Paulson Management Group, Inc. is proud to be able to present the following case studies for some of the clients we represent. If you are interested in hiring PMG® for any of our services please visit our affiliate program, social media and lead generation management services page.
Dyscern specializes in the recovery and resale of PDAs, MP3 players, and other returned or salvaged electronic devices received at a Virginia facility and tested by expert technicians. By repurposing electronics that would otherwise head for a landfill, Dyscern is doing something good for the environment. Each item is tested before leaving the facility, and graded according to condition. Consumers can select their savings based on the wear of the unit. While some units may ship with scratches or dents, all are fully functional and protected by a 30-day guarantee.
Dyscern hired Paulson Management Group, Inc to help them gain a higher level of brand recognition through Search Engine Optimization and manage their affiliate marketing campaign. One of the problems identified early in the process of setting up an affiliate marketing campaign, was the rapid inventory turnover. Products sold out of inventory so quickly, the company had a difficult time keeping affiliates informed of the constantly changing inventory available, which in turn made it difficult for affiliates to know what to promote.
To resolve this difficulty Paulson Management Group recommended a Deal of the Day page (DoTD), a dynamic landing page that pulls in one hot offer at a time from Dyscern.com inventory, and brings it to market via the affiliate hosted page. Affiliates may either host the page on their own site, or provide a link to the page hosted by Dyscern. The Deal of the Day page solved the problem of fast inventory turnover, bringing new inventory and products through the affiliate channel for sale to affiliate consumers.
Paulson Management Group also went one step further, working with Dyscern to create an affiliate inventory page that allowed Paid Search affiliates to quickly see the inventory volume numbers for the products. This gave these extremely valuable affiliates a window into the Dyscern store so they could see which products Dyscern had in enough volume to support the implementation of a search campaign.
Affiliate Marketing strategies implemented for Dyscern.com
- Implemented dynamic landing page featuring a different item available daily from Dyscern’s rapidly changing inventory.
- Allowed affiliates to choose between hosting the page themselves, or linking to a page hosted by Dyscern.com
- Built an affiliate inventory page allowing Paid Search affiliates to quickly see inventory volume numbers for the products that they could take to market in Paid Search at dyscern.com/affiliates
Quote from Erika Dickstein, Vice President of Marketing at Dyscern:
“Heather and her team at Paulson Management Group has been a valuable resource as we have delved deeper into online marketing. They bring with them tireless creativity and invaluable industry experience.”
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Paulson Management Group, Inc took over the management of an affiliate program in September 2010 and integrated the PMG® UniTrac™ multi network tracking pixel for the client as well as introduced the client to our super affiliate relationships. The UniTrac™ system was integrated on the 19th of September 2010. Our super affiliate relationships also accounted for the impact of the campaigns performance on the 19th of September 2010 as seen in the graph.
Clients who have affiliate programs in multiple affiliate networks choose to work with Paulson Management Group, Inc as PMG® is the leader in affiliate marketing technologies, technologies such as the Unitrac™ that can positively impact a campaigns performance. PMG® also has the most secure affiliate relationships as we do not take a revenue share and PMG® does not compete against affiliates as an affiliate which ensures our affiliates marketing intelligence is secure with PMG® management team members. The combined offer of relationships and secure technology gains PMG® the advantage in this channel for our clients.
The Paulson Management Group, Inc UniTrac™ system ensures that the appropriate affiliate from the appropriate network is paid a commission and ensures no duplications of that commission across multiple networks to the same affiliate partner. The UniTrac™ system also includes reporting on a geo level data enhancing the availability of data from any networks in the world and allowing our management team the ability to focus on specific regions of marketing or demographic interest.
Affiliate Marketing Strategies We Implemented
- UniTrac™ Integrated for multiple affiliate networks enhanced tracking on the 19th of September
- Fresh affiliate banners and media were developed and deployed
- Super affiliate partners were contacted and relationships and advertising placement was negotiated and implemented.
Results of Strategy and Campaign Optimization
- Affiliate commissions and performance increased from 75 to 450 a 500% increase in commissions and performance
- Affiliate Program 7 day EPC (Earnings per click) increased from the 19th of 2.5 to AVG of 5.0 a 100% increase in the 7 day EPC
- Fresh affiliate media heightened the traffic levels which stimulated performance by the affiliate partners
Increasing Traffic and Sales with Paid Search. (Download .doc)
CrabPlace.com was founded in 1997 in Crisfield , Maryland , America’s Seafood Capital. The operation began small, selling and shipping fresh Maryland crab caught daily by local watermen, but grew quickly. CrabPlace.com’s unique packing and delivery process kept crabs at their absolute freshest for delivery, and helped expand a satisfied customer base, resulting in a 2001 win of the SBA Maryland Entrepreneurial Success of the Year Award. CrabPlace.com is still selling the freshest crab on the market from dock to doorstep, in addition to a full range of other high quality seafood items.
CrabPlace.com wanted to enhance their growing success, and engaged the services of Paulson Management Group (PMG®) to increase traffic and sales in the Google Paid Search ad engine, and optimize the campaign for peak performance. CrabPlace.com implemented a 10% off Mother’s Day coupon in April through May of 2009, and PMG® began promoting the 10% coupon in paid search. May showed a 552% increase in impressions over the previous month greatly enhancing the brand exposure through Google’s search and content networks, and a 69% increase in clicks and traffic to the website. The total campaign cost increased from April 2009 to May 2009 with ads targeted to top page position using qualifying ad copy that included the coupon offer and conversions increased by 111% with total sales increasing by 133%.
Quote from Greg Cain CEO of CrabPlace.com
“Heather’s team is very thorough in regards to ppc. I’ve been running my e-commerce company for over 12 years and her advanced knowledge of the ppc industry was very impressive to me. She jumped right on my campaign and was very timely with requests along the way. She’s great to work with.”
Google Paid Search Goal sets
- Implement Mothers Day 10% off coupon in Google ads
- Increase traffic and overall brand exposure through Google
- Grow the number of sales and conversions through Google ads
- Control the cost by qualifying the traffic before they click
PMG® Strategies Implemented for Optimization
- Open branded terms with coupon offer to Google content network
- Qualify traffic with price points of product in ad
- Re segment and cluster terms at a categorical level
- Increase long tail terms and include negative terms to ad Groups
- Increase budget and spend and position ad in top 3 placements
Results of Strategy and Campaign Optimization
- 552% increase in impressions
- 69% increase in clicks and traffic to the website
- Conversions increased by 111%
- Total sales increasing by 133%.
TradeUps.com and PMG®, inc. introduce a revolutionary affiliate widget to the affiliate industry. (Download .doc)
TradeUps.com operates off of a unique business model that offers their customers money, rather than asking them for it. Consumers with old electronic devices can trade them in for money, rather than leaving them forgotten in a drawer to take up space and lose value. The mission of TradeUps.com is to provide consumers with the best value for their old electronics, giving the well-used devices a new life or, if necessary, an environmentally-friendly retirement.
Click The Image Above to See the Widget!
Every year, more than 100 million cell phones are replaced in the United States, as well as 85 million digital cameras, and 40 million home computers. More often than not, the replaced electronics end up in a drawer or a closet, or even a landfill, but TradeUps.com gives consumers another option, which is good for the pocketbook and the planet.
TradeUps buys the consumers’ old electronics, and now affiliates have an opportunity to generate a commission for each TradeUp that occurs on their website with the TradeUpsAffiliate.com affiliate program. To streamline this transaction, a revolutionary widget has been developed allowing the consumer to stay on the affiliate’s site to complete the trade up, with the affiliate gaining commission for the transaction being performed entirely on their website or blog via the TradeUps.com affiliate widget.
TradeUps.com hired Paulson Management Group, Inc to help them launch and manage an independent affiliate program, with affiliate tracking software that would be conducive to the widget’s technological abilities, and help devise a more streamlined approach to consumer interaction for affiliates. The TradeUps.com affiliate widget is the first of its kind for the affiliate industry, featuring patent-pending technology.
The TradeUps.com widget is perfect for affiliates, as the customer’s full transaction can be completed within the widget on the affiliate’s website or blog, allowing for immediate user engagement without the consumer having to navigate away from the affiliate site. TradeUps.com affiliates can easily customize the code in the widget setting to display any custom media sizes, which allows the widgets to be customized for each affiliate as needed.
Quote from Erika Dickstein, Vice President of Marketing at TradeUps.com
“We are so excited to offer this game changing technology to our affiliates,” said Erika Dickstein, Vice President of Marketing at TradeUps.com. “Together, we can all earn money and keep electronic waste out of landfills!”
Affiliate Technology Strategies we implemented for TradeUps.com
- Integrated affiliate tracking solution for TradeUpsAffiliate.com
- Generated widget code and tutorial for affiliate deployment
- Tested and launched widget code to affiliate base and recruitment base
PMG®-APT affiliate phone tracking solution for MyCreditGroup.com (Download .doc)
My Credit Group, Inc. is a full service credit repair, debt relief, and home loan assistance company, nominated for the Chamber of Commerce Award. For ten years, MyCreditGroup.com has helped people repair their credit, lower their debt, and qualify for better home loan rates.
MyCreditGroup.com hired PaulsonManagementGroup.com to assist in increasing sales by launching and managing a multi-network affiliate program strategy, which included launching affiliate programs in both the ShareaSale.com and Commission Junction affiliate networks. An important factor in the launch of the affiliate programs was for MyCreditGroup.com to be able to capture affiliate phone sales, so affiliates could obtain commissions when a consumer called the prominent 1-800 number displayed at the top of the MyCreditGroup.com website.
PMG® developed a script that works with different affiliate networks, and differentiates the affiliate traffic coming from those affiliate networks’ affiliate links. The script needed also to be able to read each affiliate’s “ID” for the different affiliate networks. The affiliate “ID” is set as a promotional code under the 1-800 number when detected by the script. Once detected, the affiliate’s “ID,” or “promo code” as it now appears on the page, can be requested by the call center staff so that each affiliate can be properly commissioned for the phone sale. The script was developed to work with the ShareaSale and Commission Junction networks for My Credit Group, Inc., but can be adapted to work with any affiliate network .
Quote from Marc Chase, Chief Executive Office at MyCreditGroup.com
“Losing sales to call-in orders has always been a problem for affiliates,” said Marc Chase, CEO of MyCreditGroup.com. “When the team at Paulson Management Group created their phone tracking script, we were thrilled. We really value our affiliates, and adding this script insures their hard work isn’t being wasted. The PMG®-APT is a huge benefit to our affiliates, and more proof that hiring PMG® was the best investment we’ve made. Not only for us, but our affiliates as well.”
Affiliate Technology Strategies we implemented for MyCreditGroup.com
- Integrated multi-network pixels and script to ensure duplicate network commissions would not occur
- Developed PMG®-APT script to detect and display affiliate ID as 1-800 line promo code from multiple networks
- Tested and launched mult-network affiliate programs with the PMG®-APT(Affiliate phone tracker) fully functional
PMG® organized the strategy for a well known merchant’s affiliate program launch in Commission Junction, and PMG® team members then launched the new affiliate program in Commission Junction during December 2008. The Paulson Management Group, Inc team structured the affiliate program to be conducive for coupon affiliate sales, paid search affiliate sales, as well as advertising and remnant ad buying affiliate sales.
Paulson Management Group, Inc affiliate recruiting team members organized the list of our super affiliate partners that were identified as highest probable affiliate partner relationships for this merchant and we were able to organize affiliate videos, affiliate banners, affiliate text links, and other affiliate media that was needed to ensure the performance of our super partners whom we recruited to the program. Our super affiliate partners within the first month of launching the program, which was in December (a very competitive month to get in front of affiliate partners), was extremely successful, with earnings of $60,888.84 for the month of December.
Within 4 months of launching and managing the affiliate program, PMG® team members were able to increase this client’s sales to over $245,991.13 for the month of May 2009 from $60,888.84 in December 2008, demonstrating an increase in sales of 304% within 4 months of launching the new affiliate program.
These numbers are not indicative for every affiliate program, but do showcase the POWER of an effective affiliate program when it is organized, launched, and managed by an affiliate team that has the right technical and marketing experience, and the proven affiliate relationships to make it an effective channel. This case also showcases the potential for scale. Affiliate programs take time to grow; this is not a direct marketing channel. Affiliate marketing should be considered a long term, SUSTAINABLE brand media outlet, with years of anticipated revenue growth based on professional relationship fostering and development.
Affiliate Marketing Strategies We Implemented:
- Developed affiliate program commissions, terms of agreements, affiliate contracts, and cookie duration, and organized affiliate terms of agreements and program strategy based on marketing allowances for brand.
- Researched, using Syntryx.com and our own internal super affiliate list of over 5,000 affiliate partners, the best possible partners for this client’s product vertical, and marketing allowances per the affiliate TOAs.
- Organized all materials, flash banners, banners, text links, and custom blogger content into CJ network, including writing custom script for the integration of affiliate videos into Commission Junction.
- Recruited super affiliate partners to the affiliate program via direct email, throwing a super affiliate performers party at Affiliate Convention Denver, and by direct phone recruiting, sending newsletters, and ABestWeb and Affspot forum postings.
- Able to increase sales to over 304% of initial launch month within 4 months of launching new affiliate program.
873% sales increase within 3 months of taking over management (Download .doc)
PMG® was hired to take over the management of a ShareaSale affiliate network affiliate program for a client who needed to increase sales. Paulson Management Group, Inc redeveloped the affiliate program strategy to include revisions to all affiliate media, as well as the inclusion of a second tier offering while the merchant worked on a complete redesign of the website.
Paulson Management Group, Inc affiliate recruiting team members organized the list of our super affiliate partners that were identified as highest probable affiliate partner relationships for this merchant and we were able to redevelop the affiliate banners, affiliate text links, and other second tier affiliate media that was needed to ensure the performance of our super partners whom we recruited to the program.
Paulson Management Group, Inc reorganized the overhaul of the affiliate programs communication pieces to all affiliate partners to include affiliate training on marketing the brand. Within 3 months of managing the affiliate program and redeveloping the affiliate program overall strategy as well as the re-launch of the merchants website increasing conversion rates on the site Paulson Management Group, Inc was able to assist the merchant in obtaining an 873% affiliate sales increase.
These numbers are not indicative for every affiliate program, but do showcase the POWER of an effective affiliate program when it is organized, launched, and managed by an affiliate team that has the right technical and marketing experience, and the proven affiliate relationships to make it an effective channel. This case also showcases the potential for scale. Affiliate programs take time to grow; this is not a direct marketing channel. Affiliate marketing should be considered a long term, SUSTAINABLE brand media outlet, with years of anticipated revenue growth based on professional relationship fostering and development.
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Affiliate Marketing Strategies We Implemented:
- Redeveloped the programs communications materials to affiliates to include all sign up pages, html newsletters and all other communications pieces to include supportive text with “tips” on marketing the brand.
- Recruited super performers from our internal database of affiliate partners and matched them to the marketing allowances for this program, pulling in supers who knew how to market this merchant’s vertical.
- New compelling offer statements were created for all affiliate banners, text links, and custom blogger content as well second tier media was also developed for the program
- Merchant redesigned the website which increased conversion rates; supplemental media to support the new site was marketed heavily to affiliate partners.
- PMG® was able to increase sales to over 837% within 3 months and the current sales data is showing strong support to the effect that these numbers are holding.
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600% Banner Impression Increase (Download .doc)
What happens when the right affiliate banners are developed for an affiliate program? The following graph from one of our (PaulsonManagementGroup.com) affiliate clients affiliate programs will give you a pretty good indication.
When we first took over the management of the following clients affiliate program (Chart below) one of the first things we identified was the need for new media. We took over the program in August 2009 and developed new affiliate banners, text links, added an affiliate video, and recruited affiliates to the program as well as communicated to existing affiliates in such a manner as to entice an increase in their activity. By Sept 2009 one month after PMG® took over management of the program we had a 400% increase in affiliate banner impressions and within 4 months the increase was over 600% for affiliate banner impressions! Imagine what would happen for your affiliate sales if the following impression rates increased from 250,000 to over 1,750,000 within a couple of months… Fabulous!
Read our full blog post describing the tactics we used to increase impression rates.
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Affiliate Marketing Strategies We Implemented:
- Re-organized and redeveloped affiliate media materials, flash banners, banners, text links, and custom blogger content into CJ network, including writing custom script for the integration of affiliate videos into Commission Junction.
- Added an affiliate video to the affiliate media lineup
- Recruited our super affiliate partners to the program and created custom media for their marketing efforts
- Stimulated affiliate activity by developing external network and internal network communications pieces that incentivize performance
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Client Testimonial
“Heather – it was great seeing you at the Vegas Affiliate Summit. I had the opportunity to sit in at your “Advanced Approaches to Affiliate Recruiting, Training & Management Presentation” and as an Affiliate Manager, it was very helpful to get such great advice and tips from an industry professional such as yourself! You have a unique ability to offer solutions to a client’s needs and are very knowledgeable. Any time spent talking to you has been a valuable learning experience. ”
Kunal Vohra
Affiliate Manager
www.ShareResults.com
“It’s not often I give a testimonial, but every so often you run into a company that goes above and beyond what you “expect”. Paulson Management has, without doubt, exceeded my expectations.
They put a ton of effort into our strategy. I know everything that is going on at all times, and our affiliates are treated to every tool they need.
If an affiliate program is part of your marketing plan, you’re plan isn’t complete unless you’ve hired Heather and her team.
Heather, Greg, Luke, and Clarissa thanks for all you’ve done.”
Marc Chase
Chief Executive Officer
MyCreditGroup.com
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