GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 47 - July 2020

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT You need to be innovative towork in this space because it uses the principles of targeted media buying and combines it with planning , strategy , sales , accountmanagement , technology , data and relationship building . Affiliate marketing can be expensive if you don’t do it right. There is a lot of strategy that sits behind creating an affiliate marketing program to suit your business, your budget and your sales objec- tives. Affiliates need to realize that running a successful affiliate program is very hard. There are a number of moving parts that are being juggled at all times, both internally and externally. When you are asking for CPAs or listing fees that don’t make sense for the operator at that time, don’t take it personal. Leave the door open, be polite and come back to them in a few months. They might have a budget open or opportunity to stretch to meet you halfway. The point is — be kind. It costs you nothing and you never know when you might need that contact again. Thanks for reading this far. I hope you’ve learned some new facts about affiliate marketing and feel a bit uplifted about being part of this great industry. I hope you understand why it deserves respect! The point is, this has always been about playing the long game. Brands invest to build results over time, affiliates invest to build successful businesses. You are all leveraging your assets to boost your marketing activities and get results. Affiliate marketing, hands down, is one of the best places to be working and doing business right now. It always pays dividends over time (when done correctly) at a higher rate of return than any other digital medium. I know, because I’ve spent the past two decades proving it! Lee-Ann Johnstone is a digital marketing and affiliate strategist, and co-founder of AffiliateINSIDER, a digital media and content hub. With more than two decades of experience building million dollar affiliate programs for brands around the world, she now runs her own private consultancy that offers affiliate business mentoring, affiliate marketing training and delivers services to businesses and affiliate entrepreneurs, around the world. For more information, visit www.leeannjohnstone.com or www.affiliateinsider.com G P W A t i m e s . o r g 42