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Outsourcing
Affiliate marketing is growing, and it's growing fast. According to popular quotes, some sites are making 40% of their revenue from affiliate sales. And if that number is overstated, and a more realistic figure is a 10% to 15% increase in revenue, who wouldn't like to have 15% more sales right now? So time is of the essence. The time to start is now.
One way to build your management team and your program quickly, or to jump-start a stalled program, is to outsource it to a knowledgeable consultant or organization that specializes in managing affiliate programs.
ADNet International launches and develops performance marketing for companies of all sizes, using tested, proven Internet strategies that generate profits. Its team members include Patrick Anderson and Declan Dunn. ADNet provides automated storefronts, systems, and training to improve conversion and sales by creating immediate, responsive relationships with visitors, building viral marketing lists of consumers and businesses, tracking knowledge of customers' buying behaviors, and automating businesses to generate residual income with little extra effort.
Two consultants with an intimate knowledge of affiliate programs are Keith Kochberg and Linda Woods. Keith Kochberg runs a small marketing consulting firm called imarketing ltd; Linda Woods offers a variety of affiliate marketing services as the Affiliate Goddess.
There are many companies on the Net that can help. One such company is AffiliatePeople.com, who can provide you with a turnkey solution for the daily management and marketing of your affiliate program. A dedicated affiliate program manager spends 40 hours per month marketing and supporting your program. With E-Base Interactive, you can outsource your junior-level and senior-level affiliate manager duties. They provide affiliate management, recruitment, and support, and help you communicate with your affiliates.
EComWorks is similar to E-Base Interactive and AffiliatePeople.com, but it also manages your affiliates by applying retail merchandising techniques as well as attracting new customers to your site, building brand identity, and generating sales. Rob Flynn, a former client program manager at Be Free, started FlightPath Marketing. The services available from FlightPath include day-to-day management, affiliate recruitment, compensation analysis, affiliate base analysis, affiliate communications, and performance analysis.
Another company that manages affiliate programs is TargetMarket Interactive. Its staff has knowledge and expertise in managing programs through Be Free, Commission Junction, and LinkShare. TargetMarket Interactive develops affiliate program strategy and implementation, including defining program objectives, managing and assisting in the launch of the program, and developing an in-house affiliate marketing staff for its clients.
Other affiliate management companies include Affiliate Performance, Carat Interactive, i-traffic, LinkProfits, and Vizium. But the services of these companies don't come cheap.
Any way you want to approach it, there is an affiliate management solution to meet any size program. Since new resources become available all the time, be sure to look at the latest affiliate consultants, listed at http://www.affiliatemanager.net/consultants.htm, and companies available for affiliate program outsourcing, listed at http://www.affiliatemanager.net/outsource.htm.