Revenue+performance Magazine Fall 2014

1. REVENUE
performance
Monetization & High-Performance Marketing
YOU CAN’T WIN IF
YOU DON’T RUN
• BLUE BOOK Networks Survey
For 2015 Begins - see back cover!
• Converting Social Media Traffic -
It Works!
• How To Ask For An Affiliate
Marketing Pay Raise
Fall 2014 : Vol. XIII : Issue 19

3. Dedicated To Monetization + High Performance Marketing
revenue.mThink.com 1
Contents
Secrets of Social Media Conversion 3
By Chris Trayhorn, Social Influencer Marketing Group, mThink
Playing With The Margin 4
Luke Kling, Peerfly
Affliliate Opportunities In Social Commerce:
What’s Not To “Like”? 6
By Melissa Feemster, Rakuten LinkShare
Understanding The Differences Between
Affiliate Networks and CPA Networks 8
By Jeannine Crooks, Affiliate Window
REVENUE performance
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
Chris Trayhorn
DIRECTOR OF ONLINE
Sheila Fox
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Rick Greer
Revenue Performance is published by mThink
55 New Montgomery, Suite 617
San Francisco, CA 94105
mThink: Intelligent Performance Marketing
CHAIRMAN AND CEO
Chris Trayhorn
VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING
Yvonne Schellerup
DIRECTOR, WEB DEVELOPMENT
Rocio Santillana
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the content of this publication, the
publisher will accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions, or for any loss or damage, conse-quential
or otherwise, suffered as a result of any material published here. The information published
in Revenue+Performance is not intended as a substitute for legal, accounting, tax or other profes-sional
advice. The publisher assumes no responsibility for statements made by advertisers in business
competition. All editorial submissions, whether solicited or unsolicited, become the property of
mThink. Statements and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of Revenue+Performance,
mThink, its affiliates, advertisers or any other agent. The name “Revenue+Performance” and the phrase
“Super-Affiliate Insights” are the intellectual property of mThink. The entire content of this publication
is protected by copyright; full details are available through the publisher. All rights reserved. These
trademarks or copyright materials may not be used in any media for any purpose without the express
written consent of mThink.
© 2014 mThink ISSN: 1549-7615
Cover Image: © Bkilzer | Dreamstime.com
Disclaimer: Revenue+Performance and revenue.mThink.com include editorial and/or advertising that refers
to affiliate programs that often include many different websites. Occasionally those programs may include
websites offering education in casino or card games. In such cases no promotion or endorsement of those sites
should be inferred or implied – our editorial coverage and/or advertising relates only to the affiliate program
itself. Revenue+Performance magazine and revenue.mThink.com do not accept advertising that promotes
online gambling.
Letter from the Publisher
I know a lot of affiliate marketers who are
bored with social media. They view it as an
expensive distraction, sucking budget away from
things that actually make money. Sure, having a
full-time social content person on staff may build
up followers and subscribers, but where’s the
payoff? All too often, finding ROI on social media
is regarded as difficult, if not impossible.
The problem with this kind of mindset is
that it is hard to argue with because it is self-fulfilling.
Approach social media in a half-hearted,
distracted fashion and the results will reflect it.
But treat it as a new, exciting channel with the
potential to change your business dramatically,
and then it might actually do just that.
My view is that many people don’t take social
traffic seriously because they don’t pay for it.
These are the folks that will spend days aligning
their SEM search terms with multiple, layered
landing pages, followed by pop-ups, shopping
cart anti-abandonment tactics and retargeting, all
to maximize ROI from $8-a-click inbound traffic.
But give those same people 500 visitors a day
from content posted on a social network and they
just throw it into the same sales funnel and then
are confirmed in their lack of belief when it fails
to convert.
This is all predictable, and avoidable. Two of
our pieces in this issue look at the impact social
media should be having on your bottom line - this
is important stuff because social is only going to
become more prevalent, not less.
Also in this edition, on the outside back cover,
we launch the BLUE BOOK survey for the 2015
Top 20 network rankings. If you are an advertiser,
an agent or an affiliate, please follow the links
and give us your views. They matter!
And if you are a network, please contact us
to make sure you are represented in the survey
in the right way - we take pride in the quality
of our work, but it’s not easy trying to keep
track of hundreds of ever-evolving performance
marketing networks.
But that is the essence of our industry: always
changing, always finding new ways to race
towards success.
Remember, you can’t win if you
don’t run.
Chris Trayhorn
Founder & Publisher

4. 2 REVENUE+performance – ISSUE 19
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5. Social media traffic is cost-effective and highly scaleable but only if you know how to make it convert. The
social media conversion funnel is different to the one that many of us are used to but, if it’s executed properly, a
conversion-centered social media strategy can yield real ROI.
revenue.mThink.com 3
Industry Insights: Social Media
Secrets of Social Media Conversion
By Chris Trayhorn, Social Influencer Marketing Group, mThinkAgency
The idea that social media traffic doesn’t convert is so widely
held by now that many companies don’t even test it. The
phrase, “there is no ROI in social” has become almost a cliche.
But like most cliches, while there may be a kernel of truth to it,
there is also a much more nuanced - and profitable - reality.
Of course social media traffic converts. It is made of people,
after all, and the last time I checked people are what you need
in order to get conversions. So the question isn’t whether
social media traffic converts. It is, how do we get it to convert
profitably and predictably? How do we turn those reading-viewing-
sharing people into buyers and form-fillers?
In order to do that, we need to think about the difference
between short and long conversion
funnels. As an example, paid SEM
represents a classic short conversion
funnel: you advertise, and someone who is
already in buying mode clicks on your ad
and goes to your landing page. This works
because search engines attract people who
are already at near the end of their buying
process – they’re just looking for the best
posible deal.
Social media by its nature isn’t normally
targeted at people near the bottom of the
conversion funnel, but there’s no reason
why your particular social media content shouldn’t be. Think
of it this way: a large percentage of people on social media
platforms at any given time will also use Google or Bing on the
same day. They are buying stuff all the time, even if it’s not top
of mind when they are on Facebook or YouTube.
What that means is that there is an opportunity to reach
people with the right kind of content at the right time, and
in doing so, to bypass the big search engines. Video product
reviews on YouTube, for example, can lead a prospective
customer by the hand, create trust and then maximize
conversion on a subsequent landing page, better than any
95 character text ad. The key is to treat social media traffic
differently - although this often simply means treating it with
the same level of respect you normally give to paid search
traffic.
Let’s summarize six takeaways on this subject: the secrets of
social media conversion.
• Focus on the right social networks. There are lots of them,
Video product reviews
on YouTube can lead a
prospective customer
by the hand, create trust
and then maximize con-version
better than any
95 character text ad
but unless you have a good reason to choose one of the
smaller ones, stick with the giants. Facebook, of course.
Twitter, although some find that there’s too much poor
traffic. YouTube, best of all for product reviews and traffic
quality. And Google+, just because its Google and so you
will probably benefit from better search rankings and any
number of other, hidden algorithm-related goodies.
• Use a proper landing page and make sure it matches the
social media traffic source. If you were running a paid
search campaign on Google you would probably create a
dedicated landing page and ensure it was optimized for the
search terms on which you were bidding. You might even
have multiple landing pages, each optimized for a different
search term group. So why wouldn’t you do
the same for your social media traffic? Make
the effort to create a sales funnel that feels
“right” and you will reap the benefit.
• Use social media widgets and
testimonials on the page in order to
establish authority and trust. In social,
popularity can often function as a
substitute for reputation, meaning that
even if potential customers don’t know your
brand personally, they are more likely to
give you the benefit of the doubt if they can
see that you are popular.
• Optimize for mobile, the whole way through the sales
funnel. Mobile social media traffic is huge, so if you’re
serious about making it convert, ensure the your landing
pages, shopping carts and forms all work beautifully and
seamlessly across a wide range of mobile devices.
• Include a strong call-to-action in all of your social media
content. It doesn’t have to be as in-your-face as “buy this
now!” but it should at least encourage the reader/viewer to
be an active participant in the sales process.
• Encourage sharing. If, on average, each visitor to your
squeeze page finds just one thing that’s worth sharing
with their friends, then your marketing reach has just been
increased exponentially. Make sharing as easy as possible,
on as many platforms as is practical.
Social media traffic really does convert. But it can’t be
treated just like paid SEM traffic, or even display. Treat it with
respect and profitable campaigns will follow.

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4 REVENUE+performance – ISSUE 19
Conversion – Luke Kling, Peerfly
Playing with By Luke Kling, Peerfly
When people start affiliate marketing the only thing
they really care about at first is getting conversions.
Logic says that if they can get conversions then they will
start making money. In reality, while this is mostly true,
conversions on their own do not actually mean that a
campaign will make money. An affiliate can generate
thousands of leads or sales and still be losing money
if they are spending too much on buying traffic, for
example. In other, it’s all about ROI.
If you are ROI negative on your campaign then it
doesn’t matter how many conversions you generate.
In such a situation, it is even possible that the more
conversions you generate the more money you will
actually lose. The good news is that much of the time,
the difference between a profitable campaign and a
losing one is just a small fraction of the revenue your
campaign is actually producing. But, aside from testing
and optimizing as much as possible, what else can you do
to improve profitability?
The point to be aware of is that, in spite of the negative
ROI that you are experiencing, there is at least one
organization that is making money off your campaign:
the affiliate network or affiliate program from which
you are getting the offer. Every network or program
has a percentage of the commission that they keep
for themselves. The margin will vary from company to
company, but there is almost always a margin that is held
back. What you need to do to help bring your campaign to
profitability is to reach out to the network or program and
see if they will give you a piece of that margin.
Basically, I’m suggesting that you should ask for a pay
increase on the affiliate offer – this is perfectly fine and
acceptable in almost every single case. The company from
which you are getting the offer will be making money
from every conversion you generate. If you have to stop
your campaign because of lack of ROI, then the network
will lose out on that revenue. It is in their best interest
that you run traffic through their network, so don’t be
afraid to ask them for a raise.

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revenue.mThink.com 5
the Margin
So, how should you go about asking for a pay
increase? Well, this is the time to begin building on your
relationship with the affiliate manager you were assigned
when you first applied and were approved into the
network or program. It’s their job to help you.
So, in order to get a pay increase, the simplest and best
approach is just to reach out to your affiliate manager and
ask for one. I recommend e-mailing them so you have a
record of the conversation. Explain that your campaign
is on the brink of hitting profitability and you would
By hitting profitability you will be
able to optimize and scale your
campaign, making everyone more
money
like a pay increase to help make it profitable. By hitting
profitability you will be able to optimize and scale your
campaign, making everyone more money.
This is a very simple and logical request and in my
experience, most affiliate managers will repsond
positively. I have personally been an affiliate manager for
nearly 10 years and I have given pay increases on well over
90% of the requests I have received, with the associated
campaigns generating millions of extra dollars in revenue
for my affiliates and my network.
All you have to do is ask! Prove that you will make
the pay increase worth the decrease in margin for the
network or program and they’ll happily give it to you.
Everyone loves a win-win situation, especially when that
win leads to more revenue!
Let’s make some money.
About Luke Kling
Luke Kling is the Director of Marketing for PeerFly.com, ranked by the Blue
Book as one of the top CPA networks in the world.

8. Social Commerce – Melissa Feemster, Rakuten LinkShare
Affiliate Opportunities In Social Commerce:
What’s Not to “Like”?
by Melissa Feemster, General Manager, Senior Vice President, Rakuten LinkShare
It’s hard not to notice the ways that social media has infiltrated
the online shopping experience. From customer review sites to
private Pinterest boards to Amazon now allowing you to shop
through Twitter, there’s no looking back. It’s almost impossible to
imagine buying a product today without getting a second opinion,
either from a trusted third party or a Facebook friend. This fusion
of social media and e-commerce has led to the rising popularity of
social commerce platforms and, therefore, more opportunities for
the affiliate channel.
Social commerce platforms organize shopping around people
as opposed to requiring shoppers go site-to-site searching for the
ideal product. They tap into the insight that consumers want and
need through two-way dialog with other consumers before they
make a purchase.
For example, imagine you’re on the hunt for a new summer
wardrobe. If you go to a popular social commerce platform
like Wanelo, you can find great options along with insight from
customers who have experience with the merchants and/or the
products. And if a shopper comes across a great find, they can
easily post it to the site for others to comment on or purchase.
The more you contribute to social commerce sites, the more
you’ll be rewarded. Rewards can take various forms such as
of credits on the site, commissions and higher visibility in the
community.
Also, since a lot of social commerce sites present the best price
available, this helps reduce the need for consumers to leave the
site and comparison shop before committing to a purchase.
The foundation of social commerce is built around the concept
that that the more you share, the greater the experience will be
for all involved.
Social Commerce: Fad or The New Business Model?
Some may argue that social commerce is a passing fad,
especially if they’re reading doom and gloom headlines about
Facebook’s declining popularity among teens or Twitter’s recent
earnings results.
Regardless of the financial performance or current popularity
of this week’s hot social network, the reality is that the underlying
technology that supports social commerce is here to stay.
According to analysts at Booz & Co, social commerce will reach
$30B by the year 2015.
Albeit evolving, the ability to bring unbiased user
recommendations into the shopping experience through social
media has forever changed the e-commerce landscape. It comes
down to this -- consumers that can see validated, third party
product reviews and their friends’ recommendations alongside
products will feel more confident about their choices and are
more likely to make more purchases from these sites.
6 REVENUE+performance – ISSUE 19
The Opportunities for Affiliates in Social Commerce
Underscoring the growing opportunities in social commerce,
recent data from Rakuten LinkShare found that the average order
value on social commerce sites is 87 percent higher than the
network average.
So how can the affiliate channel get in on the social commerce
action? Following are three recommendations for getting
immersed and succeeding in the emerging social commerce
space.
1. Watch and learn. That may sound like an obvious first step
but keep in mind that the social commerce business model
is different. Social commerce sites have a vetting system
in place to ensure that customer feedback is genuine and
reviewers are not simply endorsing products for their own
personal gain. Therefore, it’s worth investing the time to
really understand how these sites work before making
recommendations.
2. Work with your affiliate network to get an introduction to
the marketing teams at social commerce sites so you can
better understand their affiliate marketing model. From there,
collaborate with your network and the social commerce site
to develop and execute the strongest campaigns.
3. Share your expertise. The rise of niche bloggers, such as those
following fashion or the mommy blogger set have shown that
subject matter expertise pays off, especially in the affiliate
channel.
The more insight and value publishers can bring to a
community, the more rewards they’ll earn on a site, therefore
raising their profile and potentially increasing commissions
(depending on the site’s reward system).
For example, Luvocracy has built a rewards structure where
members can earn a percentage of purchases that were generated
from their recommendations.
Also, the higher a publisher’s profile is, the more likely it is that
shoppers will take note of their expertise and may also venture
over to their site.
Social commerce sites are eager to work with the affiliate
community. If you haven’t yet explored these opportunities, now
is the ideal time.
About Melissa Feemster
Melissa Feemster is General Manager, Senior Vice President, Rakuten Link-
Share. Prior to LinkShare, she worked in Account Management at Ogilvy, in
brand management at Campbell Soup Company and in Corporate Commu-nications
at McDonald’s Corporation. Melissa holds an MBA in Marketing
from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and a BA
from DePauw University.

9. revenue.mThink.com 7

10. Networking – Jeannine Crooks, Affiliate Window
Understanding the Differences
Between Affiliate Networks and CPA
Networks
By Jeannine Crooks, Affiliate Window
When selecting a performance marketing network, it is
important to be aware of the differences between affiliate
networks and CPA networks. A successful campaign
requires the right balance of key considerations including
the type of product or service, preferred support level,
affiliate base composition, methods of traffic generation,
compliance monitoring, acceptable commission levels
and reach in addition to cost. By picking the right balance
of each of these points, merchants can position their
programs for optimal success.
While some lump both types of networks together, there
are actually several key differences between the two.
Affiliate Networks – Within this
group, merchants can choose between
full service affiliate networks or tracking
solutions. Full service networks
provide comprehensive transactional
tracking, dedicated program support,
initial affiliate screening and ongoing
compliance reviews to ensure affiliates
adhere to each merchant’s terms &
conditions. They usually attract a broad
affiliate base, including content, coupon,
comparison, display, email, loyalty
and cashback affiliates. Many offer
some form of affiliate recruitment support, ranging from
interface functionality to team members actually recruiting
on behalf of the merchant.
Tracking solution networks also provide comprehensive
tracking, but limit the level of the other services. For
example, rather than having a specific account manager
assigned to the program, a small team may provide
support for the entire merchant base.
In both cases, commissions are paid on either a
percentage or fixed basis, depending on the product. Since
physical products are frequently involved, commissions
normally range from approximately 4-20% of the sale
price. Affiliate networks are most appropriate for
companies with all types of retail products and services or
lead generation.
A successful campaign
requires the right bal-ance
product, support level,
affiliate base composi-tion,
generation...in addition
to cost
8 REVENUE+performance – ISSUE 19
CPA Networks – Programs such as lead generation,
digital downloads, ebooks, and continuity programs
(monthly shipments of a product) frequently choose CPA
networks. Merchants usually use the network’s interface
to create their own program, uploading all of the banner
ads, terms & conditions, acceptable affiliate types, etc.
CPA affiliates tend to use pay-per-click, pay-per-view,
pop ups and pop-unders, retargeted ads, email and display
advertising to generate high volumes of traffic. Most of
these strategies involve a cost for the affiliate; therefore to
be successful in competing for affiliates on CPA networks
merchants must pay commissions of
50-75% or higher of the sale price. Leads
or free downloads are also expected to
offer a high commission level to justify
their promotion. Payments are usually
a fixed amount per lead or download,
and usually are paid out fairly quickly,
frequently within 7 days or less.
Traditionally merchants have no
visibility into the affiliate base or how
their program is being promoted, though
this can change based on a program’s
success. Unless specific arrangements
of key consider-ations
including type of
methods of traffic
are made, programs may also be “re-brokered” or shared
with another CPA network which subsequently signs
affiliates to offer the same product at a lower commission
rate due to the second network’s override.
Before signing with a network, make sure to ask the
sales person about each of these factors in order to fully
evaluate all costs and opportunities.
About Jeannine Crooks
Jeannine Crooks is a Senior Account Manager with Affiliate Win-dow
US. She is responsible for optimizing program performance for
international merchants and was named “Best Network Rep - 2013”
by the ABestWeb affiliate forum. She is a frequent speaker at Affili-ate
Summit, Blog World Expo, and Bloggy Con.

11. Blue Book Top Networks for 2014
CPS Networks CPA Networks
Network URL
1 MaxBounty maxbounty.com
2 PeerFly peerfly.com
3 Clickbooth clickbooth.com
4 Neverblue neverblue.com
5 Matomy Media
Group
matomy.com
6 W4 w4.com
7 Adknowledge adknowledge.com
8 Adscend Media adscendmedia.com
9 CPAWay cpaway.com
10 Mundo Media mundomedia.com
11 Above All Offers abovealloffers.com
12 Affiliate Venture Group affiliateventuregroup.com
13 A4D a4d.com
14 Convert2Media convert2media.com
15 Diablo Media diablomedia.com
16 Millionaire Network millionairenetwork.com
17 Fluent fluent.com
18 Adperio adperio.com
19 CPA Trend cpatrend.com
20 AdWork Media adworkmedia.com
Network URL
1 Rakuten
LinkShare
linkshare.com
2 CJ by Conversant cj.com
3 ClickBank clickbank.com
4 ShareASale shareasale.com
5 Affiliate Window/
zanox
us.affiliatewindow.com
6 AvantLink avantlink.com
7 Amazon Affiliates affiliate-program.
amazon.com
8 LinkConnector linkconnector.com
9 TradeDoubler tradedoubler.com
10 eBay Partner
Network
ebaypartnernetwork.com
11 Avangate avangate.com
12 oneNetworkDirect onenetworkdirect.com
13 FlexOffers flexoffers.com
14 Webgains webgains.com
15 Affiliate Future affiliatefuture.com
16 Facebook facebook.com
17 AffiliateNetwork.com affiliatenetwork.com
18 RevenueWire revenuewire.com
19 Performance Horizon Group performancehorizon.com
20 Impact Radius impactradius.com

12. BLUE BOOK TOP
20 NETWORKS
Voting for 2015 rankings now open
The BLUE BOOK Top 20 tables are the only network rankings
based on real survey results from active merchants, affiliates and
agencies. Tens of thousands of industry professionals take part to
produce the only rankings that matter: the best CPA and Affiliate
networks in the world.
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