Imagine a new advertiser coming to you to launch a new product. What’s the process between contract and launch?

For every new advertiser, we first discuss their brand needs and goals to make sure they align with ours. We also have to insure that their product or service meets the quality and ethical standards set forth by our board. We won’t promote offers such as e-cigs, adult, gambling, and so on. If the offer passes this test we move on to the due diligence phase of a credit history check and contract review to establish the financial and legal terms that will govern our relationship. At this point, the sales manager will submit the client’s offer(s) into our set up queue, during which the assets, pixeling, and insertion order will be processed. Our legal team reviews all of the assets provided to make sure they are compliant with all applicable laws and regulations, including Truth in Advertising, CAN-SPAM, and FTC laws. Once creatives are approved, the pixel is placed and testing begins in an average of 72 hours, contingent on the demand for a particular offer. After the initial test, we supply the advertiser with the full stats of the test and re-evaluate the offer’s potential for scalability.

During that process, how do you evaluate the relative importance of different channels and what proportion of budget you allocate to them?

We determine the importance of each channel based on advertiser preference and suggested traffic channels derived from Madrivo’s analytics team. Advertisers usually come in knowing what channels they are interested in trying, so we start there and make adjustments based on the ROI and engagement rates we anticipate. In our experience, email is the leading channel in terms of performance, but we allocate a client’s budget across several other media channels when there’s potential and demand. Madrivo works hard to give their advertisers the traffic quality and returns they deserve.

How does an advertiser prevent affiliates from competing with and cannibalizing the advertiser’s own search or display campaigns?

When working with a network like ours, advertisers have the privilege of making restrictions that affiliates must adhere to in order to run the offer. Specific to display and search channels, clients can prohibit keywords, platforms, and channels that would essentially compete with their own efforts. However, from what I’ve seen, advertisers quickly realize the powerful potential that high-quality affiliates have and allow publishers to strategize and scale at their own discretion if it translates into better returns.

Have you ever had a merchant try to cut you out by working directly with a publisher? How did you deal with the situation?

Circumvention is a reality in all markets, but Madrivo is fortunate enough to work with loyal, trusting partners that keep events like this to a minimum. Additionally, our legal team ensures each agreement we sign contains a non-circumvention clause, which prohibits our advertisers from scouting our affiliates. We expect full-transparency from our advertisers and treat them with the same respect. Also, many clients prefer the convenience of working with a network instead of managing publishers directly, given the responsibilities, liability, and expectations that come with affiliate management.

What is the best way for a publisher to “get to the next level” where they are offered exclusive offers and improved commission rates?

We have a unique vetting process that all new affiliates, regardless of their industry reputation, must pass. When initiating traffic, we give publishers a very small budget and allow them to run offers we consider low-risk in terms of compliance violations. When they can prove their ability to provide high-quality traffic, steady performance, and without violations of any kind, we open them up to our exclusive offers. Over time, we can also offer them more resources including IP, data, and servers to assist in their success, assuming they’ve continued to meet performance benchmarks and uphold our standards on quality and compliance. Our affiliate managers develop long-lasting relationships with their account contacts so affiliates understand the philosophy behind our process and trust that Madrivo is implementing strategies that benefit all parties involved.

About

Ronen Hamatian is a master online marketer with a proven track record and 14 years of experience in the affiliate marketing space. As CEO of Madrivo, Ronen continues to expand his high-performance team through top-level hires and strategic mergers & acquisitions. Ronen promotes credibility, accountability and excellence by holding himself and all around him to the highest standards of ethics, compliance and performance.