Lessons From Looka Affiliates: How WebsitePlanet Makes it Work

Affiliates are an important part of Looka’s business. Not only do they help bring in new customers, but they also provide a more human face to Looka – and that’s why we want to help you to become a successful partner by providing advice and insights from some of our top partners.

Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned expert, there’s a ton of potential in the affiliate marketing space. In the US alone, affiliate marketing spend is expected to hit $6.8 billion in 2020, with some affiliates earning as much as $7 million in revenue within a single year.

We’ve asked one of our top affiliate partners, Idan Mezan (Head of Business Development at WebsitePlanet), for his thoughts and advice for up-and-coming affiliate marketers.

Can you give us an overview of WebsitePlanet?

WebsitePlanet focuses on providing website developers, online marketers, and small business owners all the information they need to successfully develop online businesses. This takes the form of detailed product reviews, product comparisons, and practical how-to articles.

What attracted you to be a part of Looka’s affiliate program?

I was attracted by the AI-driven, Do-It-Yourself approach that results in beautiful logos at a very reasonable cost.

What are some common misconceptions you see new affiliates have going into the industry?

Due to the salesmanship of online “gurus,” many people get into affiliate marketing expecting to get rich overnight without much effort. But the truth is that serious affiliate marketing takes a lot of consistent effort in order to succeed. It also requires patience and the willingness to try out new ideas in a controlled manner.

At a high-level, what tactics have you found worked well for you?

First off, I believe in integrity and honesty, which is particularly important for a product review site. We insist that our reviews are truthful and accurate – and not based on the amount of commission we can make. There are many well-known products out there that pay very high commissions, but we don’t actively promote them because we feel that they are just not good products. At a minimum, we will point out the shortcomings or tradeoffs of a product so that the user can make a truly informed decision.

The other thing that is critical to our success is the constant cycle of learning, testing, and adapting. This is an ongoing cycle that helps us constantly improve the quality of our content and also quickly adapt to changes in the market.

What are your thoughts on using pay-per-click and other paid channels for promoting affiliate partners?

There are several different approaches for affiliates to take – all of which are valid and depend on various parameters. Some go with organic only, some with paid only, and some with a combination of the two.

Using paid advertising is great for gathering data and/or generating sales very quickly – in much less time than it takes with organic approaches. Of course, this also comes with a financial cost.  At the other end, organic approaches have lower costs spread out over time, but take much longer to see results. We generally use both approaches together, but the ratio of them differs across markets and sometimes even specific products.

What gaps do you think exist between affiliate and advertiser relationships these days? What more would you like to see?

Sometimes it works out just great – the advertiser and the affiliate both truly understand the affiliate channel and how to best utilize it. Other times, however, true communication between advertisers and affiliates is lacking. For example, is the advertiser only interested in immediate sales or is it looking for added value from the affiliate such as brand-recognition? What is the relative lifetime value of different products offered by the vendor? Does the advertiser offer customized landing pages – and does the affiliate take advantage of them?

How have you seen the affiliate landscape change over the past few years? Do you feel that it’s become more or less challenging for affiliates to be successful?

The online marketing space, and affiliate marketing in general, has been constantly getting more competitive. Not only are there more competitors in the space, but there are more big players with big budgets entering all the time. Also, the rising costs of paid advertising clicks and campaigns are an additional ongoing challenge.

Any other advice that you’d like to pass onto new affiliates?

Learn from others. Always be testing. Be patient.

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3 Key Takeaways

1. Only promote products that you truly believe in. It will make your promotion feel more authentic, especially if you’ve already used and loved the product.
2. Always be testing. Whether it’s with your messaging, your content, your landing page, or your promotion channels, build a process where you can constantly test, learn, and adapt.
3. Be patient. Becoming a successful affiliate is possible, but it will take time and consistency in your efforts. 

We hope you found this both helpful and encouraging – you can expect more of these to come in the future! In the meantime, if you have any questions feel free to email us at affiliates@looka.com.

Best of luck with your affiliate efforts!