Performance Partnerships: The Checkered Past, Changing Present and Exciting Future of Affiliate Marketing

When I tell people I love performance / affiliate marketing, I typically get a strange response. It’s as if someone is thinking, “I thought he was an honest and smart guy, why would he work in that space?” The truth is, those that think that, just don’t get it. I love this space because what I know it CAN be. In fact, done right, today’s performance model couldn’t be farther from the fray that gave it a bad name during its “land-grab” days. Performance Marketing is the lens that we should view most relationships through. Those that understand the true potential of performance marketing are among the world’s best and most progressive marketers. Sounds self-serving, but it is not. Those that have survived the phases of the affiliate evolution have not done so by trial-and-error. They understand partnerships that create value require continuous reinvention. Partnerships succeed when each player’s contribution is clear and embraced. When I decided to run one of the largest online affiliate networks in retail and rehabilitate the internal credibility of its affiliate marketing channel, I sought out partners who saw the channel for would it could be. Bob Glazer was among my first phone calls. Why? Like any good counselor, he understands history. He has the context to add validity to why this performance-based world has fallen short of its potential and what it takes to make it so great. He also has the energy and the will to lead a needed revolution to make it better. With his gift of storytelling, Bob is well positioned to serve not only as the honest curator of the ecosystem’s history, but he may very well become the Press Secretary of it’s brave new future. Thanks to this book, we are on our way to move Performance Marketing from a narrowly defined “channel” to a model we embrace, trust and incorporate more broadly across a business.

This book is fantastic and a must read for anyone who is managing an affiliate program, whether it be in-house, agency, network, or publisher side. The book provides an exciting and comprehensive overview of where this industry has been, the current state of the union and the direction it is moving in for the future. While the book is informative and full of information, it is engaging and easy to follow. I was surprised that it read more like a novel versus a book about marketing. I have walked away from it understanding the nuances of this industry, the history and most importantly it helped trigger some creative thinking around strategies I can explore for my clients based on Glazer's prediction of what's to come. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is just entering the field or is a seasoned marketer as I guarantee everyone will learn something new and applicable for their careers.

Bob Glazer does a phenomenal job outlining the history and the future of affiliate marketing. The topic is not one that is taught in many college courses these days, yet it seems to be a very important piece in the current and future marketing industry. Any company can benefit from establishing healthy performance partnerships, and Bob Glazer provides some great insight into why it's important and how to get it done. He lays the foundation for any business leader to understand affiliate marketing on a high level, generating just enough interest and knowledge to understand how much it can revolutionize a company's marketing efforts. I highly recommend this book to any marketer who has been feeling stale in their positions, looking for the next big thing to take their efforts to the next level. Start here and improve. You'll thank yourself later! Job well done, Bob Glazer!

In this book Glazer spends a lot of time going over what has happened in the affiliate or performance marketing industry and where it is going in the future. The majority of merchants and retailers are still stuck in the past but the ones that have embraced the future, are more proactive in the management of their partner programs, and know how to properly view the affiliate channel are the ones who will succeed and be able to utilize all the benefits a healthy affiliate program can provide. Few people are as knowledgeable as Glazer is when it comes to the affiliate/performance marketing space. Bob not only has a great understanding of the channel but he can also take that knowledge and put it in to practice with his clients. If you are involved in the affiliate or performance marketing space you need to read this book.

If you're looking for a primer on where Affiliate marketing has been and where it's going, buy this book. What I like most is it provides very specific recommendations and insights, that you'll feel you can make use of immediately.

I read this book because I enjoy Robert's blog, Friday Forward- he has an engaging style and whatever he has pulled together on any given week always seems immediately actionable. It turns out that Performance Partnerships is a really interesting read, even if on-line marketing is not something you do every day. I would certainly recommend it for anyone in marketing, as an up-to-the-minute guide to what those at the cutting edge are doing- whether you are a product or service company (he illustrates how service firms are using Performance Partnerships to boost performance). For those of us who are interested in business but focus more on corporate strategy, finance, and such, this is a great way to get smart about the complex and mysterious world of digital marketing.

Affiliate marketing is one of the first official digital marketing channels and one of the most complicated when it comes to understanding how it works and how to run a successful affiliate program. Robert Glazer's Performance Partnerships is a must read for anyone in the digital marketing, omni-channel marketing or consumer marketing industry. His experience is invaluable as he shares the many generations of affiliate marketing and why so many organizations and marketing executives are not leveraging their affiliate program to its full potential. The word affiliate is often perceived as a negative addition to a digital marketing portfolio but when you look at the capabilities from true performing partnerships, your program can be unstoppable. I encourage you to take the time to read this wonderful book on a very misunderstood marketing channel.

Thorough analysis of what a performance based partnership is about. Bob walks you over the affiliate marketing 3 stages and forecasts we're it's going, which means you can make your own bet as well. I really appreciated the part were the book compares the industry actors: merchant, networks, agencies, publishers and consumers because you can understand how each one better competes and what their design-based limitations are. Off course the real cases that are related are also good material to add to your marketing skillset. Lastly, it is not only an informative book (which with a lot of time and relationships you could build you own research) but also a proposal on what makes a partnership grow and for this combination I recommend the book for a read on partnerships, marketing and growth.

Sarah Bundy of AIM recommended this book and I immediately jumped in. Bob gave a deep exploratory insight into Performance Marketing and answers a lot of the questions I have asked including the rise of Influencers which operated like Affiliate marketing, except with more focus on brand awareness. This is highly recommended for Digital Marketers looking to better understand a channel that is on the rise to serve both merchants and partners as it evolves into Generation 3.

Performance Partnerships is the book that everyone in the affiliate marketing (or performance marketing) industry should read. As someone that has been a publisher for over five years, I found this book to be a refreshing, concise, and comprehensive account of the affiliate marketing industry. In Performance Partnerships, Robert Glazer takes readers through a detailed account of what affiliate marketing was, is, and will be. From examining the rise of affiliate marketing and its associated problems in the early 2000s to the (potentially) bright future that was once promised by the performance marketing model, this book covers it all. There were several times throughout the book where I found myself having "aha!" moments. Subtle things I'd noticed that finally made sense when viewed with the context provided by this book. For example, why are people at affiliate marketing conferences so reluctant to provide any details on what they actually do? Why does the industry still suffer from a poor reputation when the promise of the affiliate marketing model is a win-win-win for all parties involved? Perhaps most interesting was the author's insight into all different facets of the industry - Networks, OPMs (outsourced program managers), publishers, and merchants. I have not seen anyone else publicly display the level of understanding and practical experience that Robert Glazer displays. All in all, a fantastic book that provides a much-needed injection of thought leadership into the affiliate marketing industry.

Robert Glazer's enthusiasm is infectious and his insights into the performance marketing industry are useful for anyone building a business and a brand online (which today should be all businesses). In demystifying affiliate marketing he gives you the tools to use it effectively. So many practitioners work hard to make this space seem difficult and out of reach, but Robert's goal is to ensure everyone gets a fair chance to succeed.

Great read

If you are involved in the Affiliate/Performance/Digital industry and not read this latest from Bob Glazer, you need to get it in your reading list. An excellent perspective on this dynamic industry, the good and less good aspects from one of the leading hands-on exponents in our industry. A fascinating outline of his vision for the future of Performance Partnerships.