Bob’s Weekly Reading Picks

2019.5.12 volume 18

Content

1.How to Select an OPM Agency That’s Right for My Affiliate Program
2.Performance Marketing Glossary  by PMA
3.Admitad Annual Report 2018/2019
4.The Rise of Influencer and Content Affiliates 
5.The Big Marketing FAQ You Didn’t Know You Needed
6.How Trademarks Can Help Protect Your Unique Brand and Business
7.BrandZ Top Chinese Brands

1.How to Select an OPM Agency That’s Right for My Affiliate Program

1). Research

Agencies  and competitors

2). Understand Your Objectives

Is it incremental sales, industry knowledge, assistance in policing affiliate compliance, more partners?

3). Experience and Expertise

• Are they managing any competitors of yours?
• Do they have a track record of successful affiliate program management for your competitors (or closely related merchants)?
• Also how active are they in the space?
• Do they attend major industry events?
• Do they ever speak at any of the events?
• How long have they worked at the OPM agency, and what exactly will each team member bring to the table?

4). Relationships

Affiliate marketing is a relationship-driven business. 
Find out about their connections in the industry and if they have relationships with publishers that would be key to your program.

5). Budget/Cost

How do they charge for their services?
Most agencies will have a monthly fee along with a performance bonus. 

6). References

Ask if you can reach out to other clients! It’s helpful to get the opinions of others that have used their services. 

7). Consider the Bigger Picture

Do you plan on outsourcing any other marketing channels?
They can create an integrated approach across all channels and know exactly how affiliate ties into the mix.

No matter what agency you choose, have a strategy in place and work together with the agency to help grow your business.

2.Performance Marketing Glossary  by PMA

The Performance Marketing Glossary’s 2019 update includes over 250 terms, acronyms, and abbreviations used in affiliate marketing. Examples of some of the new terms and definitions include:

• Coupon Attribution
• Cross-Device Tracking
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP)
• Parallel Tracking

3.Admitad Annual Report 2018/2019

AFFILIATE MARKETING TRENDS

• Mobilization (mobile web + APP)
• Focus on content and automation (influencer marketing)
• Centralization and globalization
• Tracking: problems and progress ( GDPR policy )
• Perfect attribution model ( “last-cookie-wins”model ?)
• CPA Offline

4.The Rise of Influencer and Content Affiliates

As the demand for influencer and content affiliates continues to grow, the ability to measure their ROI has fallen short.

 An influencer is different than a loyalty site or cashback site, perceived as closers of sales more than introducers.

Advertisers need an agency that will:

• Help us diversify our partners with more content and upper-funnel relationships
• Bring on more strategic partners that will really drive growth
• Help us recruit and engage influencers to promote products on a performance basis
• Recruit more partners that specialize in driving in-app conversions and new customer acquisition

5.The Big Marketing FAQ You Didn’t Know You Needed

Note: It is from @kirill_kniazev on Reddit and worth reading.

• Do I need a marketing degree to work in marketing?
• Is a career in marketing worth it?
• Does marketing pay a lot?
• Should I start working client-side or agency-side?
• Should I get marketing certifications?
• What marketing certifications should I get?
  Google’s AdWords and Analytics certifications, HubSpot’s inbound certifications are very popular
• How do I get my first job in marketing?
• Should I do a marketing internship?
• How can I get a marketing internship?
• What marketing books should I read?
• Do I need a portfolio and how do I get/make one?
• What tools do marketers use and which should I get familiar with?
  SalesForce, Hubspot, MailChimp, Google Analytics, WordPress
• Is sales a good entry point to marketing if I can’t find a marketing job?
• I’m afraid I’m not keeping up with the latest trends or my peers, what can I do to stay current?

6.How Trademarks Can Help Protect Your Unique Brand and Business

A trademark is anything that’s considered a source identifier.

• Logos
• Business names
• Service names
• Product names

It is always best to consult with a trademark attorney.

Step 1: Confirm the mark is available

Check the database for each country in which you do business
Go to Google and run the exact same searches to see what pops up
Make sure to search social media to see if the trademark is used

• United States
• Canada
• Australia
• EU

Step 2: Consider registering the trademark

Work with a  licensed attorney.

Protect your trademark

Use your or ® marks

Take action against infringement

7.BrandZ Top Chinese Brands