Ep 25: AFFILIATE MarKeting, CUSTOMER REFERRALS, INFLUENCERS with ARLEN ROBINSON
Episode Summary
These days, nobody wants to be sold to and shoppers suffer from ad fatigue. That’s one reason influencer marketing, customer referral programs, and affiliate programs are catching on as people value authentic recommendations from real people over corporate marketing-speak and ads.
Most brands have heard of affiliate marketing but they just don’t know where to start. During this episode, we’ll dive in with Affiliate guru Arlen Robinson – the co-founder of Omnistar Affiliate – who will share his secrets to affiliate program success based on his work with hundreds of Shopify stores.
We'll cover common affiliate marketing FAQs:
The key pillars of an eCommerce affiliate marketing program
Who are your best affiliates?
Turning your best customers into influencers
95/5 rule of affiliate marketing
How to reach out to influencers at scale
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
[3:12] Arlen Robinson’s entrepreneurial story and why his web development business eventually shifted to affiliate marketing.
[9:15] Affiliate marketing and customer referral programs, by definition.
[15:02] Which industries are prime for affiliate marketing success?
[17:20] A walk through of how a sustainable or mission-driven eCommerce brand could launch a partner program from scratch on Shopify.
[20:15] Launching a customer referral program where your best customers can do the promoting for you.
[22:25] Where to find influencers to sign up as affiliates and start a scalable program? Influencer marketing networks.
[25:02] What’s the magic number of influencers to reach out to begin a successful affiliate program?
[27:15] The 80/20 or 95/5 rule of impact from the best influencers in your program.
[28:51] How do brands manage affiliate marketing roles inside of their org chart? Who “owns” the affiliate marketing initiative?
[30:35] How is affiliate marketing and influencer performance tracked? What are the most popular commission systems?
[34:09] Instagram influencers can use affiliate tricks such as swipe-up URLs for easier tracking.
[34:30] How can affiliate marketing scale over time – What does Phase 1 look like of an eCommerce affiliate marketing initiative? And then, what differentiates the next phase?
[37:55] Where is affiliate marketing for eCommerce going in the next five years?
[39:06] How affiliate marketing helps in cost-per-acquisition over time and community building.
[40:25] Determining the right commission for affiliates and customer referrals.
[42:15] Why getting your own customers to refer your brand makes good business sense.
[43:12] Every customer your brand has is actually a bonafide influencer in their own way.
Links + Resourced Mentioned
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