Introducing Mike Currey
Mike began his profession in advertising within the music and leisure trade earlier than working in media gross sales after which on the company aspect at Razorfish. He’s since been working with associates on the model aspect at corporations like T-Cell and Blue Nile, alongside together with his present position at Quince, the place he leads their affiliate and show efforts. Mike was additionally just lately a speaker at PI Reside 2023 in Miami.
What are your day-to-day duties?
Oversee program technique, finance, operational build-out, a crew of three, and ideate product build-outs inside and exterior. Collaborate with different inside companions to construct technique and attribution. Handle a subset of publishers outdoors of content material commerce.
How did you get into internet online affiliate marketing?
I joined T-Cell on contract to assist launch their show retargeting and handle a dormant associates program. After three months, I got here on full-time for an affiliate and handed on the show to a different new rent. That gig lasted nearly six years earlier than transferring into different consulting/manufacturers.
What are your most essential KPIs?
Specializing in retail — margin after which return charge. I can drive visitors and income all day lengthy however on the finish of the day, if the model will not be earning profits after media spend/commissions, then is the tactic working? Additionally, not all publishers are equal. Some have an viewers that likes to return merchandise however commissions have been paid out.
What’s your greatest pet peeve concerning the affiliate trade?
Lack of higher management help. The affiliate technique has been round for the reason that early ’90s and helped launch Amazon; Amazon appears to have labored out okay. There’s worth within the effort however a number of management solely sees it as a lower-funnel low cost channel. It does come right down to affiliate managers and companies, too. Many load up applications with last-click companions, so that’s what management sees. We as an trade should be extra accountable and diversify applications that present the worth of the channel. A lot collaboration with different inside media and fee fashions may be completed for the total funnel. We simply have to include it into our applications and have seen many transferring into this with the adoption of PR into the writer combine.
What’s your ideally suited companion combine?
The Quince model is younger, so getting the identify out by product evaluations is our present combine. I’d say 80% of the companions are content material and 20% are a mixture of gated relationships by provides/rewards.
What have you ever completed within the final 6-12 months to enhance your internet online affiliate marketing efforts?
This system I walked into was beforehand managed by an company that loaded this system up with coupons, sub-networks, and toolbars. Management took discover and had the info scientists do a deep dive. The outcomes confirmed most of it was not incremental and began to maneuver away right into a content-based program. I got here on a few months later. Instantly I began to take away all the toolbars lingering, cleaned up our promo code construction for the corporate, shifted away from multi-use codes, and cleaned up publishers that had been hijacking hyperlinks, codes, and content material. That was the primary three months, so now I’m targeted on constructing service reductions and offline methods.
“Affiliate” or “companion”?
I’d lean in direction of “companion.” Affiliate has a little bit of taboo today and a Wild West which means. “Associate” brings within the notion two persons are working collectively to construct a method collectively. Wild West versus one-to-one.
What’s the greatest mistake you’ve made in internet online affiliate marketing?
In all probability not going to as many affiliate conferences through the years. So many relationships have been solid there and I do know lots of people over e-mail, however this trade is so personable. In-person does make a distinction.
How essential is following the journey of a person after you (or your advertisers) first purchase them or after their first buy?
The journey earlier than and through checkout is essential to me. I need to know the media combine and which flows offline drive the best conversion charge. Even onsite, understanding what funnel by the writer by writer sort drives the perfect conversion charge. This actually relies upon rather a lot on the affiliate platform used, although.
Do you have got a particular technique for influencers?
The Quince influencer crew builds model consciousness by partnered campaigns and UGC for different groups to whitelist. The affiliate crew focuses on the natural aspect by long-tail evaluations. I wouldn’t say it isn’t a lot than different retail manufacturers.
