Comments:
Attention affiliate managers --
I’d really love to work with you on a rev share basis—i.e. give you free brand ads on my site that I’ve spent a great deal of energy and intelligence to build up into a desirable spot for advertisers such as yourselves— but as you love to say “you have to prove yourself to us first.”
It’s so lovely of you to give me those ugly low-rent free ads to put on my site for free. I appreciate your offer that should your creative, merchandise selection and check-out process happen to convert my reader than you willl give me a teeny little bit of the rev share.
Unfortunately that’s not really working for me and having your flashing ads all over my site makes my eyes hurt and brings down the value of my brand.
Here’s an idea—If you would like to advertise on SheFinds and only do a CPC or a CPA model—that is fine, but you will have to also put an ad for SheFinds on your site. I’ll pay you for every qualified subscriber you send my way.
Or - how about you let me use a pair of your shoes/book/ipod/flower bouquet/chocolate—and if someone compliments me on the item I’ll give you 4% of it’s value. OK I know that’s a little sarcastic...but, well it’s the same thing you’re asking me to do with my merchandise aka inventory.
Sound fair? I’m really dismayed so far no one will take me up on my offer…
As a guy trained in direct marketing , in my bones I don’t really get brand advertising. Sure, search ads drive store sales and call center orders, and smart search marketers will comp the online results to some degree to account for that. But heck, when Ari Rosenberg says,
“without a brand you have little to sell, and a ‘bigger brand’ allows you to charge more when your product or service is purchased”
well, I am not so sure.
My definition of “brand” is this:
“BRAND IS WHAT YOU DO EVERYDAY.”
(Not my quote, sadly, but can’t locate the original source through googling. Maybe Beckwith? Not sure.)
I buy the products I do, for the most part, because (1) they work (2) I like them (3) they’re well designed (4) they’re recommended (5) the price is right.
Not because of a fancy TV campaign. Not because some pop singer promotes a certain brand of soda.
Take the Ipod. Yeah, the ads are great. But the product is really great. Design. Form factor. UI. If the Ipod sucked, all those cool silhouette ads would have done nothing.
Maybe I am too un-hip. Maybe I am too unplugged from TV and Madison Ave. Maybe I’m too far from own my teen years. But when I think about how I decide which goods on which to spend my dollars, brand advertising has little to do with it.
That’s just me, and I may be atypical.