Do higher payouts = better results?

Posted on May 17th, 2007 in affiliate marketing, online by admin

We all hear it, whether from an affiliate or a client or a colleague. The solution to all CPA woes, “The offer is not working. Raise the payout.” While raising the payout is sometimes inevitable, it does not always ring true as the solution. Testing an offer is incredibly essential and something that is so overlooked, I”m surprised how some companies make it. There are so many variables including email from lines, subject lines and creative, banners, landing page optimization, upsells, reg-paths, follow-ups, and the list goes on. Sometimes, the cheesiest email creative can yield the most amazing results. Likewise, there are times when the creative must be extremely sleek and toned down. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, although the general rule is that creative needs to be associated to the target audience. Moms will respond better to an image of a family and 18-24 boys are a shoe-in for scantily clad women in provocative poses. It is what it is. Before you make a definite decision about the performance of an offer, all of the creative pieces should be tested with several versions to see what is most effective. Saying the payout is the only thing that can make an offer better is just oversimplifying online marketing.

Does Good Cop - Bad Cop still work?

Posted on May 3rd, 2007 in Business by admin

Of course it does! The best thing you can do whether you are in sales or client services or any interaction with a client is to sympathize with them. It works every time. You really must be genuine when utilizing this strategy. Playing the good cop doesn’t automatically deliver customer satisfaction. You have back it up with appropriate action. For example, if your recent media buy on behalf of an advertiser led to under-achieving results and you suspect foul play from the publisher, let the advertiser know what you are dealing with in a professional manner; no need to discredit anyone yet. Communicate to them that you also expected better results and will most definitely bring this to the attention of your traffic source and work to rectify the situation for them. The key is to identify with your client, commit to finding a solution, and execute on your promise. As simple as this concept sounds, it is NOT what is put into play 99% of the time. I see this as a huge opportunity for companies who choose the “satisfied customer” path.