Special Report: Affiliate Marketing

CS: Do you have advice for catalogers approaching this channel for the first time?
McAdams: Educate your affiliates on running the program like a business and being able to forecast results to help you. Manage what you’re forecasting, and determine what opportunity exists for each affiliate.

Have some diversification in your model to avoid risks due to affiliates leaving the program. When you have 10 percent of your affiliates driving 90 percent of your sales, you’re at risk if you lose one in that [top] 10 percent.