BEST PRACTICES | JULY 2008



Creating an Effective Marketing Sell Sheet

A great way to motivate and activate your non-sales generating publishers is to provide them with a sell sheet about your program. It will stir up interest, and will provide your non-active publishers with the details they need to promote your brand effectively. It can also be used to entice other publishers in the LinkShare network to join your program!

Advantages of Sending a Sell Sheet:

• Educate- A sell sheet educates your publishers on your product or service offerings. This will equip them with the tools necessary to sell your products and/or services, and will remind them of the benefits of being in your program.
• Communicate- A sell sheet can open the doors of communication between yourself and your publishers. This is especially true in the case of publishers who have opted out of receiving emails, and therefore may not be receiving your newsletters sent through the interface.
• Personalize- By taking the time out to send information on your business, you are letting your publishers know that you acknowledge them and value them as a sales partner.

How to Get Started:

• Tailor Your Message- The first step is to prepare your sell sheet message. We encourage you to include highlights about your brand (an overview, company mission statement, competitive advantages), demographic information, key categories, affiliate program highlights (baseline offer structure, return days, average order size, conversion rates), approval guidelines, and any other program selling points you think would be appropriate. Also, make sure to include contact information so publishers can reach out if they have any questions or concerns.
• Find Your Publishers- To obtain the general contact information for your publishers, login to the Advertiser Interface and access the Affiliate Management tool. You can drill down by orders, clicks, impression etc. To obtain a list of all publishers, enter the date in which your program was launched. The information generated will include the publishers SID, name, email, URL etc.
• Send Your Message- Once you have located your publishers, you can pull the publisher’s external email through the steps provided above. Attach your sell sheet to this email, and remind your publishers about all the great aspects to your affiliate program. We also encourage you to mirror the information you include in your sell sheet on the Affiliate Program Splash page on your website. Make sure to reinforce the fact that signing up with LinkShare is free! Finally, provide your LinkShare Representative with a copy of your sell sheet.