Rachel Said’s Post

The validation of affiliate sales should work for all parties involved and be transparent, timely and considered. In another of my back to basics videos I talk about the importance of validations, it is always good to revisit and evaluate if you have the best process you can. It may be admin, but it's very important admin 🙂 The do’s of validating sales: ◾ Make sure your tracking works so you aren’t relying on post sale validation to ‘fix’ what you tracking should have considered ◾ Use your ecommerce platform data to validate ◾ Be timely - do it as quickly as you can! ◾ Be fair ◾ Track your decline rates and think how it impacts your partners ◾ Set a process that works for you as a brand and allows you the visibility to check what you need to The don’ts of validating sales: ◾ Use GA4 data - the attribution model is too wildly different ◾ Don’t use validations to dedupe against other marketing channels - try to do this in your tracking and be clear in your T&C's ◾ Don’t just decline all sales that use a code not for channel - look at the code usage, have good code management in place and audit regularly so you can have confidence in what is promoted  ◾ Don’t take ages to validate so affiliates lose confidence in when they will be paid Any other validation tips I have missed?

I did a very short back to basics video on the importance of affiliate tracking recently and it feels like a timely one this week with the news on Google’s change on their 3rd party cookie removal. However… Do I think we should all breathe a sigh of relief and take the foot off on improving our programme’s tracking? No! I think the conversation that started was a super valuable one and ensuring your affiliate programme tracking is the best it can be should be everyone’s goal. Not just because Google makes changes, but also because it's just the right thing to do for the success of the channel. I do however think we need to accept that this is a confusing space. I have been in the industry a long time and I can still often scratch my head at some of the changes and nuances of different networks/brands setups. When it comes to affiliate tracking: ❓ Ask the question - even if you feel like it's an obvious one that you should know 🔧 Don’t worry that you don’t know how to fix something, just know you need to get the right people talking.  🛣 Roadmap changes - in an ideal world a tracking upgrade would happen quickly, but things sometimes take time. Just be transparent with partners on your timelines and do your best to get it in the backlog. #affiliatemarketing #affiliateagency #digitalagency

Great start to the week, for two reasons: 1. Our team is expanding! We have an Affiliate Account Manager role taking applications now. We are a small but rapidly expanding part of the business with big ambitions to grow. So if you enjoy... 🏫 Learning  🤝 Working with a genuinely lovely team of people 🔥 Having the chance to be part of a collaborate cross channel agency 📈 Oh and managing affiliate programmes built on sustainable growth Get in touch! Link on how to apply in the comments :) 2. We have just been named (again) in the top 100 best places to work for women. As a women in a leadership position, who also has two young children, I can’t stress enough how deserved this win is. It's not a category that should have to exist, but it does. I personally know the experience of many friends returning to work after maternity leave and I know going back into work is not always supported. I couldn’t do the role I do and the look after my children the way I want to without Genie Goals support. So again I will say... check out our available Account Manager roles, as being part of a really genuinely caring company but also one that is growing is something pretty special. #affiliatejobs #affiliateaccountmanager #digitalagency

There are some affiliate types that are ingrained in the way consumers shop and possess a loyalty beyond that of many of the brands they promote. The big cashback sites are a prime example of this. A way of life for many of us when shopping online, especially when making those big purchases - I wonder what cashback I can get? In my latest video I talk a bit more about cashback and how important it is to be open to this very influential partner type when starting your affiliate programme. ▪ Would you have got that sale anyway? Maybe.  ▪ Would the customer maybe have chosen a competitor that offered cashback instead? Maybe ▪ Do you have to be on cashback sites? No ▪ Should you look at it objectively from a consumer viewpoint? Yes! I am all about choice when it comes to building affiliate programmes and doing what feels right for your brand. A big part of that should be being realistic and open to that customer behaviour and thinking how you can embrace it strategically . ✔ Set cashback rates that work for your brand ✔ Look to encourage KPIs like AOV ✔ Look to promote product ranges for different rates with better margins or stock With large databases, even though this partner type can skew towards existing customers, the acquisition potential and ability (with the right rates) to target customers in an efficient way is still strong.

“Isn’t affiliate marketing all voucher code sites?” The short answer... no it isn’t, but yes there are a lot of them! The long answer... no it isn’t but there lots of direct code sites and also code sites via subnetworks. They should form part of a wider affiliate ecosystem and they should be used strategically in a controlled way In my latest video I talk a little bit about voucher sites and the reality being that it is still very much a hot topic when talking to brands about the affiliate channel. Even though it was also a hot topic when I started out in affiliates over 12 years ago 😂 I do feel it's important to make this point... You do have a choice as to what partners you approve on your affiliate programme. It's an important fact to remember and if you are not the person doing the affiliate approvals it is really important to brief that person on the type of affiliates you want to work with. Also, if you aren’t happy with your partner list, there is plenty you can do to refine and elevate the partners you work with. Don’t write the channel off because your current activity isn’t what you had hoped it to be. It might just be time for a rethink and to go after intentional outreach, keeping a few strategic code partners you can work closely with. Watch the full video below:

The affiliate channel isn’t scary - I promise. My top tip for brands wanting to launch their affiliate channel, but do it in a way that builds for long term growth are: ◾ Set KPIs - it helps to create focus, they can change and evolve as you learn more about your partners ◾ Understand what you can do - if you just can’t do codes as the margin isn’t working, then don't. However you do need to make it worthwhile for your partners - whether that is a competitive commission or budget for longer term campaigns ◾ Build gradually - I am in favour of a steady and slow approach that is based on considered partnerships ◾ Test - if you don’t occasionally try something new or invest you will never really hit on that nugget of affiliate marketing greatness! An example of taking a chance and trying something different: My team spotted a very targeted and engaged book club, in a key market, that was active only on Facebook. We offered them a code for their users and helped them set up tracking… 1600+ sales generated. It could have failed - but the risk was low and the reward was worth it. Watch my new bitesize video on why affiliate marketing should be a profitable channel for brands wanting to expand. #affiliatemarketing #digitalagency

How are we pretty much halfway through 2024 already?!? The school holidays are fast approaching (the military process of planning childcare is underway) and I just saw my first LinkedIn post on the importance of launching/testing now ahead of Q4 😅 The first half of 2024 has been pretty great though, my personal highlights: 1. Expanding my team with the fantastic addition of Graham Murray as Account Director, I am sure many people know Graham from his time on AO.com and at Awin. It has been brilliant to have him onboard with a wealth of industry and technical experience. Welcoming Graham has solidified one of the (many) things I love about affiliates at Genie Goals - the all round channel 'viewpoint' we have in our team. We have been brand side, network side and we have publisher side in our DNA with BroadbandGenie.co.uk and Genie Shopping as part of the Genie Ventures family. 2. The Affiliate Huddle - always a great reminder of how brilliant our industry is. I saw so many people I hadn’t seen in ages, yes the content was insightful (tackling the big subjects of GA4 and tracking with changes to consent). But also purely seeing people from my Leman Street days at Awin and having a beer with them - priceless! Bring on PI Live now… 3. Tackling the big challenges - it's only June and there's already a lot going on for the industry. Being part of The Affiliate & Partner Marketing Association has given me a real chance to join that wider debate. From fake voucher codes to consent changes there is so much in the industry we can no longer ignore. Do we have all the answers yet? No! But one thing I do know is we must all be open to learning, I am currently upskilling myself on all these areas so I can ensure we deliver the best we can for our partners! Now to tackle the next 6 months… 💪 #affiliatemarketing #ecommerce #digitalagency

Great heading into the office - always needed to have a change of scene and see the lovely Genie Goals team. It does remind me of the differences of leaving the house now as a working parent Vs pre little ones though… BC (before children):  ◾ Get ready at a carefully planned time to allow maximum time in bed ◾ Grab keys ◾ Leave house AC (after children): ◾ Layout everything they could possibly need night before ◾ Panic as forgotten non uniform day and favourite unicorn top not clean ◾ Get up extra early to try to avoid ‘help’ doing makeup ◾ Get ready (with help from small stylist) ◾ Try to explain I am going to work not leaving forever  ◾ Check for toothpaste stains (not mine) on jacket  ◾ Leave house ◾ Coffee priority! Wouldn’t have it any other way, but it also makes me eternally grateful for flexible working at a great company. #workingparent #flexibleworking

‘Incrementality is not even a word anyway’ Quote taken from the leaders panel at The Affiliate Huddle in Brighton last week. Lots of interesting debate as ever and it's clear as an industry the changes in GA4 and how affiliate transactions are viewed has been a hot topic. One big takeaway I had was to ensure we ask more questions about what is meant by incremental sales and what is being valued by brands. The word is used a lot and generally speaking often in relation to if a customer would have purchased anyway without a channel or in this case affiliate’s involvement. We as an industry can often panic and go straight to talking about different partner types, the role they play etc… But the value of any channel can be measured in many ways that can also be viewed as incremental: ◾ How much higher the AOV is Vs other channels? ◾ Frequency of purchase - does a customer purchase more than an average customer? ◾ Has it reactivated a customer that hasn’t purchased in two years? We shouldn’t shy away from hard conversations, but we do need to ask more questions, especially when a channel’s incremental value is under the microscope. #affiliatemarketing #digitalmarketing

The kind of brief I love getting from a client: “We’ve been reviewing numbers and the affiliate channel performance was an extremely profitable channel for us last year. We understand budgets may have restricted you a bit - tell us what you need to invest and what more we can do with more?” This was music to my ears for two reasons: A) Validation for all the hard work B) An open invite to showcase all the opportunities! I really enjoy getting stuck into this kind of piece of work. We know this client really well which gives us a great direction and opportunity to think about what makes sense for their business. When you start a piece of work like this you also realise just how much opportunity there is and it gets you excited about the channel (not to say I am not always excited!) But sometimes when you are battling questions on attribution and tracking updates it can leave you a little weary as an affiliate marketer… But I felt refreshed and energised to see: 🎯 All the great new opportunities - mainly in the CLO sector targeting high spending customers 📷 Content on a CPC becoming more common - a great solution when fixed costs can seem a little scary without understanding the potential reach 🔧 The suite of tech tools constantly evolving to meet varying client needs  🤝 Brand to brand and the partners developing to make that more accessible I know this really is only the tip of the iceberg with what is new, but sometimes it's good to take stock and remind myself why I’ve spent 12+ years in this constantly changing channel. It's the fact there is always something new that keeps me engaged, a reason why I am super excited for The Affiliate Huddle next week. #ecommerce #affiliatemarketing #digitalmarketing