And The Winners (of Affiliate Summit West 2013 Passes) Are…

Twenty days ago I announced a competition with two free passes to the upcoming Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas as prizes. We’ve had a total of 15 people submit their comments, and I sincerely appreciate every single one of them. As originally promised, today I would like to announce the winners.

Unfortunately, after a trip to Mexico, and two intense days at school which followed immediately after her return, my little Princess was too tired to do it like two years ago; and I have decided to use a list randomizer this time, instead. So, the winners for the two Affiliate Summit West 2013 Networking Plus Passes are…

Answering the question of what is one important component of affiliate program launch or ongoing management/maintenance, the winners said:

Mark Welch:

Planning. That’s the single most important component of an affiliate program launch. Thinking about questions like, “who do we want as affiliates? What types of activities do we want to compensate with our program? What activities should be prohibited or excluded? What are reasonable incentives for the specific affiliates we want to recruit? Are there aspects to a compensation structure that might attract or reward unethical or unhelpful activities by affiliates?” So many merchants just launch a program, and then discover that there are categories of affiliates and of affiliate activities which they don’t want participating, and then the merchant is stuck trying to think of ways to extract from those relationships without alienating valuable affiliates.

Joe:

I think that one of the most important elements of managing an affiliate program is knowing how to slice the data. There’s so much data and if it’s not looked at through the right lens, it can lead to devastating strategic decisions.

Both — great comments. Once again, thanks to everyone who has decided to participate, and congratulations to the winners!! See you in four weeks in Vegas!