How I Amplified Leatherology's Social Reach with Affiliate Marketing

See how I helped this e-commerce retailer amplify their brand on social media and launch a new marketing channel.

Situation

E-commerce retailer Leatherology wanted to build awareness among a professional millennial audience and amplify their brand across social media.

But working with individual social media influencers is expensive and time-consuming: You have to research the reach and engagement, and negotiate rates and sponsored campaign details for each individual account.

We discussed options to scale that approach by launching on an affiliate network.

Affiliate networks can get real scammy, real fast. Leatherology wanted to avoid discount farms (like RetailMeNot) and “junk traffic” from low-quality websites.

Solution

First, I evaluated multiple affiliate networks and presented Leatherology with the pros and cons of each option. We decided to sign the brand up for 2 affiliate networks:

– RewardStyle (now LTK) because of the affiliate quality, specifically in the fashion and lifestyle space.
– ShareASale (now AWIN) because of their affiliate quality, customer support and low-cost monthly fee.

I researched affiliate programs for other fashion and lifestlye brands to make a recommendation for Leatherology’s affiliate program terms: commission payments, affiliate policy, unique link cookie tracking period and special promotions.

Next, I developed a content strategy for Leatherology to promote their affiliate program to targeted influencers, and attract the right influencers who align with the Leatherology brand.

I presented these best practices to make sure Leatherology felt comfortable moving forward with a new marketing channel and was well-equipped to make the most of their investment.

Finally, I wrote copy for several pieces of content for Leatherology to promote their affiliate marketing program:

Landing page on their website where prospective affiliates can apply for the program. View landing page >
Brand statement and privacy policies on their Shareasale merchant profile page. View the profile >
Cold email templates for recruiting new bloggers to join the program. View the email templates >

In each of the these assets, the copy clearly articulated:

The spirit of the Leatherology brand and its value proposition
Benefits of the program including what affiliates will get and how this benefits their audience
A lively, fresh and fun brand voice that is consistent with other marketing communications
The mechanics of how to apply for the program and on which affiliate networks, along with the “fine print” details and disclaimers
An emphasis on partnership, collaboration, and mutual success

Results

The affiliate program assets contributed to a successful program launch, resulting in an incremental $75K revenue in the first year!

Even better, having already been set upon an affiliate network made growing media partnerships even easier – since its affiliate marketing launch, the brand now works with affiliates such as The New York Times Wirecutter, Town & Country Magazine, CNN, Condé Nast Traveler, ELLE and more.