After gaining a degree in business studies at Bath University, Richard started working life in 1991 as a staff writer on PC Format magazine at Future Publishing. In 1994 he became editor of Internet magazine .net.
Richard joined the affiliate world with the launch of his human search engine Rich Clickings in 1998 and then his shopping directory 2020shops  in 1999. The site's still going, but is most notable for the amount of tumbleweed blowing across it.
Richard launched adult online store LoveHoney with business partner Neal Slateford in 2002. The business has fast become the leading online retailer of sex toys and related products.
LoveHoney has runs both an in-house affiliate program and a program on Affiliate Future. You can find out more about LoveHoney's affiliate program here.Guest Post 1: Super Affiliates – Where Are You?
Below is the first guest post, this is from Richard Longhurst, the man behind LoveHoney. I asked Richard to write a post as I've long since admired him as he's been around the Internet forever and I was a regular reader of his contributions to various UK Internet magazines.
LoveHoney has had an in-house affiliate programme since the year dot - dot, in our case, being 2002 when we launched the site. I would be the first to admit that it's (slightly embarrassingly) neglected. Banner updates are few and far between, and I think I can count the number of times that we've used our affiliate mailer on one hand. 5 affiliate e-mails in as many years. Oh dear.
In our defence, at least we pay on time every month, with no minimum earnings if you choose to be paid by PayPal or bank transfer.
But we know we should do better. Much better.
Earlier this year we appointed Jessica Luthi of Affiliate Program Advice to run our affiliate program. We launched on Affiliate Future and have had some good, it not particularly spectacular, success.
But of course we want more - more affiliates, more sales, more everything.
So I asked (perhaps naively) Jessica to try to find us some super-affiliates, the top UK people and companies who earn scads of cash from this affiliate business. Kirsty recently posted about What Super Affiliates Really Want. And that's what we want to give them - if only they would work with us.
Jessica reckons that we have two (main) problems.
Problem 1: We're rude. Not as in impolite, but as in selling adult products. This surprised me as an affiliate objection. Firstly because part of the art of online marketing is being able to target the right message to the right people - and super-affiliates would be brilliant at that, right?
And secondly because Tradedoubler has recently claimed to have generated sales of £700,000 for Ann Summers in a few months since launching in November 2006. Clearly they wouldn't make up a stat like that, so there must be some very super affiliates out there working for Ann Summers - who are pretty much as rude as us.
So, rudeness shouldn't be a problem.
Problem 2: 70-80% (Jess's estimate) of affiliates now generate sales for merchants primarily through PPC campaigns. This is a problem for us because we already spend (insert large commercially sensitive sum here) *a lot* of money on Google AdWords. This cuts us off from PPC affiliates because we don't want them competing with our existing adverts and driving up our own costs.
I found that figure of 70-80% really surprising. For me, affiliate programs were invented to enable existing Web sites to earn money. If, like my friend Chris, you have a site about Diving in Thailand, you can put up some links to scuba gear and dive books on Amazon, some AdSense for dive holidays and make some (hopefully decent) money.
Obviously, affiliate marketing has moved beyond that simplistic view and affiliates rightly take every opportunity to make money (which could explain why you're never far from a post about merchant's pay-per-click policy when you're reading an affiliate blog).
But does affiliate marketing really boil down to who's best at PPC?
If you're a merchant, like LoveHoney, that has its PPC pretty well covered in-house (affiliates - please help yourselves to advertising LoveHoney on Miva!), what more can content-based super-affiliates offer?
Do let me know - for our part, we promise to tick every box on Kirsty's list.
Who is Richard Longhurst?
After gaining a degree in business studies at Bath University, Richard started working life in 1991 as a staff writer on PC Format magazine at Future Publishing. In 1994 he became editor of Internet magazine .net.
Richard joined the affiliate world with the launch of his human search engine Rich Clickings in 1998 and then his shopping directory 2020shops  in 1999. The site's still going, but is most notable for the amount of tumbleweed blowing across it.
Richard launched adult online store LoveHoney with business partner Neal Slateford in 2002. The business has fast become the leading online retailer of sex toys and related products.
LoveHoney has runs both an in-house affiliate program and a program on Affiliate Future. You can find out more about LoveHoney's affiliate program here.
After gaining a degree in business studies at Bath University, Richard started working life in 1991 as a staff writer on PC Format magazine at Future Publishing. In 1994 he became editor of Internet magazine .net.
Richard joined the affiliate world with the launch of his human search engine Rich Clickings in 1998 and then his shopping directory 2020shops  in 1999. The site's still going, but is most notable for the amount of tumbleweed blowing across it.
Richard launched adult online store LoveHoney with business partner Neal Slateford in 2002. The business has fast become the leading online retailer of sex toys and related products.
LoveHoney has runs both an in-house affiliate program and a program on Affiliate Future. You can find out more about LoveHoney's affiliate program here.
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12 Responses to Guest Post 1: Super Affiliates – Where Are You?
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Welcome to my blog. My name is Kieron Donoghue and I am the founder of ShareMyPlaylists.com, ContentNow.co.uk and some other stuff. I have no idea why I'm blue on this photo though but I like it!
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“affiliate programs were invented to enable existing Web sites to earn money”
That was the case once upon a time, but the affiliate marketing emphasis imo has swayed towards PPC and Rewards sites – simply because that’s where the big bucks are. And content sites (well like ourselves at Loquax) also have the “savvy user” issue who realises that they can get cashback and other goodies via the big reward sites.
The problem merchants and publishers like ourselves have then is adapting to work within every tightening confines – however, remember there’s always ways and means. With thousands of merchants out there, it’s the ones prepared to put the effort in who will (or should) prosper.
For example, discount codes, reduced commission for bigger discounts, exclusive offers, content units (search boxes, easy content a publisher can use) quality product feeds, competitions, promotions and above all lots of regular communication can mean that a merchant gets noticed by the non-PPC, non-reward sites.
I think merchants also need to understand (or learn) what a non-PPC, non-rewards affiliate thinks/wants when it comes to AM. We always see/get told “these are what we think you should be doing/promoting” – but often that doesn’t fit accordingly with our sites.
However, I think you also have to be realistic. Most content guys n gals I think would work with a multitude of merchants, earning average cash (perhaps with a number of good earners as well).
Plus if an affiliate can generate (serious) thousands of pounds of commission from just SEO or content selling your products then they may well ask themselves why they should not just compete directly against you as a merchant themselves?
Jason
Excellent article Richard – nice to see the face behind the program! Personally, I think the LH program is one of the best around. Creative is varied on AF, commissions are good. You certainly have no complaints from this side of the web!
Yes, I enjoyed reading that.
best wishes,
G
Do adult related sites perhaps suffer because affiliates fear that they are less likely to get paid?
“This cuts us off from PPC affiliates because we don’t want them competing with our existing adverts and driving up our own costs.”
That kind of thinking is so ass backwards it’s borderline retarded. LET AFFILIATES SELL YOUR PRODUCTS, I guarantee you that you will increase sales dramatically if you let affiliates bid on your terms. First off, you cannot think of every angle. Second, smart affiliates will use your “banned word list” to promote your compeition on ppc engines. Third, having 100 affiliates promoting your products on ppc engines means 100 times the sales activity that you could generate alone.
Stupid merchants who think they’re losing money if they let affiliates compete with them should be shot.
With an adult site, don’t forget to promote scarlet magazine, they have quite a good commission for selling 1 issues at £1 ( i think its about £6)
Nice site though
Adult related sites might not be advertised on some sites, because It is blocking out some the market, if your site is designed towards the early 20s for instance, you might still get some under 18 traffic. I am sure you would agree that it is immoral to promote adult related sites on a site which children may visit. Kieron’s new racing site for instance. Also if you market an adult related site on a site that 1/2 the traffic is from children you have only 1/2 the amount of people who could be buying.
Hope this helps some people,
James Jenkins-Yates
“If you’re a merchant, like LoveHoney, that has its PPC pretty well covered in-house”
This is such a naive attitude, As good as your in-house team may be. They will never be as good as the collective PPC ability of all the PPC affiliates.
Having affiliates share the PPC space with your own PPC campaign will give you much more visibility and will likely push some of your competitors down the rankings.
Sorry Bob, apart from finding your choice of language offensive, I also happen to disagree.
This is not true on all programs – sure, if he had an open PPC policy the sales would be higher, but if he’s getting a better, more controlled ROI from PPC then why would he look to stop that?
“If you’re a merchant, like LoveHoney, that has its PPC pretty well covered in-house”
Well I’m not a PPC affiliate by any means, I concentrate on niche SEO, and building email lists, also in niche areas, however one of the programs I promote is Ann Summers so I hope I can contribute something useful.
I have some of their top products at #1 on a number of engines, and across several phrases, but I know for a fact there is a ‘long-tail’ of phrases I get SEO traffic for that is not being touched by PPC, so much so that I’m starting to move into PPC to get 2 listings on the SERPS and pick up traffic I already know converts.
Never believe that you’ve ‘got it covered’. on PPC. Sure, block off the brand stuff if it makes sense, but your affiliates can give better reach than you’ll ever do. That means, PPC, SEO, emails, the whole lot.
If I’m covering areas that Ann Summers have missed, think how much space is out there for a smaller brand like yourselves.
Good article Richard. People have different views on the PPC aspect:
“If you’re a merchant, like LoveHoney, that has its PPC pretty well covered in-house”
We run our PPC in-house, very well. We also allow PPC affiliates to send traffic direct to merchant, and the two complement each other very well.
Graham
One of the challenges is breaking down affiliates own deep rooted stigma attached to selling adult products, adult toys and sex has always been synonymous with deviant sex and perversion, all done behind closed doors. The media is great at taking the moral high ground and preaching core family values, whilst on page three,of a tabloid is a topless model in some kind of bondage peering out at you. So Im not surprised we are all in a state of uncertainty about what we should be promoting and how.
I don’t think its as simple as looking at the mechanisms of affiliate marketing re PPC, SEO or cashback sites. I think the real issue is the nature of the product, the affiliates promoting the product and their own personal beliefs. Sex is so personal, it could be difficult to separate personal moral beliefs and then readily accept others. The Media is so contradictory and the only time we ever hear about sex is always in a negative way, “The woman was tied up and raped”. Women trafficking, child porn and so on. The other factor is lots of affiliates will not want kids stumbling across adult products, so rather then take that risk, they would rather just stay away from LoveHoney altogether. I feel one of the challenges if we want main stream affiliates is to get those main stream affiliates promoting LoveHoney and doing it without mentioning sex or the products. We know people are buying these products, doctors, teachers, psychologists, affiliates, and merchants too, in fact who has not got some kind of sex aid, perhaps is the question?
The following is a snippet from my own blog post “LoveHoney.co.uk affiliate program has gathered considerable pace in the last few months, affiliates have been slow to begin with but once they put their links up, bang! “ A nice little converter”. Some affiliates have seen that they can fit LoveHoney.co.uk (specialises in adult themed products) into their main stream sites by honing in on the lingerie sections, or the health sections. Condoms being acceptable and accepted by the majority of people. You see consumers are by and large very curious about adult products most will openly say they don’t own any adult products but we kinda know that that’s not the case for a lot of them. If you’re the bashful type or you think your customers are the bashful type, then help yourself and them out. See a whole paragraph and I have not mentioned the “S” word once. Has any one clocked the Durex Playring advert? they don’t mention the “S” word once either. LoveHoney.co.uk was even featured in the Guardian back in the day http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/apr/29/businesssolutionssupplement5. We know sales are rocking so some one is buying them. It’s when you shove the product in your visitor’s face without even so much as a reason why its there, which can be off putting. Softly softly does it.”
I love LoveHoney.co.uk aff program because it has all the right ingredients coming together to make a high performance affiliate program. Conversions are great, commissions are lucrative, cookie date great. We have not aggressively gone out and thrown this program in affiliate’s faces, Richard may disagree here with our methods, rather we have introduced LoveHoney to the affiliates and let the affiliates first get their heads around the moral dilemma of promoting an adult store, secondly we can show them how to promote LoveHoney without even mentioning sex or toys. If we want main stream affiliates we need to promote lovehoney in a way that does not make any one feel ill at ease or uncomfortable, if the affiliate is relaxed about us, then this will be reflected in how they promote LoveHoney to their visitors. Of course a lot of affiliates are guys and will be able to go full on and no embarrassment, the lads amongst lads. Some affiliates are not like that and this is who we need to cater for too. This is not a traditional affiliate program, we are not selling knives and forks, we are selling sex aids and this will always be deemed as a bit risqué.