Affiliate Acquisition, Retention, and Development

The most valuable lesson I learned at this conference came from Bill Lederer of Art.com (formerly known as Artuframe.com). He is the only one I met who actually set up a sales process that looked at the affiliate as a valuable asset in need of development.

Bill began this site a little over a year ago and his budget pointed him solely to using an affiliate network approach. He hired Mark Welch as a consultant to help him set up this site, an excellent choice for him to discover the best way to build this powerful network.

Working with Be Free as his affiliate software solution, Art.com focused on creating an integral network of affiliates. Acquisition of affiliates was the focus, but not solely in terms of bragging rights. It seems Bill used an ingenious approach to meeting places online, research, and creating a motivated affiliate support team to make his network flow.

His affiliates sign up for the program after being contacted and are checked to make sure that they have put the affiliate advertising at their site. Art.com gives them a choice of programs to install and support to overcome the initial confusion.

Most of all, the unique affiliate support team that Art.com employs benefit when the affiliate makes a sale. Each support member is given a certain number of affiliates to keep track of; they must make sure that the advertising is posted and check to see the results.

If there is little or no response to their efforts, the Art.com support member contacts the site to give them some ideas on generating more traffic, or better positioning the Art.com affiliate network at their site. In some cases, if all this seems fruitless, Art.com will suggest that the affiliate remove the program from their site.

The logic is quite simple; if it is not selling, why offer it? It can only create animosity and disappointment on the part of the affiliate, and is not generating sales. The key here is to remember that the Art.com support team earns more when their affiliates generate more sales. Bill Lederer put in incentives for both affiliates and his support team to make more sales.

Like any good sales force, this simple approach to affiliate acquisition, retention, and development is a critical component. The surprising thing to me is that Art.com is one of the only programs to actively promote and check up on its affiliates. They know who is selling, what is selling, and why.

It also doesn't take a huge staff to manage this; only a handful of people manage this network of over 1,000 affiliates. The use of email, telephone, and automated reporting make this network hum.

Small wonder why Art.com is one of the best players in the affiliate industry. It all comes down to your sales force and paying attention to them.