In my last post regarding affiliate marketing, I brought up the question of whether an affiliate marketer can make a full living off of affiliate models.  The people behind The Third Tribe, who offer an affiliate marketing program, do not believe affiliate marketing is successful without incorporation into a larger strategy pipeline.  In a phone seminar between Johnny Truant and Sophie Simone, they highlight the difficulties that are not so apparent when “Average Joe” signs up for an affiliate program.  Some topics of their conversation include,

• Johnny’s irritation with Google Adsense: Affiliate marketers often make a number of cents for each sale or click that comes from their site.  Google Adsense does not pay marketers until they have reached $100, which took Johnny nine months.
• The products to promote are the ones with personal meaning.  Knowing a product’s creator and having used the product yourself, it’s easiest to communicate genuinely about the usefulness and benefits of the product.  Readers can tell the different between a sincere suggestion and phony sales pitches.  A connection to the product results in an earnest description and more clicks and sales from viewers.
• Communicating genuinely to readers builds trusts and causes them to become loyal to your site.   Loyal readers are more likely to click links from your site that you recommend, rather than the ones that simply interest them, because they trust your knowledge.  They will also recommend your site to their peers, resulting in a growing base of loyal followers.

Without a relationship as the connective tissue between a product and readers, affiliate marketers find that generating sales is much harder than anticipated.  Some most basic affiliate models, such as the Barnes and Noble or Tea Forte models in my previous post, allow an affiliate to choose links to set up on their site, but if they don’t have a true understanding and fondness for the product, they will not generate revenue and will ultimately abandon the product.

Does it seem like The Third Tribe is hypocritical with its criticism of affiliate marketing when it has its own affiliate model?  Its model is different enough that it’s their form of an improvement of the models they describe.  Third Tribe’s affiliate model is not built for affiliates to generate revenue; it’s a tool to bring down monthly costs to maintain a Third Tribe membership by referencing friends.

I think Third Tribe gets it right when they place strategy at the center of affiliate marketing. It also seems to me that a healthy dose of skepticism and distance from your own approach is a good thing, opening doors for improvements and innovation that can lead to greater success. In this regard, I think Third Tribe’s exploration is insightful and useful to anyone considering “cashing in” on affiliate marketing.

Tina Walsh
Marketing Coordinator
RedZebraWorks

Tweet This Post

I started to notice that my energy was diminishing over the course of a workday. I wasn’t sure why I was feeling so tired, but then I realized that when I have gym time planned into my busy day, it seems I’m more productive in everything I do.

I started my Monday off knowing that I have spinning class with my triathlon coach at 7 in the morning, work, and then yoga class. After my spin class, I got ready for work and felt like I could accomplish anything. When I got to work I realized I need to write a blog post. So here I am, feeling wide awake ready to get things done and I come across an article on Entrepreneur.com called Physical Fitness Is Good for Business: Use these lessons from triathlon training to improve your work performance.

Perfect. This is exactly how I’m feeling today, so I just want to summarize the article and relate it to the work we do at RedZebraWorks.

Some analogies between entrepreneurship and endurance sports:

• Strategic Planning: How do I approach the race, event, or marketing campaign?
• Competition: Who are my rivals? How can I beat them? What qualities do I have that they don’t?
• Measurements: Am I improving my times, stroke efficiency, product sales, or brand awareness?
• Transition Management: How efficiently do I move between race segments, projects steps, and how is my site’s optimization?
• Financial Investments: How much should I spend on race gear? How much of my resources should I allocate to social media or eMarketing?
• Contingency Plan: What’s plan B if I fall on my face or our marketing strategies don’t get the results we hoped for?

The author, Aaron Kwittken, also gives a list of tips to achieve your Game Plan (or Marketing Plan):

• Look for inspiration: Subscribe to a magazine or email newsletter that relates to your industry.
• Start out with a small goal: Allow for more reliable growth by starting small and building up. An Ironman doesn’t start off competing in an Ironman.
• Set Goals: Always set performance based goals, something that is measurable. Always attempt to be better.
• Never become a Did Not Finish: No matter what setbacks you encounter, you always need to finish. Even if you fall off course, just keep picturing that finish line.

This article left me feeling like I am making good choices in my life, both personally and professionally. What do you do to stay motivated at work?

Julie Novak
Marketing Coordinator
RedZebraWorks

Tweet This Post