Welcome to Affiliate Insiders, Affiliate Marketing Podcast with Mealy Ann Johnston. And today I'm super excited because we've got somebody special on the podcast this week. One of our own team members, Laura Bauer, who has joined us from South Africa. Now, we truly are a global organization. We've got people working all over the world, and they all have a pulse on what's happening in different parts of the globe. And I know a lot of you listening to this podcast are really interested in what's happening in Africa at the moment. There's a lot of uh affiliate movement happening. There's a lot of new businesses coming to the marketplace down there. And Laura has a lot of experience. She's worked in everything from e-commerce all the way through to lottery and iGaming. So we're really excited to have her on the podcast this week and to just talk a little bit about the pulse of Africa and what's happening in affiliate marketing in that space. Laura, it's a pleasure to have you here. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast.
SPEAKER_01Thanks, Leon. I was so excited to be here and share a little bit of my knowledge and experience over the last six years in the industry.
SPEAKER_04Let's get started with your career. So, how did you actually find the affiliate industry in South Africa? And I know you're based in Cape Town, which is where I was born. And you know, what what are the challenges that you faced getting into this industry and why do you love this role so much?
SPEAKER_01So I studied, let's start at the beginning. I studied brand building and marketing in Cape Town, South Africa. And from there at the end of my degree, I had to do a three-month internship. And I kind of looked at the space and thought, you know what? I don't really know where I want to go with it. From there, I set up my LinkedIn and I was incredibly reached out by someone from Impact Radius, now known as Impact, to come and join as an intern for six months. And I researched the company and I really didn't kind of grasp what they did. And the affiliate word kept popping up and partners. And I was like, no, I've just done a three-year degree in marketing. Why do I not know what affiliate marketing is? And I kind of realized looking back on my textbooks, I was like, oh, this is such a tiny heading in in these books. Why?
SPEAKER_04And that makes me leave really because we're working in a global industry that is growing by double-digit figures for the last, you know, 15, 10 years. Exactly. And we did it was such a small piece of your degree.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Uh it's wild. Um, I mean, I got into impact and it was an incredible experience. I mean, I feel like I did a new degree in my six months of working there. Um, and then from there I was really, really excited. I I came on to manage the actual affiliates that were going to come onto the platform and help recruiting for them. And from there, a spot opened up in the agency kind of side of it where you manage the actual advertisers. And I was so excited to get into the more brand side of it. Luckily, after my internship, I was hired full-time and I moved across into that side. And it was really incredible to see the type of money that flows through the industry and the type of opportunities that come with it as well. It's really, like I said, not something we see in South Africa. So it makes you wonder why.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. And I think the reason why Afinet Marketing is only now sort of coming to the fore is because of the infrastructure. So in Africa at the moment, in different parts of Africa, the postal service isn't probably as good as other countries like it is here in the UK. So opening online hasn't really been part of your kind of day-to-day life. In fact, in Cape Town, you and I both know everybody hangs out in a mall still. You know, they're quite happy to all Saturday afternoon in an air-conditioned mall and go do their shopping. Exactly. Why on earth would they shop online at home? But in recent years, we've seen a lot of companies like Take A Lot, which is very similar to Amazon, all of these big companies, big brands coming into the African market. And obviously, that is changing the infrastructure and people are starting to understand what affiliate marketing is, how it works. Companies like Impact, who have established themselves out there as a platform provider, servicing brands with affiliate programs, you know, it's starting to kind of move and starting to go a little bit quicker. But we're still probably, I think, seven to ten years behind where we are here in Europe.
SPEAKER_01Oh, for sure.
SPEAKER_04So tell us a little bit about affiliate marketing in Africa. Like what are the tactics that you're using for finding affiliates and what's the kind of mindset behind partnerships and referral marketing? What's what's the general consensus that's happening down there at the moment?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think if I touch on just why I love affiliate marketing so much, it's kind of when I look at that African scale of it, is that there's so much opportunity there. Um, there's just so much potential, not only for the brands, but also for people, everyday people, to become affiliates and make money. I mean, Africa's so overlooked as a whole, including South Africa in the affiliate marketing space, which makes it challenging for anyone trying to target Africa from a brand's perspective. When I do look for affiliates, I start looking at the country and surrounding countries and what seems to be like an interest for them, sports-wise, that sort of thing. And then from there, I kind of just do a simple Google search of what to do in the country that you're looking at. It kind of gives you a big door of opportunity to really look into it. One really incredibly important thing in affiliate marketing is that you need to be able to think as the person that's wanting to buy the product that you're advertising. Yeah. So if you're wanting to play, let's say, the online lottery in the Congo, you as a player would search, play the lottery online in Congo, wherever you are, and then you're going to be able to see the sites that those people would see as well. I mean, obviously, using VPNs and things like that is an amazing tool to really help. But you really in the affiliate space have to know how to step into your customers' shoes and take that full journey, follow that full customer journey, that click path, and there you'll be able to run an extremely successful affiliate program in Africa.
SPEAKER_04And I think that's very important because the other thing that people forget about in Africa is that it's not just websites. Like here, we would focus very highly on websites, on you know, cashback and loyalty, on SEO and PPC and content curators and even now influencers. But the African market isn't that mature yet. You know, you you probably find that there's still, you know, agents in a local, you know, offline corner shop that are kind of building communities around their corner shop and then you know adding additional marketing tactics in that. So very much kind of like the agent model still exists. They were a little bit more advanced than refer a friend. So really understanding your customer is important if you want to get into Africa and also understanding how the local market and economies work because it very much is still, you know, collaborative, offline to online. And how do those communications and channels actually work? I mean, for example, I know when I was just in Cape Town a couple of months ago, people don't use Facebook. They use WhatsApp. So you can't get on Facebook and build a community on Facebook because nobody cares. They just want to be in a WhatsApp group. Everybody WhatsApps everybody else. So it's it's really interesting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it is a really, really interesting space. And I think also looking at the kind of model that's been built out in the US and the UK of coupons and those sort of things, that hasn't even touched Africa or South Africa yet at any scale. So I mean, there's so much to be done here. And like I said earlier, that's really where my passion lies is in that African of North African market of just kind of bringing that gap to us. Because, you know, obviously unemployment is a huge thing. Yeah. I mean, imagine if we could educate and bring people up to the highly skilled level to be able to have either those face-to-face affiliate sort of interactions or online. I mean, building a simple website talking about what to do in your country, what tourism things can be done there, and leveraging that into an affiliate space is an amazing opportunity for anyone in those sort of countries.
SPEAKER_04And I think the partnership model is quite important too, because I think there's a lot of businesses that would actually do the brand-to-brand partnerships. So actually elevating for that B2C consumer, but actually looking at at businesses that are collaborative and actually getting them to share their data as well is quite an important thing. So let's go back to like how you entered into the marketplace because it's not a common job in Africa. And trying to find skill sets out in South Africa is actually quite difficult. So I'm quite grateful that we found you, we recruited you. But what are the skills that you think are most valuable for affiliate account managers to have now that you've been in the industry for six years and experienced multiple different programs? What advice can you give to other, you know, South Africans that are maybe listening to this or other people in and in the rest of Africa that are listening to this and might be interested to actually get into this industry?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think there's a lot to read up on affiliate marketing. And I think it kind of starts firstly at an education standpoint, kind of familiarizing yourself around what is happening in the industry right now. I think, well, I know that this industry changes at the drop of the hat. As I'm sure you know, one day you can be working in a certain way and the next day it doesn't work anymore. So your ability to adapt is so, so important in this sort of space. Affiliate marketing and the industries you'll be working with are forever changing. And you need to really be able to keep up by testing your creatives, landing pages, ways of tracking, ways of reaching your audience. You have to get into that mindset of it. You know, for someone looking to get into this industry, like I said, education is the best part to kind of get a start. I am seeing more and more on LinkedIn and that sort of thing of smaller companies in South Africa trying to test out affiliate marketing strategies. And I think it's amazing that people are trying to do it. But this problem is that the people going into it aren't educated in the field. The more education you can bring from kind of leveling yourself up by yourself, educating yourself, watching videos, that's the best bet to get into this sort of industry and to really thrive in it. Of course, trying to find a brand like Impact that is hiring, and that's a really good space because you know they're such an industry leader in what they do that it's a really good place to put your foot in the door. Um, and just kind of keeping open communication with brands like that, talking to people in those companies, going to TED Talks, going to conversations. There's lots of conversations, especially in Cape Town, around advances in technology and that sort of thing.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I think that's very interesting as well, is that you need to have a desire and a hunger to get into this industry. If you're even sparked by it in any way, shape, or form, it's not the kind of role that you can just there's no job board for a village manager. There's no most people that enter the space either enter by accident or they enter because they genuinely want to get in and they go and find somebody on LinkedIn or find a mentor. Yeah. You know, really search who are the thought leaders in the space and and then connect with them and and try and get in. So it really is the kind of perfect job for kind of millennials really who want to come out of university, buy new stuff, have access to building relationships, learn a plethora of skills. Because, you know, as an affiliate manager, as you well know, it's sales, it's relationship building, it's research, it's you know, analytics, it's commercial development, it's the job itself is so complex now. You need to be learning all the time. I mean, I've been in this industry 20 years and I'm still learning. And I never ever refer to myself as an expert because you can't be an expert in this field because you are constantly learning all the time. So I think you need to have a little bit of, you know, a desire to be a continual student because you have to keep learning in this space as things are changing around us. Now I want to talk a little bit about lottery, casino, and iGaming, because I know that you come from that that industry as well. And I want to talk a little bit about trends projections, restrictions, things that are working, things that are not in the African market. Because here in Europe we see sports and and casino and and all of the iGaming space in one way, but it's very, very different in Africa at the moment. So talk to me a little bit about some of the things and trends that you're experiencing in Africa that are just a little bit different to how we do things here in Europe.
SPEAKER_01So, like you said, I've been in the kind of eye gaming space in the last two years of experience, and it's really been such an eye-opener coming from an e-commerce platform background. Understanding, firstly, the restrictions that come into play when it comes to licensing is massive. It really impacts the way that you're able to do your role. And that kind of dictates how you can approach affiliates, how what type of affiliates you can work with, that sort of thing. I think when you come into that sort of space, you really have to look at it and go, okay, this space needs a certain type of creative that's going to get a certain type of return out of it. It really is just such a different ball game altogether. And I'd I'd really highly recommend for anyone in IGaming in Africa and South Africa to really get into the affiliate space because there is so, so much that can be done with it. They're really there's it's a massive market. I mean, if you just do a simple search for online lottery on the internet in Africa, I mean, you get so many different sites that list different types of categories and kind of comparison sites and those sort of things. So there really is the potential for it to be incredible, but it is a really hard industry. And from my perspective, over the last two years of working in it, if you don't have someone like an agency like what we do at Affiliate Insider that's able to manage that, you're gonna have a really hard time understanding the scope of the market and understanding what's gonna give you the best return on your investment. You have to really do a lot of A and B testing, know which years. I mean, one week you could be running your best campaign in a certain country, and the next week that country is completely blocked. So all your eggs and wine bars could come.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, it really is a fun industry to be in because it's so fast-paced. But like I said, you really need someone with the experience and the expertise to run a successful campaign for you. But if you've got the right people on your team, really the possibilities are endless.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, because it's such an immature market, and I think people are threshold. You know, there's it's a huge market as well. There's a lot of people in Africa, and most of them are finding ways to get online either through mobile and now with crypto coming into the into this as well. It's it's really enabling people to do things very, very quickly and at a fraction of the cost. So it's very, very interesting to see how the industry is moving in that space. Let's talk a little bit about you know what brands might be missing out on, because there's still a lot of companies in South Africa, both in the e-commerce space and otherwise, you know, insurance, finance, legal, all of those industries that haven't yet broached affiliate marketing as part of their marketing strategy. So, what do you think some of the key things that brands in these regions or even international brands that are looking to get into the African West might be missing out on by not looking at the affiliate channel as part of their marketing mix?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, I think affiliate marketing in comparison to the other channels, obviously I come from a marketing kind of more traditional background. And we did a lot of sort of agency days, and I got to really have my eyes open around that. And in comparison to the traditional models, I feel that affiliate marketing, just from my experience and what I've seen, is a lot more cost-effective and easily controllable. You can manipulate the outcome of it if you know what you're doing in certain ways, obviously. But you know, you can do a lot of A and B testing to say, okay, if this works better now. Not to say it's going to work better for forever, but you know, you can manipulate the market to what you want out of it. It's only true, like I said, if you have the right skill set, the right people running those campaigns for you. It takes a lot of experience and industry knowledge to make it successful. And having the right guidance really ensures that. I do think that brands locally in Africa or overseas, like you said, they really are missing out on an opportunity to have an extra pool of income coming into their brand. I mean, the amount of brand awareness alone that you get from affiliate marketing is incredible, let alone the actual monetary value that you're getting out of it.
SPEAKER_04And where do you predict that affiliate marketing is going to be in the next 10 years, both in Africa and then from a global perspective, as you see it from where you are?
SPEAKER_01So from where I see it, globally, it's easy to see that affiliate marketing is becoming. And I think globally has been for some time now the best answer to creating those winning campaigns and building ultimate brand awareness. 10 years from now, I see it only on a bigger scale. I feel that tracking platforms will be so extensively built out and will cover all of the sort of necessities that account managers and brands need in order to get the most out of those campaigns. And also on the affiliate side, I mean, the affiliates are going to have a lot more options available to them because a lot more brands are gonna be getting on board with this. They'll also be better quality because they've been practicing and been in the industry for longer. Right now, there are just so many gaps to be filled in the industry. And I'm I'm really excited to see the growth and advances, advances that technology is going to bring to this. In Africa, I think over the course of 10 years, I'm hoping we'll see the type of growth that in the affiliate space in Africa that we've seen globally over the last 20 years, I'd say. Yeah, I think it's a topic that I think really goes so deeply into. But if we just look at it from a lack of employment aspect, I mean there really is a huge opportunity there, endless ways to make money. Um, and through the right education and skill sets, we really can make an impact in the affiliate space as a whole. We're seeing a really positive move though. So that's really exciting to see. And I mean, Sigma Africa is going to bring a lot of awareness to the industry in Africa. It's gonna bring a lot of people through that are gonna kind of notice that there's more of an affiliate presence in Africa than maybe what they thought they previously was.
SPEAKER_04And I think from my perspective, I think we're looking at an age of ambassador entrepreneurship, even because I think as you said, you know, there are so many people that have access to groups, communities, social channels. It's easy to create content, it's easy to create videos, it's cheap, it's ineffective. How are we gonna leverage all of these people that are looking to create side hustle jobs, which is a big I mean, job and and employment creation in Africa is a huge thing. You know, there's a real opportunity here for brands to actually start a grassroots level and and create training programs. And it's something that, you know, I'm I'm really seriously looking into is how do we actually build a training program and actually bring graduates into the industry from South Africa because there's a lot of good skill sets there. Watch the space. Maybe in three to five years we launch our academy in in Africa and start training people up and bringing them into the industry because I think that's what you need is is new skills and and new perspectives. The next generation of digital marketers are going to carry this industry forward, and we need to be making sure that we're training and developing those skill sets there. So currently you're our mascot in Cape Town. If you're listening to this, get in touch with Laura on LinkedIn if you're if you're keen to have a career in affiliate marketing, or even if you're keen to have an agency that has a pulse in Africa that can help you to actually scope the market, look at what's available, you know, put you in touch with local partnerships and communities. That's why we are expanding affiliate insider there. We're kind of homegrown as well because we now have, you know, as a founder, I'm South African myself. But I think it's important that this is a market that we don't discount as affiliate managers because there is a lot of value there. The last question for you, for me, is what is the one thing that you're most excited about being part of our agency at this point?
SPEAKER_01I don't even need to think about it. The most exciting thing for me is just being able to, and I mean, I've only been part of the team for a month now, and already my skill set has grown exponentially. And my brain feels like it's going to explode with knowledge. I'm so excited to be able to work on multiple different brands across different industries and really become kind of an expert, I would kind of say, in a field. I know so much about the R gaming space, and I would love to be so knowledgeable in other industries as well. And that's exactly what working at affiliate insider gives me the opportunity to do.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I have to say that that's one thing that we are quite passionate about is making sure that account managers get access to multiple verticals because we do believe that affiliate marketing transcends verticals, and we do want our clients to benefit from the tactics that we pick up working in multiple industries. So we have shaped our agency to be quite unique in that in that perspective. And it's just been a pleasure to work with you for the last month. And I'm really grateful that you came on the podcast and shared your experience and shared a little bit about the pulse of what's happening in Africa as affiliate marketing develops there. And it's it's really exciting to see that younger people such as yourself are excited about getting into this industry. And it's not just here in Europe where we can kind of develop skill sets and bring people in to help our clients to mature and grow as well, but also, you know, rest of the world. So it's been a pleasure to have you on the podcast today. Thank you for sharing your insights and we're looking forward to you with some of the clients that you're going to be managing.
SPEAKER_01Yes, thank you so much. It was such a pleasure, and I'm so excited to see where this all goes.
SPEAKER_03And that's a wrap for this week's Affiliate Insider Affiliate Marketing Podcast. If you're loving what we're putting down in this series, head on over to Apple iTunes and give us a five-star rating and subscribe to our podcast channel so you never miss another insightful episode. Tune in next week for more digital marketing insights and traffic driving tips, tricks, and strategies to keep your digital marketing fresh and your affiliate program driving consistent sales.
SPEAKER_00This podcast is brought to you by AMP. Affiliate Insider is an independently owned business. So we're sponsoring this podcast episode to showcase our exclusive affiliate management performance program. AMP is our unique program for affiliate marketing program managers. We've helped hundreds of affiliate managers across a range of brands to get the best of their affiliate partnerships and build consistent sales. Run at a live coaching session once per week. This 12-week intensive training program is suitable for affiliate program managers at all levels. You will learn proven tactics and strategies that allow you to upscale your program or team performances. Growth hack your sales using tried and tested strategies that have been gained from decades of experience running the million dollar. Affiliate programs worldwide. For more information on what AMP offers or how to book your place on the next open cohort, please visit affiliateinsider.com and hit the training button to find out more.
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