Introducing Rob Schab
Rob Schab is our first former TUNEr to grow to be an authorized Affiliate Rockstar! Since his days at TUNE, Rob has co-founded two affiliate expertise firms. In 2020, Rob began an affiliate recruitment platform and company known as Grovia, which bought to Acceleration Companions. At this time, Rob is the Co-Founder and CMO of Levanta, an affiliate platform for Amazon sellers. Rob can be a College of Washington alumnus, a reluctantly obsessed Seattle Mariners fan, and an avid traveler.
Take it away, Rob!
Rockstar Q&A with Rob
What are your day-to-day duties?
As Chief Market Officer, my day-to-day is a wholesome steadiness of technique and execution round something that will increase the worth of Levanta’s Amazon Affiliate community. Whether or not that’s onboarding extra manufacturers by means of gross sales and partnerships, or constructing a recruitment technique to activate creators at scale, my purpose is to maximise market exercise.
How did you get into the affiliate trade?
Following a few invaluable startup failures in faculty, I used to be fortunate to get my first actual job at an unbelievable firm known as TUNE (I nonetheless name them HasOffers). I had the very best mentors that an affiliate rookie might ask for in Nate Ivie, Nessa Voigt, and Connor Sliva.
What are your most vital KPIs?
With income being the last word KPI, my purpose is to develop each side of our affiliate community to encourage extra transaction quantity, therefore producing extra income. At a excessive stage, we take a look at the variety of energetic associates, and the variety of advertisers (i.e., sellers). In the meantime, we preserve an in depth eye on SaaS income development and retention fee.
What’s your largest pet peeve concerning the affiliate trade?
The truth that the vast majority of affiliate packages are last-click and measure down-funnel associates (e.g., coupon, loyalty, money again) proper alongside content material and influencer associates. These two teams have utterly totally different ranges of incrementality and shouldn’t be competing for attribution. With enhancements in affiliate tech, akin to multi-touch attribution, refined attribution fashions have gotten extra commonplace. However there’s nonetheless loads of work to be executed!
What do you assume is undervalued in advertising and marketing typically?
Using LTV as a significant metric. So many manufacturers (particularly in affiliate) are aiming to revenue on their preliminary buyer acquisition. Associates aren’t simply driving gross sales, they’re driving new clients. If you happen to really consider in your merchandise, your model, and your potential to create returning clients and referrals, you have to be keen to pay associates a share of LTV, not simply share of sale! Identical logic applies to setting a goal CAC in different advertising and marketing channels.
What are among the issues that you simply or your advertisers may do in another way in the course of the vacation season?
Prime Day is a essential stretch and primarily a vacation for Amazon sellers, and consequently a large alternative for Levanta. Throughout Amazon deal days and different large buying occasions, we grow to be very deal-focused. We offer instruments for our advertisers to share deal particulars with associates, and conversely, for associates to acquire deal info at scale. Our market offers a catalog the place associates can browse product/deal info, drill down into particular product classes, and type by fee/value/greatest vendor rating.
What’s the subsequent large factor in internet online affiliate marketing?
You most likely noticed this reply coming, however there isn’t a doubt that affiliate packages for market sellers will make an enormous splash within the affiliate world.
However I’d additionally preserve an in depth watch on AI. I noticed a very fascinating article from Neil Patel on search engine optimisation for ChatGPT. When will we see paid advertisements in ChatGPT … or affiliate hyperlinks?
What are 2-3 tendencies you’re seeing within the affiliate trade?
The affect of AI on content material and internet online affiliate marketing. Little question that AI goes to alter the best way that we create and devour content material. I’ll even be curious to comply with regulatory responses round AI, content material, and commerce.
I sound like a damaged report, however I feel the largest development will likely be internet online affiliate marketing for marketplaces. Amazon alone accounts for almost 40% of U.S. e-commerce. Till lately, the tens of millions of Amazon sellers had no answer for tapping into internet online affiliate marketing as a scalable income stream. Keep watch over Levanta and the fast-growing Amazon Affiliate ecosystem.
What’s your prime tip in terms of negotiating affiliate offers with companions?
Be empathetic, open-minded, and analytical! Most incremental-revenue-driving associates will know their worth and won’t at all times need to work on a commission-only mannequin (the identical cause gross sales executives don’t work on a commission-only mannequin). Be keen to be versatile in your payout mannequin and discover a plan that works for each events. Do your greatest to uncover metrics like anticipated views/clicks, then consider issues like conversion fee and LTV to calculate the potential earnings from the affiliate deal. From there, discovering a steadiness between CPA, CPC, or flat payment that may fulfill the wants for each events.
How vital is it to comply with the journey of a consumer after your advertisers first purchase them or after their first buy?
Extremely vital. If nothing else, it’s completely important to have a great learn on buyer LTV. This is able to assist decide how a lot you’re keen to spend to amass a buyer. You may also leverage your buyer journey insights to get suggestions and enhance your product, enhance upsells/cross-sells, and generate extra referrals.
