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Hi- I'm looking for info on the best affiliate/jv contests you have run or participated in.
Especially the financial side of profit formula regarding units sold/prizes and motivation
If you have suggestions of what worked well for you and what didn't I think many people could benefit.
Thanks in advance
Kristen
Hi Kristen,
I like gadgets and "thrill seeker" type prizes, but that's just me. Here is a cool way to structure your prizes... something like "first affiliate to X sales wins XYZ". The cool thing about this is that you don't give the prize away until the sales are made, so you know you have made enough money to cover it. This way, you can promise really big prizes, even if you don't have the money yet... and it's not dishonest or dodgy (I think that is an Aussie word?)
Hey Kristen,
Some product launches have huge cash prizes for pre-launch leads and then bigger cash prizes for sales during the launch.
I've seen some truly ridiculous prizes: a VW Beetle from the 70's, zero-G flights, sky-diving, a ride in a fighter jet, etc.
Then of course there's your more typical prizes like vacations, cruises, motorcycles, cars, laptops, smartphones, etc.
For both your pre-launch and your launch contests, you'd give out prizes to anybody who makes X number of sales or refers X number of leads. This way, it won't only be the top 10 JVs (for example) who win something. It would discourage some JVs if they knew they had no chance of winning a prize.
Curtis
I totally agree with you guys, rewarding every JV by reaching a certain number of sales is a very good strategy to keep all JVs motivated.
Regarding the type of prize, in my opinion we should give total freedom to JVs to choose either physical item or cash.
Behzad
Hey Curtis,
The ride in a fighter jet is me... at least i am doing it... don't know if that's where you saw it.
Hey Dan,
I can't remember where (or when) I saw it. I think it was for a guru product...but I could be wrong.
What's the product which you're offering that for?
Curtis
I'm getting ready to do my first big JV launch in the Forex Business. They guy is pretty well connected to the MARKETING people in the business, not just traders (which is the connections I've had).
In any case we are going to give away a grand prize of David Raybould writing a sales letter for you and some autoresponders. David does all of Mike Jones copy for him, including the-cb-code which was #1 on CB for I think 11 weeks, TheAdwordsCode which sold $750,000 in 4 days etc. Good stuff, he typically charges $12,000 for a letter now.
So anyway, I'm probably saying way too much here, but you know. I'm going to OWN that market with in a year. So what we will do is when they win the Sales Page just be like, hey why don't you just pay for the entire launch, not just a sales page? Give them the $12,000 off our retainer, and maybe give them a 10 or 15% discount on our incentive pay.
I figure this will also keep us working with the top names in the field too.
Actually got the idea by seeing that Stomper offered some Ray Edwards copy as JV Prize on a launch.
Brandon
Not a bad idea Brandon ;)
Great Tips everyone, Thank YOU!
Brandon, had a great time hanging with you at Jeff Walkers Product Launch Manager training. Make sure you email me your latest projects so we can watch what you're up to.
I'm also a fan of tiered prizes ... and although it's fun to see how 'out there' you can get with the prizes, I honestly don't like the idea of making partners go a great deal out of their way to access them. I also like to give them the option of a cash equivalent if they don't like what's being offered.
I prefer guilty pleasures that you might think are cool to have, but you'd never actually go out and buy it ... or at least it wouldn't be high on your list of priorities. ;)
Cheers,
Mike
I just discussed this with a client launching a software.
One of the elements I'd recommend (and I saw talked about here) is the coolness factor.
Make it something that someone with a healthy cashflow would be impressed by... I saw a ride in a jet (??) mentioned. That obviously qualifies.
A friend ran a contest where he offered up cash prize to the top affiliate... the top affiliate didn't want the cash, he asked instead to have a reserved cabana at Rehab (the famous Hard Rock Cafe pool party).
Point is... he didn't want more cash (he knows how to create a lot of cash, hence he was the #1 affiliate)... he wanted something "cool" setup for him. He wanted the experience.
That being said, I agree with Mike that you should have flexibility as some WILL want the cash equivalent.
But I know a "car" would never excite me even if it's a $40k, $50k value. Where as some fantasy adventure or some memorable experience that I'd never even would have dreamed up before... even if the retail value was far less... THAT would peak my interests. If I want a car, I'll go buy it... give me something really out there to remember for the rest of my life or a "first kid on the block" gadget or something with a "coolness" factor to it.
Also... I'm not sure if it was talked about, but I'd recommend running a contest for lead-referred as well (not just sales). Obviously you probably want to use lower ticket items (Amazon gift certificates, HD flip cam's, Kindle's etc) but award those who sent a lot of leads your way too!
And don't forget to followup with a bit of recognition and thank you to your top performing affiliates to they remember you next time you need to come around for an affiliate invitation.
(This last part I messed up far too often in the past. With the new systems and team in place, it will be something I focus on for each project and every client.)
The idea of making prizes available for everyone who hits certain sales numbers is awesome. That's something I think I'll be trying to implement in my next launch.
I always look for tiered prizes. My list is not the largest, so I know the usual suspects on all the large launches will fall in the top 10. It definitely keeps you motivated.
