1.1 Competitive Research

1.2 Affiliate Solutions Research

1.3 Prospective Affiliate Research

1.4 OPM Research

1.5 General Research Tools

2.1 Similar to business needs, but what *results* do you expect? When shall you gauge the results?

2.2 Sales increase

2.3 Traffic increase

3.1 PPL, PPS

3.2 Pay per email into sales funnel (PPL, but specifically for a product, not necessarily data business)

3.3 Hybrid: Slotting and CPA/CPS

4.1 Complimentary Traffic / Fill in holes to current traffic

4.2 Demographic reach – affiliates with users in your demographic

4.3 Branding

4.4 Increase Sales, Leads

4.5 Search Traffic

4.6 Performance based Advertising

5.1 Crucial to success: Be sure to understand conversion rates PRIOR to Affiliate Program

5.2 A/B Testing

5.3 Analytic tools

5.4 Shopping Cart Abandonment rate & reduction – recovery efforts?

5.5 Lead form Conversion rate

5.6 “Before you leave” attempt to halt abandonment

5.7 Lead funnel – opt in to sales process

6.1 Internal Search vs. Search Affiliates (Paid Search)

6.2 Internal SEO vs. Affiliates (organic)

6.3 Current Customers and Affiliates (pay on new customer only?; reporting on new vs. current customers and affiliate channel?)

6.4 Ordering Channel: Phone orders vs. Online Orders

7.1 Technology – shopping cart or ecommerce system

7.2 Tech support – integration help

7.3 Tech policies: ensure consistent, continued tracking integration

7.4 Website policies: ensure no phone number OR phone tracking

7.5 Tech support: updated, clean datafeed

7.6 Marketing Support: material for affiliates

7.7 Program support: dedicated staff to manage program

8.1 Assuming you have e-commerce or lead form technology that converts

8.2 AND, Assuming you have a site or form that converts

8.3 What do you need for your Affiliate Tracking & Affiliate Management needs – technology-wise?

8.4 Network

8.5 In House Software

8.6 Integration with Affiliate Platform (Tracking & Reporting, DataFeeds, etc.)

8.7 CRM for Affiliate Management

8.8 Chat, Forum, Blog for Affiliates

9.1 In house programmers with available capacity and expertise?

9.2 In house technology support for integration and datafeeds?

10.1 Retail (Rev Share) programs in Retail Network

10.2 Data Acquisition with high conversions (tested, and proven) in CPA Network

10.3 Fraud management / detection capacity: CPA Network concern

11.1 Many technical and distribution considerations

12.1 Integration concerns

12.2 Tracking and reporting needs

12.3 Distribution

12.4 Platform scalability

12.5 Private Label-ability

12.6 API’s, DataFeeds, Technical needs

12.7 Interface concerns

12.8 Payment and trust from affiliates

13.1 Needed expertise (and capacity) available inhouse?

13.2 Needed relationships available in house?

13.3 Sunk costs (of inhouse staff) vs. Opportunity costs (by hiring OPM)

14.1 Experience with your vertical

14.2 Experience with your selected Technology Vendor

14.3 Relationships that can be leveraged

14.4 Marketing creativity

15.1 Refer to Program Features

15.2 Restrictions

16.1 Selection of Solution

16.2 Selection of Affiliate Manager

16.3 Affiliate “Sales” page – “why sign up”?

16.4 Affiliate Network Setup: Info / “join our program”

16.5 Affiliate Tracking Integration

16.6 Affiliate Network / Software setup: All automation and business rules

16.7 Press Release for launch

16.8 Blog for Affiliate Program

16.9 Twitter Account for Affiliate Program

16.10 FaceBook Fan Page for Affiliate Program

18.1 Payout (default/public, private, level bumps, bonuses)

18.2 Per-Category or Per-Sku payout (optional)

18.3 First or Last cookie

18.4 2nd tier

18.5 Cookie Tracking length

18.6 Additional tracking (IP address, local tracking)

18.7 Email or Lead data is directly associated with Prospect – regardless of closing time.

18.8 No phone ordering

18.9 Phone tracking

18.10 Marketing Material breadth and depth

18.11 DataFeed

18.12 Support hours

18.13 Affiliate Management Staff

19.1 Single manager

19.2 Multiple managers: Based on Job Duty (Recruiter, Researcher, Designer, Tech Support, Affiliate Support, Director)

19.3 Multiple Manager: Based on Affiliate Segment (all mangers cover all aspects of support — but are assigned to various affiliate classes, or affiliate segments)

19.4 Policy: Approval time frame, Payment time frame

19.5 Accounting in the process

19.6 CRM solution for Affiliates

20.1 Tools to identify: Syntryx, Hitpath

20.2 Conferences

20.3 Forums

20.4 Affiliate Program Blog

20.5 Intra-Network recruitment vs. extra-network recruitment

20.6 Network resources

21.1 Initial outreach

21.2 Automated emails – plan

21.3 Emails: include affiliate-specific code within message!

21.4 Use Affiliate Communication to show (a) success of program, (b) proactive management, (c) successful affiliates as examples, (d) build trust in inactive affiliates, and (e) be top of mind for when they’re ready to activate

21.5 New Affiliate Sales contests, or first sale bonus

21.6 Auto-deposit $10 in account (conditional withdrawal of funds)

22.1 Blog

22.2 Facebook

22.3 Twitter

22.4 Flickr

23.1 New Affiliates

23.2 Trends among affiliates, affiliate segments

23.3 Fraud detection and management

23.4 Identifying hidden affiliate potential

23.5 Multi-Network Crossover sales attribution

23.6 Multi-Channel crossover sales attribution (internal SEO, internal Search, current customer vs. affiliate transactions)

23.7 Affiliate Activation reporting

23.8 Subtopic

24.1 Welcome to the program email

24.2 Email training series

24.3 Upon first sale email

24.4 Upon threshold email

24.5 Identify affiliates using program for discount on own purchases

25.1 Conversion Improvement

25.2 Implementing video

25.3 Implementing email capture “call to action” tracking to affiliate, with automated followup and affiliate attribution

25.4 Continual Promotions to Motivate Affiliates

28.1 2 networks (CJ and SAS)

28.2 In-house and Network (partner program, affiliate program)

28.3 Managing multiple networks and/or programs: technical implications

28.4 Managing multiple networks and/or programs: support implications

29.1 Initial Press Release

29.2 Blog: Ongoing relations and awareness

29.3 Forum participation and / or Dedicated forum

29.4 Conferences

30.1 Phone, IM, Email, Postal Mail

30.2 Newsletter strategy

30.3 affiliate promotions / contests – notices/newsletters

30.4 Blog utilization

30.5 Forum utilization

30.6 Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly – buckets of affiliate segments get appropriate personal outreach

31.1 Aggressive strategy – only for well-prepared data “products”

32.1 Trademark utilization

32.2 Paid search monitoring

32.3 EMail compliance monitoring

32.4 Email Suppression list monitoring