Contents Overview 1 An Introduction to Affiliate Programs 2 Terms Associated with Affiliate Programs 4 Using Microsoft bCentral Services as an Affiliate Partner 5 Using Microsoft bCentral Services as an Advertiser 11 Creating an Affiliate Program 12 Managing an Affiliate Program 13 Viewing and Interpreting Reports Generated by ClickTrade 18 Review 19 Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs Information in this document is subject to change without notice. The names of companies, products, people, characters, and/or data mentioned herein are fictitious and are in no way intended to represent any real individual, company, product, or event, unless otherwise noted. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation. 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Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Development Lead: P.M. Murali (NIIT) Instructional Designers: Sangeeta Nair (NIIT), Vijayalakshmi Narayanaswamy, (NIIT) Technical Contributors: Scott Swigart (3 Leaf Solutions, LLC); Gary Gumbiner (Great Barrier Technologies) Program Manager: Steve Merrill Graphic Artist: Scott Serna Editing Manager: Lynette Skinner Editor: Dennis Rea Copy Editor: Ed Casper (S&T Consulting) Publications Manager: Miracle Davis Test Manager: Eric Myers CD Build Specialist: Jenny Boe; Eric Wagoner Production Coordinator: Marlene Lambert (Online Training Solutions, Inc.); Susie Bayers (Online Training Solutions, Inc.) Manufacturing Manager: Bo Galford Manufacturing Support: Laura King General Manager: Robert Stewart Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs iii Instructor Notes This module introduces students to affiliate programs and explains how these programs help in promoting e-commerce Web sites. The module then describes how to use an affiliate program as both a partner and an advertiser. These concepts are presented in relation to the ClickTrade Advertiser service of Microsoft ® bCentral ™ . After completing this module, students will be able to: ! Identify the benefits of affiliate programs. ! Identify the points that a potential affiliate partner should consider when assessing an affiliate program. ! Sign up as an affiliate partner by using the ClickTrade Advertiser service. ! Join an affiliate program by using ClickTrade. ! Create and manage an affiliate program. ! View and interpret reports generated by ClickTrade. Materials and Preparation This section provides the materials and preparation tasks that you need to teach this module. Required Materials To teach this module, you need the following materials: ! Microsoft PowerPoint ® file 1933A_08.ppt ! Module 8, “Setting Up Affiliate Programs” Preparation Tasks To prepare for this module, you should: ! Read all of the materials for this module. Presentation: 80 Minutes Lab: 00 Minutes iv Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs Module Strategy Use the following strategies to present this module: ! An Introduction to Affiliate Programs Explain the various terms and concepts described in the module with reference to the Mightyflight Toys case study. ! Terms Associated with Affiliate Programs Provide brief definitions of some of the terms that are associated with affiliate programs, and mention that these terms will be used frequently in the remaining sections of this module. ! Using Microsoft bCentral Services as an Affiliate Partner Emphasize the points that a potential affiliate partner should consider when assessing an affiliate program. Demonstrate the procedure for signing up as an affiliate and joining an affiliate program. Then, demonstrate the use of ClickTrade in managing an affiliate account. ! Using Microsoft bCentral Services as an Advertiser When beginning this section, remind the students that you had previously discussed how Web site owners can use ClickTrade to advertise other Web sites. Now you will discuss how owners of Web sites can use ClickTrade to create programs that help advertise their own sites. ! Creating an Affiliate Program Because creating an affiliate program requires you to make a deposit of $500 through your credit card, you will not be able to demonstrate the procedure in this topic. Instead, use the slide to give students information about the details that a user needs to provide when creating an affiliate program. ! Managing an Affiliate Program Explain the need for managing an affiliate program and the tasks involved in doing so. Because you have not signed up for an affiliate program, you will not be able to demonstrate the steps for managing an affiliate program. Use the slides to provide students with information about the tasks involved in managing an affiliate program. ! Viewing and Interpreting Reports Generated by ClickTrade List the various types of reports and graphs generated by the ClickTrade service for advertisers. Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs 1 Overview ! An Introduction to Affiliate Programs ! Terms Associated with Affiliate Programs ! Using Microsoft bCentral Services as an Affiliate Partner ! Using Microsoft bCentral Services as an Advertiser ! Creating an Affiliate Program ! Managing an Affiliate Program ! Viewing and Interpreting Reports Generated by ClickTrade In the previous modules of this course, you learned how the Banner Network and ListBot e-mail marketing services of Microsoft ® bCentral ™ help you to promote your e-commerce Web site. In addition to banner advertising and mailing lists, you need to implement affiliate programs as an advertising and marketing strategy. Affiliate programs are a powerful tool for reaching new customers and increasing your revenues. You can use affiliate programs to get other businesses and Web sites to send you paying customers. After completing this module, you will be able to: ! Identify the benefits of affiliate programs. ! Identify the points that a potential affiliate partner should consider when assessing an affiliate program. ! Sign up as an affiliate partner by using the ClickTrade advertiser service. ! Join an affiliate program by using ClickTrade. ! Create and manage an affiliate program. ! View and interpret reports generated by ClickTrade. Topic Objective To provide an overview of the module topics and objectives. Lead-in In this module, you will learn about the ClickTrade Advertiser service of Microsoft bCentral, and how it helps in managing an affiliate partner and creating and managing affiliate programs. 2 Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs An Introduction to Affiliate Programs ! How does an affiliate program work? ! Who should set up an affiliate program? ! Who should be an affiliate partner? ! When should you set up an affiliate program? An affiliate program is an effective way to encourage other site owners to place links to your Web site on their sites. You can encourage them to do this by: ! Paying them a commission on the traffic they generate to your site. ! Paying them a commission on customer information or direct sales that their sites help to bring to your site. How does an affiliate program work? As a Web site owner, you can launch an affiliate program and invite the owners of other Web sites to become partners in the program. The sites of your affiliate partners will display text and image links to your site. When visitors to your partner sites click these links, they are taken to your site, where they might browse through your products and services, fill out subscription or feedback forms, or even purchase your products. In this way, an affiliate program results in increased business for your site through traffic from an affiliate partner’s site. For the service that your partners provide, you need to pay them a fixed amount of money as commission or a percentage of the sales they generate for your site. This is a win-win partnership because the advertiser receives increased traffic leading to increased sales revenue, while the partners also obtain increased revenue in the form of a commission. For example, consider an affiliate program started by the owner of the e- commerce Web site for Mightyflight Toys. If another Web site owner becomes a partner in this affiliate program, that owner’s site will display text or banner links to the Mightyflight Toys site. Each time a visitor to the partner site links to the Mightyflight Toys site and places an order, the partner earns a commission on the sale. Mightyflight Toys gains publicity for its Web site and revenue from the referred visitor’s order. Topic Objective To introduce the concept of affiliate programs. Lead-in An online business can generate increased revenue through affiliate programs. Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs 3 Who should set up an affiliate program? Any online business owner who wants to boost the site’s popularity and financial returns can set up an affiliate program. Keep in mind that people who set up affiliate programs should have a strong financial base so that they can pay their affiliate partners well and regularly. Who should be an affiliate partner? Web site owners who are willing to display links to advertisers’ sites can become affiliate partners. In return, these partners can earn a commission on purchases made by the customers they refer to an advertiser’s site, thus adding to the partner’s monthly revenues. As an affiliate partner, you are required to place links to the advertiser’s Web site on your site. For this reason, you may not want to join an affiliate program operated by one of your competitors. When should you set up an affiliate program? Do not set up an affiliate program at the time you create your Web site. You must wait until after the site has been on the Web for some time, is stable, and you have at least a few paying customers. Note 4 Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs Terms Associated with Affiliate Programs ! Advertiser ! Affiliate partners ! Payout rate ! Sale event ! Click event ! Lead event ! Pay-per-sale ! Pay-per-click ! Pay-per-lead The following table lists and describes some important terms that are commonly used in relation to affiliate programs. Term Description Advertiser The owner of the online business who creates and launches the affiliate program. Affiliate partners Web site owners who include links to the advertiser’s Web site on their own Web site. Payout rate The commission amount that the advertiser pays to the affiliate partners. Sale event An event that occurs when a customer referral from the affiliate partner results in a sale on the advertiser’s Web site. Click event An event that occurs when the advertiser’s site is visited by someone referred by a link on the affiliate partner’s site. Lead event An event that occurs when a visitor to the affiliate partner’s Web site clicks a link to the advertiser’s site and then supplies contact information to the advertiser. Contact information is usually collected at the advertiser’s site by means of an e-mail newsletter subscription form or feedback form. Pay-per-sale A commission paid by the advertiser to the affiliate partner when a sale takes place as a result of a referral from the partner’s site. Pay-per-click A referral commission paid by the advertiser to the affiliate partner when a click event takes place as a result of a referral from the partner’s site. Pay-per-lead A commission paid by the advertiser to the affiliate partner when a lead event takes place. You get paid for each visitor who provides requested information on the advertiser’s site. For example, you get paid when a visitor fills out a form or downloads trial software. Topic Objective To list and describe the terms that are commonly used to describe affiliate programs. Lead-in Before participating in an affiliate program, you should be aware of some commonly used terms and concepts. Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs 5 # ## # Using Microsoft bCentral Services as an Affiliate Partner ! Points to Consider Before Joining an Affiliate Program ! Services Provided by ClickTrade for Affiliate Partners ! Joining ClickTrade ! Joining Affiliate Programs Microsoft bCentral provides you with a service called the ClickTrade Advertiser service, which allows you to: ! Create and manage your own affiliate program. ! Become a partner in affiliate programs that other Web site owners create by using ClickTrade. ClickTrade allows you to create pay-per-lead and pay-per-sale affiliate programs. All active ClickTrade affiliate programs receive a free listing in the Revenue Avenue listings directory, a network of more than 110,000 affiliates who can easily locate and join your affiliate program. The advantages of ClickTrade are that it is: ! Easy to use. ClickTrade handles all sales tracking and time-consuming payments to affiliates. You do not need to install any software for this. ! Fast. The ClickTrade Affiliate Program Wizard assists you in getting an affiliate program up and running quickly. ! Effective. You can gain broad exposure by listing your program in the highly trafficked Revenue Avenue directory of affiliate programs, offered by ClickTrade. Topic Objective To discuss important points that should be considered by a Web site owner who wants to become an affiliate partner. Lead-in Before you learn how to create and manage your own affiliate program as an advertiser, you need to learn how to become an affiliate partner and earn revenue by using ClickTrade. 6 Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs Points to Consider Before Joining an Affiliate Program ! Choose a good product or service ! Examine the information provided by the advertiser ! Check out the company with existing affiliate partners ! Select a program that rewards well ! Select sites that sell products or services similar to your own ! Avoid joining too many affiliate programs Before joining an affiliate program as a partner, you need to assess the program carefully. Be sure to consider the following when assessing affiliate programs: ! Examine the product or service being offered. The better the product or service, the more enthusiastically your site can recommend it, thus increasing the chance that people will want to buy it. ! Carefully examine the information provided by the owner of the affiliate program. Information about products or services must be readily available, and you need to make sure that you do not promote a product or service that can damage your company’s reputation. ! When researching the company before you sign up as a partner, ask for the names of its existing affiliate partners and contact them to see if they are happy with the advertiser. ! Look for affiliate programs that reward you generously. ! Preferably, choose affiliate programs for sites that sell products and services that match the theme of your own site. ! Avoid joining too many affiliate programs and cluttering your site with their links. The theme of your site must always be clear. If you want your visitors to keep coming back, your site must make its purpose obvious. One way to increase the click-through rate and sales for the advertiser’s site is to write a personal testimonial on your own site praising the advertiser’s product or service. Topic Objective To discuss the points that a prospective partner should keep in mind before joining an affiliate program. Lead-in Although there may be a large number of affiliate programs for you to choose from, you need to carefully consider some important factors before joining a program. Note [...]... Sign up for the ClickTrade Advertiser service ! Create an affiliate program ! Manage the affiliate program ! Monitor the affiliate program by using the various reports that ClickTrade generates for an advertiser 12 Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs Creating an Affiliate Program Topic Objective To introduce the options available for creating an affiliate program ! Lead-in When creating an affiliate. .. the affiliate categories to suit your requirements You can edit the following information related to your affiliate program: ! The URL of the Web page to which you want to drive traffic ! The name of your affiliate program ! The description of your affiliate program ! Keywords relating to the content of your affiliate program ! The status of your affiliate program 16 Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs. .. your affiliate program 14 Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs Managing Payouts Topic Objective To present the options available in ClickTrade for managing payouts ! ! As the owner of an affiliate program, you need to pay your affiliate partners for each lead and sale that their Web sites generate for your site Managing payout rates by affiliate category ! Lead-in Managing payout rates by affiliate. .. list of affiliate programs that match that category Each program listing provides the following information: • Program name • Type of program For example, C for Click, B for Bonus, L for Lead, and S for Sale • Payout rates offered by the program • Number of active affiliates of the program • Date on which the program was listed 10 Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs You can select the programs. . .Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs 7 Services Provided by ClickTrade for Affiliate Partners Topic Objective To present the services provided by ClickTrade for affiliate partners ! ! Reporting ! Now that you know which points you should keep in mind when assessing an affiliate program, you need to learn about the ClickTrade features that help you manage your affiliate account... your affiliate program for leads or sales that they generate You also need to specify the default amount you will pay for each lead and sale that an affiliate generates You can specify either a flat fee per sale or a percentage of the dollar amount of the sale Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs 13 # Managing an Affiliate Program Topic Objective To introduce the options available for managing an affiliate. .. are sent out by the 15th of the month for the previous month’s transactions 8 Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs Joining ClickTrade Topic Objective To list the steps involved in joining ClickTrade as an affiliate partner ! To become an affiliate partner, you must sign up for the ClickTrade Advertiser service ! To sign up for ClickTrade, you must enter the following details: Lead-in You can use... sign -up form requires you to enter the following: ! ! Demonstrate the procedure for signing up for the ClickTrade Advertiser service Information about your Web site ! Delivery Tip Your contact information A password If you have already signed up for Site Manager or Premium Business in bCentral, your contact information will be already filled in Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs 9 Joining Affiliate. .. partner’s affiliates: Delivery Tip Explain that the list shown here provides an overview of the services provided by ClickTrade for an affiliate The secondary points describe activities that ClickTrade allows you to do as an affiliate ! Finding and linking to affiliate programs You can search for and view affiliate programs in various categories You can also make requests to join affiliate programs. .. owner Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs 11 Using Microsoft bCentral Services as an Advertiser Topic Objective To explain the broad set of tasks that an advertiser must perform to create and manage an affiliate program ! Types of models that an advertiser can choose: $ $ Lead-in The owner of an affiliate program, or the advertiser, needs to follow a set of generic steps when managing an affiliate . managing an affiliate partner and creating and managing affiliate programs. 2 Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs An Introduction to Affiliate Programs. advertisers. Module 8: Setting Up Affiliate Programs 1 Overview ! An Introduction to Affiliate Programs ! Terms Associated with Affiliate Programs ! Using