Question from the 5 Star Blog today:
Some of my merchants are already asking me to help design their holiday contests. Ongoing contests and bonuses are always being discussed however, so I thought I would ask you. What types of contests and bonuses motivate you the most - to either join a new program or put more energy into promoting an existing program? This was also a topic that came up in one of the Affiliate Summit panels. But some of you weren't there. So this is a place where you can voice your opinions and help your merchants understand what you most want and the type of contests that will move you to greater success. (Lots of merchants read this blog!)
I am working with one of my merchants to design a REALLY dynamic, multi-faceted holiday promotion that will reward several affiliates on numerous levels - even a newbie can win. The grand prize is an all expenses paid trip to... well that would be giving too much away - but it would be a vacation as well as a learning experience that would help the affiliate's business grow and it is a $2,500 value.
I have another new smaller client that has about the HIGHEST payouts in his space, great conversions, but a new brand that is not well known yet. He wants to incent more affiliates to join or existing affiliates to get more active. He does not have a big contest or bonus budget.
His bigger brand name competitor has had some problems with affiliates lately for doing things that are NOT in affiliates favor and IMHO are not affiliate management best practices, by a long shot - so would like to offer something compelling to get people to join and promote his affiliate-centered program. What would get your attention???
So help us out here and help yourselves get more of what you want from merchants. What type of incentives motivate you? How do you like them structured? What incentives have you seen that did absolutely nothing for you and which ones really float your boat???
Some of my merchants are already asking me to help design their holiday contests. Ongoing contests and bonuses are always being discussed however, so I thought I would ask you. What types of contests and bonuses motivate you the most - to either join a new program or put more energy into promoting an existing program? This was also a topic that came up in one of the Affiliate Summit panels. But some of you weren't there. So this is a place where you can voice your opinions and help your merchants understand what you most want and the type of contests that will move you to greater success. (Lots of merchants read this blog!)
I am working with one of my merchants to design a REALLY dynamic, multi-faceted holiday promotion that will reward several affiliates on numerous levels - even a newbie can win. The grand prize is an all expenses paid trip to... well that would be giving too much away - but it would be a vacation as well as a learning experience that would help the affiliate's business grow and it is a $2,500 value.
I have another new smaller client that has about the HIGHEST payouts in his space, great conversions, but a new brand that is not well known yet. He wants to incent more affiliates to join or existing affiliates to get more active. He does not have a big contest or bonus budget.
His bigger brand name competitor has had some problems with affiliates lately for doing things that are NOT in affiliates favor and IMHO are not affiliate management best practices, by a long shot - so would like to offer something compelling to get people to join and promote his affiliate-centered program. What would get your attention???
So help us out here and help yourselves get more of what you want from merchants. What type of incentives motivate you? How do you like them structured? What incentives have you seen that did absolutely nothing for you and which ones really float your boat???
