Welcome to a new season of the Affiliate Marketing Podcast. We are excited to launch Season 16 with some of the biggest names in the affiliate and media industry. Sharon Rechter is co-founder and president of. first mediais a leading media publisher with over 250 million followers and reaches 71% of U.S. women monthly across its portfolio of brands. As president, she grew the business from a single linear cable channel to a global media business with over 200 employees in three countries. Sharon has built an incredible business empire and she shares some of her best advice for affiliate managers and publishers who are just starting out.
Hear all the insights here
Consumers can respond anytime, anywhere
Lee-Ann asks Sharon. “With all this data and all this knowledge about how to build content, we wanted to get to the core of why we made the conscious decision not to build a publishing platform early on.” Why didn't you build a website? I know there are three. You now have a publishing site, but first, why did you choose to go where the consumers are? What were the decisions that led you there? ”
Sharon responds: “It's interesting, but I think everyone who generates money comes and goes. I like to say we started with manners. It wasn't polite to come to Mark's BBQ and then invite all of your friends to come to another party. Maybe Facebook rewarded us for it. But our philosophy outside of manners is that we didn't raise millions of dollars to do this. Therefore, our philosophy has always been to meet consumers where they are.
“Don't try to take the extra step. Of course, there are pros and cons to this approach, but you can meet your consumers wherever they are. That's why our content is currently available on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube It’s available on all platforms, including and now at gas stations.”
do things differently
Sharon goes on to explain: “We have never sacrificed the quality of our content or the virality of our content. I think we deliver content in a completely different way than other publishers. We're talking about things, publishers on Facebook, and then we send them directly to transactions. We've always looked at transactions as a value-add for consumers as well.
“For example, very delicious When you see this great recipe on how to make muffins, you'll think, “Oh, I want to try that, but this was a very short video.” Then add “Click here to add all ingredients.” Add to cart. We're not bothering our viewers. While the viewer actually intends to save the video for later viewing, they add the ingredients to their cart and shop. So our philosophies are very different. I like that because a lot of brands don't think about affiliate marketing this way.
Future trends
Lee-Ann asks, “What do you think are the top three trends that will happen in 2024 or 2025?”
Sharon responds: “I think AI is a great tool. You and I use the word publisher a little differently, so we don't want to confuse you.” AI is amazing. You can go to an AI and say, “He's going to create 10 meal kit ads for people on a budget and talk to them about their budget,'' and the AI will do it for you. All these ads are the worst. So unless you're looking for ideas, I'm not going to use AI that way. We say to all our designers, “You're no longer a designer, you're the head of the design department.” By leveraging AI, you can save money on photography, ad design, and video design, and increase the amount of work you can produce with the same team.
“So, that's what I want to say most. It could change the affiliate business for me, and that trend is much bigger than everything else. I don't do what's trendy. I have a deep connection with the brand. I would say we try to build relationships and look less for partners. But anything that can be improved, improved, improved, expanded, because that's where our learning begins.”
Learn more about First media blog.
If you would like to know more about the following, please ask.
- How Sharon got to where she is today
- Relationship between consumers and content
- '“Data is king” argument
- “Advertising Fatigue” – Why can’t you grow and expand your audience if you’re tied to a concept?
Key segments of this podcast and where you can listen directly to them:
[11:20] The importance of content access
[15:00] Why brands need to allow affiliates the freedom to get different results
[33:15] Future trends
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