David Fiske A subtle blend of affiliate marketing and web development

In my post It's All Complimentary I discussed how complimenting websites rather than copying them was a smart move. Rather than copying a website, building something that could compliment it or improve upon it is a smarter solution.

Today I'm looking at the strategies behind the sites: the affiliates themselves.
 
The successful affiliates in the industry have all done something right. They've hit on an idea and either replicated it time and time again or simply ran with it. Kieron, the PPC king, found a campaign that worked. He's replicated it time and time again and reaps the rewards every time. Paul Nikkel hit upon the ideas of HotUKDeals and Quidco, both of which seem to be doing well for themselves. Similarly Jason Dale's baby Loquax is doing well for itself.

So what's the point here?

I would class Kieron as a replicator. He finds something that works and replicates it time and time again. I imagine he's now got a formula that he repeats every time he sets up a new campaign, or even for choosing which campaigns to run with.

I would class Jason and Paul as innovators. They've concentrated on getting one or two sites to where they are today. Quidco is the most successful 100% cashback site I know and when I think competitions, I think of Loquax.

Who are emulators?

Emulators for me are all the wannabe-Kieron's, wannabe-Jason's or wannabe-Paul's. They are not plain affiliates. They are affiliates with fire and passion. Emulators are affiliates with the real desire to become as successful and prominent in the industry as the likes of Kieron and Jason (I've not really heard much from Paul, I'm not even sure he blogs about affiliate stuff, hence I wouldn't necessarily class him as prominent though I would class him as successful).

Emulators study the successful affiliates. They work out what makes them so successful and then emulate their tactics. It's not copying, that's completely different. What an emulator does is try and replicate the same methods and tactics.

What am I?

If you have been affiliate marketing for some time, love the industry and want to continue, I'd say you've got passion. That would make you an emulator as I'm sure you have some affiliate idols. At this stage, you probably don't have one tactic that makes you money time and time again or you don't have one or two very successful sites.

If you have a portfolio of successful sites and you use the same principles to set up new sites over and over (e.g. setting up multiple blogs, using the same software and blogging tactics), I would say you're a replicator. The same applies to PPC affiliates. If you have a method you use time and time again to create successful, profitable campaigns, I'd call you a replicator.

Innovators are those in the industry that have a vision. They go off and achieve that vision and pour everything they've got into keeping it going. For instance, the first 100% cashback site, the first freebies site, the first competitions site. It's not just first though. It can be an extension on a previous idea with a twist. For instance, before Quidco, 100% cashback was unheard of. Quidco wasn't the first cashback site, merely the first to put a twist on the traditional model.