NonstopConsulting believes long tail affiliates are still of use. The agency asks whether it’s reasonable for brands to overlook them, given the innovations that have been pioneered by today’s super affiliates.
Long tail may have once been the foundation of performance marketing, but super affiliates have since taken over. Cashback and voucher code sites contribute as much as 80% to the revenue a programme generates in the UK.
Smaller online publishers, known to create brand awareness and sales to audiences not normally on the radar of other marketing channels, are being overshadowed according to nonstopConsulting.
The agency states how working with hundreds of long tail affiliates that generate a couple of sales each month can deliver continuous revenue. It has suggested five tips for any brand looking to take advantage of long tail.
1. Optimise Your Programme
Take the time to get the right balance of affiliates promoting your programme (this will often reduce the overall cost without affecting the revenues that the channel can generate for you).
2. Incentivise Fairly
Consider the long tail affiliates as a collective affiliate group and give them incentives that encourage them to grow sales to your affiliate programme (doubling sales from a large group of affiliates is never a bad thing).
3. Give Affiliates the Tools They Need to Deliver
Smaller affiliates may need a different set of tools to larger affiliates in order to deliver sales – consider giving them widgets, search boxes and dynamic banners to help them deliver better results.
4. Be Diverse in Your Approach
Take a creative approach to the channel and think beyond text links, tenancy fees and commission increases.
5. Don’t be Afraid to put the Work in
The road to success is never easy, but if you are prepared to put the work in to working with all types of affiliates, the rewards will continue far beyond a week of premium placement.