By: Christopher Smith & Scott Parent

SHOW ME THE MONEY! SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Ok.. now that we got that out of the way… yes, affiliate marketing is about making money. We all work to make money to provide for the things that are required in life, and to acquire the things that we desire, whether it is a flat screen TV, a trip to Portugal, or a nice dinner out with friends. Let’s also be clear about another thing: we are just like you. We have seen the same things you’ve seen in this industry. We are not satisfied. It’s time for a change.

Before we lay out our plan for change we need to establish a few things. Many hours have been spent crafting sentences, deleting whole paragraphs (similar to balling up a sheet of paper and tossing across the room) and sitting in a hotel room in Boston recounting the previous few days. You see, we have recently attended the Affiliate Summit East in Boston and everything we thought we knew about this industry was tossed into Boston Harbor like our forefathers did decades before as if the Queen of England wanted to tax the sales of Wu-Yi Tea.

We have been to many conferences in our combined careers. The string of 3-6 letter acronyms synonymously representing technology, entertainment, consumer products, music, big pharma, porn, and yes, an occasional educational event. Our frequent flyer miles pinpoint the destinations - Austin, SF, NYC, LA, Chicago, Vegas, St. Louis, Memphis, Cleveland and of course, Boston. How fitting is it that the place that hosted one of the most notable boat parties in history was also host to our company’s boat party that ignited this manifesto.

We should also point out that we work for a company that is firmly rooted in the industry that is struggling with it’s identity, it’s soul, and for reasons to wake up every day and go out and kick some ass. Who we work for doesn’t really matter, because you can swap out one company name for the next and we believe you won’t even notice a difference. What is important is that we work in marketing. As part of our job we speak with, and listen to, hundreds of people every year about what is wanted, what is missing, what would be nice, and what needs to change in the affiliate marketing industry. As part of our job we tick and tie numbers, we graph out trends and project long tail, groundswell, and shark jumps. We believe that we’ve identified quite possibly the most important thing that needs to be recognized, acknowledged and understood in our industry.

We want credibility for the work we do every day. We want to stop lying to each other and to ourselves. We want to hold our head up high when someone asks us what we do for a living. We want to be able to say “hello”.

In order to understand what is driving this “statement” or “manifesto,” you need to understand a bit more background. When we entered this industry we were told that “all affiliates care about is revenue.” Revenue and T-shirts. From what we’ve been told ad-nauseam, potential customers don’t care what we say as long as they hear something about higher revenue, faster payouts, and exclusive deals. These things should be looked upon not as differentiators, these things should be look upon as commodities, as common and expected as out-of-date magazines in the doctors office, the crying child on an oversold airplane, or a dail-tone when you pick up a phone. This takes us back to the point we want to make.

We all want to belong. And it’s not just about money. It’s about community. It’s about validation. It’s about respect.

At no other conference have we ever had more people remember who we were. We’ve had people in the affilaite marketing industry cross the street to extend their hand and say “hello - I remember you from ad:tech SF last year” or “hey - you bought me a drink at eTail in Chicago and if you are free I would love to return the favor.” We know what you’re thinking right now; they are friendly because they are getting ready to sell us something, ply us for information or switch their draft beer order to a dirty Kettle when we insist on buying drinks. But you are wrong. We are looking for our group. We are acknowledging our own. We are reaching out and saying “hello” because we want to. Because we need to.

Now, please do not confuse this with thinking that we are saying we need friends. We all have plenty of friends. Most of our friends aren’t in this business. But we are connectors. We are deal makers. We are believers in each other or we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing.

HELP ME, HELP YOU.

Here is what we are proposing - If you want to differentiate yourself as a performance marketing network, you need to provide more personal attention to your customers. They can’t be looked at solely as a pipeline to revenue. Ask yourself, when was the last time you looked at the revenue numbers and picked up the phone and called that under-performing affiliate and offered some assistance? When is the last time you spoke to an advertiser and worked with them to make their offer unique and engaging? We spend such a large amount of time asking where the money is, but we spend very little time really trying to differentiate ourselves with relevant content and real innovation. This industry is extremely dependent on both the publisher and the advertiser, yet we rarely put the two together in the same room and the same conversation. Why? Advertisers understand their product or service better than anyone. Publishers know what their audiences want. Why not collaborate and give your campaign the best possible chance for success?

Affiliates have a wealth of knowledge about the industry, based on both their successes and failures. They are, in fact, the best teachers for success. Yet, when was the last time our industry invited them to participate in a conversation about the future of the space, where this industry should be going, and how to provide that change? When was the last time a group of publishers sat down together and discussed how they work without fear of “stealing” each others’ methods? There needs to be a better level of trust, collaboration, and cohesiveness if this industry is going to continue to grow and establish more credibility. We need a better sense of true community - one where we are willing to engage in dialogue that is helpful to each other.

So there you have it. In a nutshell, we believe that the affiliate marketing industry wants to belong, wants community and wants to be a functional group. Did anyone else see what we saw in Boston? Has anyone else felt the need or desire to change this sense of mistrust and dysfunction? Let’s make a pact to make a real effort. We can do it better. We can do it with more integrity, community, and transparency.

So in the words of Jerry Maguire - who’s coming with us?