Meet Todd Crawford, an affiliate marketing veteran, Co-Founder of Impact Radius, and former VP of sales and business development at oneNetworkDirect. Todd also contributed to the founding team at Commission Junction in 1998, and worked at the affiliate network for more than seven years. At Affiliate Management Days 2013, Todd will be participating in a keynote panel on the role of the affiliate network.
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Question: If you were to emphasize one important issue that every affiliate manager should be paying more attention to, what would it be and why
Todd Crawford: Diversifying your publisher base. Almost every advertiser I talk to has 10-15 publishers that are driving 90%+ of their results. Many of these top publishers have similar business models. A healthy program needs to be as diversified as possible, leveraging multiple types of publishers.
Dig into the mid-tier publishers and segment them to determine alternative opportunities. Have a goal of balancing your publisher base so the top 10-15 are only 50%-70% of your results. It’s hard work but it makes for a healthier, stronger channel.
Question: What do you see as the main areas of opportunity for affiliate marketers in 2013 - 2014
Todd Crawford: I think the single biggest opportunity is utilizing better tracking, data and analytics.  From what I am seeing and hearing, legacy solutions aren’t providing the level of data advertisers need to manage their marketing channels. There are so many more data points that need to be analyzed in order to understand the value of the affiliate channel and the individual publishers.
I know the term “big data†gets thrown around a lot, but more and more companies are analyzing more data points and affiliate managers need to have access to similar data. Otherwise they run the risk of not being able to defend or champion their channel or even worse, not being able to answer questions raised by management.
Question: It isn’t unusual to hear that since affiliates operate in the mix with other marketing channels that merchants use (paid search, retargeting, social, etc.), with this multi-touchpoint eCommerce, the last-click attribution model is no longer an optimal one. What do you recommend
Todd Crawford: We need to remember there is a difference between modeling data and firing pixels.  I think last click is still vital for actual tracking and de-duplication across channels, but that attribution analysis is becoming critical for understanding the role and value of media as well and the true costs.
Don’t confuse tracking and pixel firing logic with attribution modeling - they are two very different things. Once you understand the overall contribution of affiliates, you can then start changing your payout rates to be better aligned with the value of those partners.
For example, many content sites play a role higher up in the funnel and consequently don’t get credit for as many last clicks sales. You may want to increase their payout rate or give them a spot bonus to compensate them for their efforts earlier in the buying cycle.
Question: As co-founder of an international marketing technologies company, what do you view as the main area affiliates can truly help online merchants, adding value to the pre-sale process Â
Todd Crawford: Personally, I am influenced by in-depth reviews. Especially videos when considering purchases.  If it works on me, I imagine it works on quite a few other people.
Introduce your visitors to unique information and opportunities that they can’t get from other sites. This isn’t easy, but it builds sustainable traffic and long-term value for your website(s) and advertisers.
Question: If you were to leave online advertisers, merchants and affiliate managers with one piece of advice, what would it beÂ
Todd Crawford: Having personal KPIs (key performance indicators) so they can measure their progress towards weekly, monthly and quarterly goals. If your company doesn’t help create these KPIs, you can still create your own. Look at the high-level objectives for your department and company overall and develop KPIs that help you track your contribution towards achieving those goals.
Without KPIs in place, you often end up showing up for work everyday doing the same things without understanding which efforts will move the needle and help you hit your goals. A simple example is talking to 10 new affiliates each day to recruit them into your program(s). This means you may need to actually call 50 to get 10 on the phone. Leaving voice messages doesn’t count.
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The upcoming Affiliate Management Days Conference takes place April 16-17, 2013. Follow @AMDays or #AMDays on Twitter. When registering, make sure to use the code SBTAM250 to receive an additional $250.00 off your two-day (or combo) pass.
See the rest of the interview series here.