Interview with Jess Luthi - Part Two

Great interviews Frazer, half an hour is about right, something to listen to whilst eating lunch!

Enjoyed listening to this two-parter with Jess - nice to hear how positive she is about the affiliate community. Personally, the 30 minute format works for me. 100% with you re. a UK affiliate association - The A4U forum is a great, and pretty welcoming for beginners.

Quick comment on get-togethers… Went to my first a few months ago - I found it useful, but it’s very cliquey… And difficult for newbies to get anyone’s attention.

This podcast is a great help, and very informative… Please keep it up!

Another couple of great podcasts. I’ve never really spoken much to Jess, despite promoting ASOS and Astro, so it was quite interesting to hear her enthusiasm for affiliate marketing.

I do have one issue though with the ‘black thongs’ example given in the interview. On a google search the site isn’t #1 - maybe because the site is being wound down i guess, but surely if you’re offering an example, especially to newbies, it’s best to have something that’s actually working otherwise there’s no point of reference? (sorry for nit picking).

Another question I’d like to have heard was what does Jess think of the current quality of UK affiliate managers (not necessarily network staff, but those looking after merchants)? To me it does seem every one is becoming an affiliate consultant/manager - yet sadly I’ve only had the fortune to work with a few who I’d consider good enough to be in the role they are in.

Good podcast but Jess’ advice on getting placed #1 on Google seemed a little shakey to be honest. Getting a keyword based domain name and doing the meta tags will be largely irrelevant to you getting a #1 ranking on Google I’m afraid.

Apart from that it was very good, and like others have said, good to hear her enthusiasm.

Hi Ya

Just a quick come back on meta and registering a domain name as a search term. This section was aimed at new folk, meta tags. Whilst they are not the be all and end all most people would agree that they should be factored in? http://www.seologic.com/faq/meta-tags-importance.php

If I register blackthongs(cant believe I used this as an example, sos) and I dont rank No1 for that search term, I need to be doing some thing very wrong would you not agree?

Jason: Re the issue of quality of affiliate managers.
The heart of the matter is you really do need to have contacts and this comes with experience over time, its not just affiliate contacts either. Affiliate marketing is still evolving and as an affiliate manager just coming into the industry there is little or no information about the mechanics of the job. Education is one way forward. Consultancy is easy, its the doing that’s the hard part. One thing I am now a very firm believer in, is dont manage an affiliate program if the site does not convert or if you dont have input in terms of website functionality. You can throw as much money as you like at affiliates, bottom line is…if the website does not convert, no amount of affiliate management will work. If this makes sense

Love the interview with Jess - always great to hear insight from a pro! One point Jess made was about setting firm terms and conditions and having an arbitrator to step in if things go wrong. I know that agencies so often get a bad rap but I’d like to point out that so many times we are the ones arguing for affiliates and educating merchants about how they work. We are the neutral and expert party that acts on behalf of both sides and we are often the negotiators. It’s a shame we’re not recognised as a more useful tool.

Very much enjoyed listening to both your interviews with Jess.:)Was interesting hearing her thoughts on a few topics and think I’m gonna ask her a few more questions regarding them. Very good interview:)