DTC POD: How The Best Brands Are Built

#292 - Mustafa Saeed - How The Best Brands Run Affiliate Marketing

Episode Summary

Mustafa Saeed is a growth marketer and co-founder of Paul Street - an affiliate marketing firm that works with some of the largest brands in e-commerce. Mustafa joins Ramon & Blaine to walk us through the key strategies and tactics brands can implement to grow profitably through affiliate marketing. From screening and selecting high-quality affiliates to creating customized landing pages and developing compelling content, don’t miss out on the strategies behind this often overlooked growth channel.

Episode Notes

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On this episode of DTC pod we cover:

  1. Monitoring affiliates regularly for compliance.
  2. Preference for historical partnerships and familiarity.
  3. Meeting with affiliates and ensuring transparency.
  4. Asking for referrals and recommendations from other brands.
  5. Benefits and challenges of affiliate marketing for brands.
  6. Optimizing strategies and working with affiliates who add value.
  7. Creating effective landing pages and reducing attribution leakage.

Timestamps
4:20 Brand growth, affiliate strategy, initial setup.
5:10 Affiliate marketing popular, but brands frustrated.
8:51 Independent media buyers bring valuable expertise. Large or small creators offer loyal audiences.
12:42 Influencers demand upfront fees for branded content. Instead, opt for performance-based payments.
18:30 Custom discount codes, tracking links, attribution, platforms.
19:29 Monitoring platforms, optimizing traffic, adjusting payouts.
23:29 Importance of many creatives, leveraging brand, optimizing landing pages for affiliates.
30:02 “Affiliate credits lost, but exclusive offers help.”
32:27 Media buyers rely on affiliates for insights. Content affiliates less important but provide incentives.
35:20 Different responsibilities: media buyer, affiliate, guidelines.
40:00 Affiliate compliance is challenging, human errors inevitable.
43:38 Marketplaces for cash back include student, executive, and medical worker focus. Coupon-based cash back not preferred. Incentivized traffic uses rewards for desired actions.
45:57 Affiliate monitoring: historical partnerships, transparency, referrals.
49:48 Whitelisting is important for improving brands’ conversion rates and ad performance.

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