate partner), Organically (word of mouth, search engines), presence at industry conferences, reaching out to partners who don’t see themselves as traditional affiliates, but who are top sources of traffic. It’s about reaching out - organic recruitment is a huge part of our recruitment process.
VL: How do you convince new affiliates to join the eBay program?
CM: You would ask some questions such as “Does eBay add value to the content of the website?” & “Is there a fit?” Is there a shopping element and will that be a nice fit? Potentially we work with select categories that work with that particular partner - there really has to be a fit. Then we would look at the payout structure, Rev Share in the US and Leads in other market. We also try to introduce the API which is a very powerful tool to building a strong campaign - and build the value proposition from the beginning.
VL: How does eBay leverage it’s partners in one country, across to another?
CM: We always try to share information with our affiliates, especially the opportunities in other countries. We work with Commission Junction and try to show the value of being in multiple countries. There is a strong case to run campaigns in multiple countries and multiple languages. We have a strong team that is always willing to assist and encourage partners to market in other territories.
VL: What are your top 5 best practices for affiliate managers.
CM:
1. You must know what your affiliates are doing and what their business models are.
2. Be available!
3. Understand the numbers and what the trends are for your program and your affiliates
4. Share news proactively (mentioned above)
5. Welcome Feedback - it’s the most difficult part because it’s not always positive, but often has the most value.
Maybe the affiliate managers at eBay should respond to affiliates who request the Half.com datafeed. The main contact for the eBay and Half programs, Jarrod, constantly ignores my emails. I’m a high-earning CJ publisher with good EPC and network earnings, and he won’t respond to a simple request so that I may include the Half.com links in a comparison engine that currently benefits Amazon more than Half.