Affiliate Toolkit
In every job there are certain tools you can’t miss in order to get the job done. A carpenter needs a hammer, a referee needs a whistle, and an affiliate needs a computer. But that’s not all, of course an affiliate needs more tools- and in this article we describe a few tools that are needed to become a successful affiliate.
The reason of using tools in general, is to make your work life more easy and efficient. No matter what type of affiliate you are, every affiliate does (online) promotion and wants to optimize their campaigns and bring down costs as much as possible. In order to achieve these goals, there are certain tools you can use, and in this blogpost we highlight a few of our favorite ones.
I spy with my little eye
Let’s go straight to my favorite tool, which is the spy tool. Cause you don’t have to reinvent the wheel yourself right?! A spy tool gives you insight in the market. You will be able to see what your competitors are doing, which landers are working well, and it gives your insight in which angels you should choose. You can basically analyse how others promote their offers and even see which traffic sources they are using. All this information can help you in further optimizing your campaigns. Maybe not directly in lowering your costs, but it will definitely give you a head start by helping you save a lot of time and effort. Eventually, with the right tools you can have all this data within a few minutes. Now, there are several companies out there that offer these tools. Mostly these are (monthly) subscription based services. Some well known Spy tools are: Adplexity, Anstrex, Whatrunswhere, and Adbeat.
Start track your data
Most affiliates run their campaigns with many different traffic sources and affiliate networks. Traffic Company is known for in-house IVR (click to call) or mobile content offers, but of course there are other networks for other verticals.
A tracking platform is able to connect all info in one place. This way you are able to create your own dashboard with the data from all the traffic sources and affiliate networks you’re working with. One of the reasons we advise to use a tracking platform is because it works way more efficient. Instead of logging in every day to check the spend with each ad-network and to check the revenues with multiple affiliate networks, you will have an overview with everything in one place. Next to that, tracking platforms also provide statistics which you need in order to optimize your campaigns. These statistics are pretty comprehensive, which allows you to check you results in a very detailed manner.
Communication is key
As an affiliate you will be in contact with several partners. Some nicer than others ;) You need to have contact with your CPA network, but probably also with your traffic sources or ad-network. These days Skype is the most familiar way to communicate, however, in some countries it’s common to use other communication platforms. In China for example ‘WeChat’ is quite common and in Russia and Ukraine ‘Telegram’ is the market leader in terms of communication tools.
URL Redirect checker
Ever had a situation where you didn’t end up on the landingspage you’re trying to run and you would like to know why? There is a solution, namely by using an URL redirect checker. There are a few tracking sites where you can simply drop an URL and after a few seconds you’ll have a whole list with a full redirection path or URLs, shortened links, or tiny URLs showing a lot of interesting information you can analyze. We hear you thinking ‘What’s the catch?’’. Well, in that case we have some good news cause there is none, you can often use these tools for free.
Stay up to date with Fora’s
Moving on to Fora. This tool is usually very undervalued by a lot of affiliates. As the affiliate marketing industry is moving in a rapid pace, it’s important to keep up with the latest trends. With Fora such as Afflift, STM, Affiliatefix and Blackhatworld you will have access to a lot of helpful case studies, affiliate marketing guides and free webinars. Next to that, you will be able to meet other affiliates just like you- who will be able to help you with your questions and can give you new insights in becoming a better affiliate.
Join networking events
Officially It’s not a tool, and maybe it should not be listed. However, if you want to learn, get the best tips and talk business with people in real life, you should definitely attend one of the affiliate events which are hosted around 10/15 times per year. We at Traffic Company are attending a lot of these events to meet partners, potential partners, and business friends. When you’re an affiliate, you can usually attend these events for free (and of course, a good excuse to get those airmiles ;). Some of our favorite events are TES, World TeleMedia, ClickBid, and Mobile World Congress.
In this blogpost we described a view ‘tools’ and tips that are needed to survive in the jungle of affiliate marketing. If you want more detailed information, please let us know, because the Traffic Company team is happy to help you.
