I’ve been thinking a lot about affiliate marketing lately, more than likely due to the fact I’m in the middle of developing a few digital products at the moment. Since my focus is on these products, my mind wanders as to how I can help potential affiliates sell and market these products more efficiently. Naturally, my mind wanders to successful examples that I’ve been exposed to.
If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I also own a hobby & gaming retail store. Retail and online marketing exhibit many parallels, especially in our particular industry.There’s a very unique relationship you have with game publishers. Most large publishers publish products that create recurring revenue streams. There’s a lot in the way of upsell and continual product support because they are always adding expansions and new related products. These types of publishers understand affiliate marketing. They know that a good relationship between retailer and publisher means more product revenue for them through the relationship the retailer develops with the customer. They understand that by giving the retailer tools and support, that retailer will have an easier time actually selling the product.
I bring this up because there is one company in particular that really “gets” this. They understand affiliate marketing at it’s core, and they how to support their retailers. There’s a huge potential of reward in employing these techniques, and I highly encourage you to evaluate your own strategies after reading this. I know they work. With their support, we’ve created a loyal, tight-knit community that’s always excited about their product. As a product developer or publisher, what more could you want?
Case Study: Wizards of the Coast
Background Info: Wizards of the Coast carries two main product lines – the classic Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game and a trading card game called Magic: the Gathering. For this case study, I’m going to focus on our experience with the trading card game.
Their Secrets to Success
Promotions & Giveaways
Wizards created an event called Friday Night Magic that allows player to participate in a tournament each week. They know that if players are playing the game, they are more likely to buy the product to improve their skills and their chances at winning in the game. To help spur interest in playing on a specific night each week, the company offers special one-of-a-kind promos that you can only receive by winning in the tournaments or by chance through door prizes. On months where the promo is something of value, there’s a noticeable difference in attendance.
They also send out promotional freebies to be distributed as stores see fit. In our store, we use them as giveaways for free tournaments to entice more attendance. Customers can only get these freebies by winning, so it creates a sense of scarcity and respect to those who have them.
Takeaway: People love freebies, and often it can be the deciding purchase factor. How can you support your affiliates with an awesome giveaway or promotion for a specific action?
Promotional materials
If you want something to sell, you need to provide the materials to sell it. Wizards provides full color brochures, posters, art, online banners and other materials to get the word out. They’ve even sent us digital cameras, giant banners and other fun stuff to create excitement about upcoming products. They know if we have the tools to get our customers excited about an upcoming release, we’re more likely to sell it.
Takeaway: If want your product launches to be a success, provide your affiliates with plenty of promotional and marketing tools. Give them banner ads, sales copy and newsletter copy examples. Create web art that they can use to customize their announcements or messages for their readers or customers. The more time you spend teaching your affiliates how to promote your product, the more money you’ll both make.
Specific Schedule of Releases
People like to be in the know. They like to be able to be prepared, and they like the anticipation of an upcoming event or product. Wizards knows this and has their product releases scheduled up to a year in advance. When we host a launch event, we can start the buzz for the next release during the event. It allows for optimal ramp up time to gauge and generate interest.
Takeaway: If you’re creating a series of products, give a specific release time table. Let your affiliates generate the buzz for you. Create countdown giveaways to help generate excitement.
Spotlight Successful Affiliates
I like to think we’re attracted to what works well. I want to know what actions others are taking that are working for them, and I like to know where I shouldn’t waste my time. Wizards has started a new retailer program where they spotlight one retailer per month and do an in-depth Q&A. This is awesome for a variety of reasons. If you’re the retailer being promoted, you’re getting some extra promotion for free. As a peer, you get an inside look at some different techniques that may or may not work.
Takeaway: Do you have a few affiliates that seem to consistently perform above average? Reward their hard work with a little fame and glory. It will help your other affiliates learn some new strategies, and you’ll create a deeper rapport with your better-producing affiliates.
Your Affiliates Want To Help
The best thing Wizards has done over the past year is perform in-depth surveys across the board. They’ve done one-on-one interviews with retailers and customers alike. Even better, they’ve actually implemented a lot of the feedback they’ve received. The result: our last product release had slightly less participation, yet generated nearly double the amount of sales. The product basically sold itself.
Takeaway: Your affiliates are listening and gleaning feedback from their customers on a daily basis. Do you have a method or a way to retrieve that valuable information? If you do, are you sitting on it or are you tweaking your product to increase conversions and word of mouth sales?
As you can see, there’s a lot of information to take away here. If you’re an affiliate, I’d be interested in hearing if you’ve found a product or service that offers this level of support. If you’re the product developer or publisher, how could you implement some of these strategies to better serve your affiliates?