Affiliate Marketing For Lenders
This Podcast is for consumer lenders who want to grow their affiliate marketing programs. It’s hosted by Carlos Caro, a successful marketing agency founder and former fintech executive. Prior to founding New Market Growth, Carlos was a General Manager and Head Of Business Development at Credit Karma, Head of Customer Acquisition at Caribou, and a former leader in Capital One’s credit card business. NMG focuses on helping lenders build and optimize affiliate programs, and Carlos is here to share how to do it yourself. Subscribe to this Podcast to hear from Carlos and other industry leaders as they demystify what it takes to win the affiliate marketing game.
Listen on:
Episodes
Friday Sep 13, 2024
Friday Sep 13, 2024
Today, we continue to discuss the 4 levels of Operational Maturity in affiliate marketing for lenders. We’ll go deep on 301 and 401 levels and wrap up with some tactical things you can do to land at the 401 level.
Summary of the 4 levels:
𝟭𝟬𝟭 - 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹
We're focused on the volume of leads and the cost of acquisition. The rest of the operation looks a lot like affiliate programs in other industries. There's not much attention placed on the quality of accounts that we acquire.
𝟮𝟬𝟭 - 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲
We learn that not all leads are created equal and not all lead sources are created equal. We pay more attention to what happens to a customer post-booking.
How much revenue are they driving?
What are the delinquency rates?
What are the loss rates?
We start to think about the relationship between LTV and cost of acquisition.
𝟯𝟬𝟭 - 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲
We learn that when we make a change to our business, the affiliate reacts in a certain way, and that in turn has a knock-on effect on our business. We also start to overanalyze why volumes dropped and why applicant quality is changing. We often get distracted by a lot of these questions as there are often no actions we can take as a result of our curiosity.
𝟰𝟬𝟭 - 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁
We learn that our success relies on delivering exceptional products and exceptional buying experiences for our affiliates' customers. Under this frame, we recognize that each affiliate's a little different. They all have different buying experiences, data assets, customer types, and integration capabilities. We try to reverse engineer our business to best fit each partner. We notice that we were overanalyzing the volatility in our programs, and conclude that our investigations were often unproductive.
Timestamps:
(00:00) 301 Intro
(04:20) 301 Strategy
(15:55) 301 Challenges and realities
(18:43) Recap of 101-301
(21:48) 401 Deep dive - becoming leaders
(30:48) Model alignment
(41:48) Wrap up
Where to find Carlos:
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
References:
A written summary of the 4 levels of Operational Maturity:https://www.linkedin.com/posts/the-carlos-caro_operational-maturity-affiliates-activity-7204481122464907264-f_hC
Find Us:
Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at carlos@newmarketgrowth.com.
Friday Sep 13, 2024
Friday Sep 13, 2024
Today, we introduce the 4 levels of Operational Maturity in affiliate marketing for lenders. We’ll go deep on 101 and 201 levels. The 301 and 401 levels will be covered in our next episode.
Summary of the 4 levels:
𝟭𝟬𝟭 - 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹
We're focused on the volume of leads and the cost of acquisition. The rest of the operation looks a lot like affiliate programs in other industries. There's not much attention placed on the quality of accounts that we acquire.
𝟮𝟬𝟭 - 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲
We learn that not all leads are created equal and not all lead sources are created equal. We pay more attention to what happens to a customer post-booking.
How much revenue are they driving?
What are the delinquency rates?
What are the loss rates?
We start to think about the relationship between LTV and cost of acquisition.
𝟯𝟬𝟭 - 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲
We learn that when we make a change to our business, the affiliate reacts in a certain way, and that in turn has a knock-on effect on our business. We also start to overanalyze why volumes dropped and why applicant quality is changing. We often get distracted by a lot of these questions as there are often no actions we can take as a result of our curiosity.
𝟰𝟬𝟭 - 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁
We learn that our success relies on delivering exceptional products and exceptional buying experiences for our affiliates' customers. Under this frame, we recognize that each affiliate's a little different. They all have different buying experiences, data assets, customer types, and integration capabilities. We try to reverse engineer our business to best fit each partner. We notice that we were overanalyzing the volatility in our programs, and conclude that our investigations were often unproductive.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Why maturity matters
(04:36) The 4 levels
(10:18) 101 deep dive
(17:56) 201 deep dive
(26:15) Wrap up and next steps
Where to find Carlos:
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
References:
A written summary of the 4 levels of Operational Maturity:https://www.linkedin.com/posts/the-carlos-caro_operational-maturity-affiliates-activity-7204481122464907264-f_hC
Find Us:
Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at carlos@newmarketgrowth.com.
Thursday Sep 05, 2024
Thursday Sep 05, 2024
Episode 005: Today, we discuss the marketing levers lenders have at their disposal to improve the performance of their affiliate marketing campaigns.
We’ll discuss levers in the following categories:
Eligibility
Impressions/placements
Click-through rate
Application rate
Approval rate
Funding rate
CPA/Payouts
Timestamps:
(00:54) Recapping previous episodes(01:50) A big misconception(03:02) Key levers(09:30) CTR(18:37) Application rate(21:35) Approval rate(27:09) Funding rate(29:49) CPAs / payouts(31:43) Conclusion and final thoughts
Where to find Carlos:
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
References:
Click-through rates by ad rank/placement on Google:https://firstpagesage.com/reports/google-click-through-rates-ctrs-by-ranking-position/
Outline of levers discussed in the show
https://medium.com/@newmarketgrowth/your-affiliate-marketing-levers-9f98092ab37b
Find Us:
Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at carlos@newmarketgrowth.com.
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
Episode 004: Today, we tackle two simple, but important questions. The first: “What affiliates should I partner with?” And the second, “Where should I host my targeting model?”
We cover:
How to build a list of potential affiliate partners
Why “getting in” isn’t an easy as you think
How to build a pitch for potential partners
Where to host your targeting model
Guiding principles for targeting model development
Timestamps:
(00:43) Outline of today's episode
(04:25) Building a list of potential partners
(09:25) Why getting into publishers isn't easy
(14:15) Crafting your pitch 18:18 Hosting your targeting model
(18:18) Hosting Your Targeting Model
(22:20) Targeting model platforms
(36:56) Guiding principles
(41:45) Wrap up / final thoughts
Where to find Carlos:
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
References:
Credit Karma Lightbox
https://www.creditkarma.com/about/commentary/credit-karma-welcomes-team-bitmatica
Monevo
https://www.monevo.com/us
Eagle Data
https://www.eagledata.biz/
https://medium.com/@carlos.ny/a-chat-with-travis-broad-ceo-at-eagle-data-a6409c6683a7
MoneyLion
https://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/moneylion-inc-nyseml-q1-2024-earnings-call-transcript-1299056/
Find Us:
Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at carlos@newmarketgrowth.com.
Sunday Aug 04, 2024
Sunday Aug 04, 2024
Episode 003: Today, we tackle a big, foundational question. “Why should I bother promoting my lending products in affiliate channels?”
We cover:
Size of publicly traded affiliate networks
How many consumer loans are opened per year on affiliate networks
Why your CMO, CPO, CRO, and CFO should care
A 60-second elevator pitch for your CEO
Timestamps:
(00:43) Why Invest in Affiliate Marketing?
(01:22) Affiliate Channel Scale From Public Filings
(05:08) What % Of Acquisition Volume Comes From Affiliates?
(06:14) Convincing Your Org to Invest in Affiliate Marketing
(08:01) Benefits for Different Departments
(13:06) Selling into your CPO or Strategy Head
(14:44) Selling into your CRO
(16:42) Selling into your CFO
(18:15) Building Exceptional Buying Experiences
(20:42) Conclusion and Summary Pitch
Where to find Carlos:
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
References (affiliate marketplace public filings):
Credit Karma
https://investors.intuit.com/_assets/_719de469f18090d69a0faddc62c8f705/intuit/news/2024-05-23_Intuit_Reports_Strong_Third_Quarter_Results_and_1188.pdf
Experian
https://www.experianplc.com/content/dam/marketing/global/plc/en/assets/documents/results-and-presentations/2024/experian-roadshow-jan-to-mar-2024.pdf
NerdWallet
https://investors.nerdwallet.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nerdwallet-reports-first-quarter-2024-results
Lending Tree
https://investors.lendingtree.com/static-files/6091a1b9-f0c2-4d4e-b6c0-990085edb7a5
QuinStreet
https://investor.quinstreet.com/static-files/726eb814-7f4e-47ee-9d01-5a200817a027
MoneyLion
https://investors.moneylion.com/news/detail/122/moneylion-announces-first-quarter-2024-results
Find Us:
Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions for a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at carlos@newmarketgrowth.com.
Tuesday Jul 09, 2024
Tuesday Jul 09, 2024
Episode 002: In this episode, we describe affiliate marketing for lenders with tangible examples. From there, we talk through the dynamics of the affiliate game and how affiliate partnerships are structured. This provides a baseline 101 for anyone unfamiliar with the topic, and a recap for those who are more familiar with this space.
Additionally, we discuss:
What mindset to bring to the game
Our super-lever: approval rate
Notes for performance marketers new to affiliates
Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:04) Exploring Affiliate Coverage In Google Results
(03:15) Behind the Scenes of Affiliate Marketing
(05:49) Affiliate Deal Structures and Dynamics
(10:40) Optimizing Conversion Rates
(17:09) Our Super-Lever: Approval Rate
(24:00) Cautions for Performance Marketers
(26:55) Recap and Final Thoughts
Where to find Carlos:
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
Find Us:
Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions you'd like me to address in a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or at carlos@newmarketgrowth.com.
Thursday Jun 20, 2024
Thursday Jun 20, 2024
Banks spend billions of dollars per year advertising in affiliate channels. It’s a complex, high-stakes game, and I’m here to guide you through it. If you’re a lender that wants to grow your affiliate program, you’re in the right place.–In today's episode, we discuss:Who this Podcast is for
What we'll talk about in future episodes
Why affiliate marketing is important
My professional background
Why you should (or shouldn't) listen to me
–Where to find Carlos:
LinkedIn
Twitter/X
–Find Us:Don't forget to subscribe to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders. If you’re interested in being a guest on the show (or if you have questions you'd like me to address in a future episode), send me a note on LinkedIn or Twitter/X.
(00:00) Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Lenders
(00:36) Target Audience and Relevance
(01:24) Winning in Affiliate Marketing
(04:41) Carlos' Background and Expertise
Thursday Jun 20, 2024