Did you catch Affiverse Founder and CEO Lee-Ann Johnstone on Impact.com’s The Partnership Economy Podcast? Along with host Todd Crawford, Co-Founder of impact.com, they discussed Affiliate and Partnership Marketing. They each shared their combined knowledge and insights gained through more than two decades within the affiliate marketing industry.
Key topics covered included a segment all about the power of nano-influencers, partnership program mistakes, and the future of affiliate marketing. We’ve highlighted some of the key points from the podcast discussion below. Click here to check out the podcast!
Nano-Influencers
Lee-Ann and Todd agreed that influencers are nothing new in the world of affiliate marketing. However, the platforms and social media channels these influencers use are bigger than ever and can now offer unprecedented reach and power.
Lee-Ann went on to highlight the emergence of nano-influencers and discussed how important they have become for modern brands that are running affiliate programs.
Nano-influencers have smaller followings, which makes it easier to build trust, and their followers are often highly knowledgeable. For brands, working with a handful of nano-influencers can be more beneficial than working with one or two bigger influencers and can see improved results. Nano-influencers will play a key role in the partnership economy as we move forward.
Common Partnership Program Mistakes
Todd went on to ask Lee-Ann about some of the common mistakes she sees brands making in their partnership programs and how these can be avoided.
In response, Lee-Ann outlined her two pet peeves; the two most common partnership program mistakes she sees being made again and again.
The first of Lee-Ann’s pet peeves has to do with visibility. Partners are struggling to find and connect with relevant brands. To address this, brands must ensure that links to their affiliate programs are clearly displayed on their websites. These programs must be marketed to potential partners if they are to succeed.
Lee-Ann’s second pet peeve concerns the relationship between affiliate managers and partners, smaller partners in particular. She discussed how important building relationships with partners is, and why treating smaller partners in the same way as larger partners is the key to an effective program.
The Future of Affiliate Marketing
Finally, Lee-Ann and Todd discussed what the future holds for the affiliate marketing industry, and how brands and affiliates alike can harness new technology to boost performance.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been taking the world by storm. However, Lee-Ann pointed out that AI is no substitute for human creativity. While it can be used for analytics, admin and even brainstorming, remember to remain creative when crafting blogs and content.
Lee-Ann spoke of how much the affiliate marketing industry has grown over the past 20 years, and how excited she is to see where it will be in the future. For brands and partners, staying open-minded and willing to adopt new technologies is vital as the industry continues to evolve.
About The Partnership Economy Podcast
The Partnership Economy Podcast is hosted by Todd Crawford, Co-Founder and David A. Yovanno, CEO of impact.com. The show invites industry guests and speakers to discuss the power of partnerships and how they can be leveraged by brands and businesses.
Last month, we invited Todd Crawford onto our Affiliate Marketing Podcast to discuss the future of affiliate marketing. You can listen to that episode here.
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Want to discover the secret of successful Affiliate Partnerships?
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