E-commerce giant enters affiliate marketing field
A lot goes into making an affiliate network, but it looks great when the parts fit together. (Photo: flickr.com)
Growing a business in this online information age requires that multiple avenues of commerce be addressed. An E-commerce portal must be in place so that customers can take advantage of your services from anywhere, you must have a business plan in place that includes a real profit model, customers must be able to reach you when they have questions or want to comment on how you’re doing and you must set aside some of your operating budget for a marketing campaign. If your business does all of these things well and you provide value to a real customer base, odds are your business will be successful.
Let’s touch on the marketing campaign for a moment. Internet marketing –- particularly in the form of a company blog – has become an indispensable, monetizable forum in which to market a business. Strangely enough, there are businesses that have yet to understand the value a company blog (and Internet marketing in general) can have. But if they’re paying attention, they should know that one of the bigger names in E-commerce and multi-channel advertising, GSI Commerce has taken the plunge with the Pepperjam Blog Network. They liked it so much, in fact, that they bought the company.
Details of the deal are sparse, but the idea is clear
GSI Commerce, which bills itself as the “one partner for everything E-commerce and multi-channel,” has acquired Pepperjam, which in addition to operating a blog network also features a prominent affiliate marketing network. Search engine marketing and media planning are other aspects of Pepperjam’s services for affiliate businesses. While specific terms haven’t been made available, it is clear that this action will expand GSI’s reach into “existing and new vertical markets” (this according to a press release regarding the deal).
More companies than ever know about the importance of online affiliate marketing. According to the GSI press release, a Forrester Research Inc. study showed that one-fifth (20 percent) of the online advertising budget for companies surveyed went toward affiliate marketing and other aspects of the online marketplace.
GSI is excited about joining the affiliate marketing business
“We believe the affiliate marketing space to be a powerful and effective marketing tool,” said GSI Interactive President Nick Pahadet to DMNews. “By owning our own network, we think we can drive better innovation and additional enhancement to the industry moving forward.”
And that network program will boast a nice transparency system where advertisers can easily access the contact data and promotional methods they need in order to interact effectively with network affiliates. By extension, GSI is empowered to “build stronger relationships with advertisers,” according to Pahadet.
Advantage of Pepperjam’s affiliate marketing
As the Pepperjam Network sees it, affiliate marketing offers the following advantages over more traditional marketing alternatives. A “sensational six,” so to speak:
- Transparency gives advertisers greater ability to quickly know the promotional methods affiliates are using and how best to contact them. In turn, affiliates can build better relationships with their advertisers.
- Pepperjam’s premier technology and store feeds enables affiliates to quick create powerful E-commerce storefronts in less than 30 seconds.
- Pepperjam’s chat feature makes real-time communication between advertisers and affiliates possible.
- Affiliates who wish to track their commissions by subject keyword can do so.
- Affiliates who wish to serve ads from one or more of their advertisers can do so concurrently with the Pepperjam ADS widget.
- Advertisers can search for affiliates by categories, whether they are full-fledged members of the network yet, how they promote and what their transparency ranking might is at the time.
Pepperjam is ready for staggering growth
Considering that GSI Commerce is “the leading provider of E-commerce and marketing services,” Pepperjam President Kristopher Jones expects that their affiliate network will grow by leaps and bounds. Furthermore, having GSI upstairs will empower their already significant affiliate marketing network.
Adworkz wishes GSI and Pepperjam the best in their endeavors. If you’re looking to get involved in affiliate network that offers 80 percent commission to its affiliates and great flexibility for advertisers, CLICK HERE!
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Discussion of GSI Buys Pepperjam | Affiliate Marketing in Hyperdrive