GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 43 - February 2019

The more intelligence you can show about the brand and its objec- tives, the better you set the scene for receiving what you would like in return for your acquisition efforts. Affiliate managers are busy. They deal with a multitude of tasks daily and often have more than 100 individual affiliates to manage. It’s a complex job with a lot of competition. As an affiliate, if you can keep abreast of the complexities they face and help ease the load, you will immediately build a rapport with your account manager and be able to help them meet their objectives. Before you sit down with an affiliate manager to discuss your commer- cials, scope out the landscape you are working in. Doing this allows you to always be prepared to negotiate based on current market trends. It will also show the affiliate manager that you have a good grasp of the competitive landscape and the parameters the affiliate manager is operating in, as well as where your business can add value. You should also look into your own peer competitors and understand why the operator is working with them over you. Consider whether it is a good relationship and whether that affiliate offers them something you don’t, but can. Take into consideration how the brand is promot- ing itself, and think about how you can enhance that positioning and messaging in the content you publish. Quality relationship building is about taking the time to get into the details and making your affiliate manager understand why they should work with you over anyone else and what value your site exposure brings. Make sure you walk into meetings with affiliate managers with your required offer or commercials already in mind. In most cases, you will have a couple of minutes to chat each month, and that means you need to maximize your touchpoints and make an impact to get deals signed. Back your pitch up with visuals and data, too. For example, show the manager a mock-up of where their brand would be displayed on your site, and provide stats relating to traffic they would obtain when there. If possible, share insights of how similar brands have performed. By doing this, you can prove that you know your audience and what they engage with and react to. You will also show that you’ve invested time in understanding their objectives and that you can align their branding and promotions easily with your audience. Coming prepared gains respect. Respect earns trust. Remember, the affiliate manager will use your promotion real estate as a barometer of your ability to deliver, and then use this as the basis for talking about future deals. It takes time to build a relationship, so you really want to retain these touchpoints and make a great impression from the first meeting. It requires a lot of effort to negotiate a good deal on both sides, and you don’t want that time to be wasted. Be personable and speak to the human, not just at the business. Your affiliate manager will be your first point of call with the operator. Building a good personal relationship with the person in the role – and then with the business as a customer – will lead to a deeper connection with the brand on many levels. It is important to be honest. Never over-promise and under-deliver. Add value with research AFFILIATE SURVIVAL GUIDE G P W A t i m e s . o r g 36