RevGlue is a new entrant making waves with UK affiliates, bloggers, influencers and online publishers. Adeel Farooq has been working in the UK affiliate industry for over fourteen years and brings a wealth of design and development experience.
He has spotted that, for the current market growth to continue, affiliates require access to products and services with less reliance on technical expertise. We met with Adeel to explore how RevGlue helps publishers save time and money with their affiliate marketing projects.
How did the idea of RevGlue come about?
Adeel Farooq – After working on 120 worldwide affiliate projects such as cashback, voucher codes, price comparison, daily deals, browser extensions and mobile apps via my last affiliate design and development company, I have realised there are two core issues that most affiliates marketers face. The first issue is that new publishers entering the affiliate marketing arena are not technically savvy and need technical support at the lowest cost possible. Secondly, the complex data profiles with different API structures and technologies make it difficult for affiliates to work with multiple network providers. They end up spending hundreds of pounds and countless hours either managing the design and development aspects of their websites or cleaning, formatting and updating the data on a daily basis.
But the real job of the affiliate should be to earn commissions by bringing traffic to their websites and then sending qualified customers to retailers. Until the core issues of technical complexity and data management can be solved, the risk is affiliates do not push their marketing projects to the next level of profitability. Too many projects will fail, with the result that publishers drop the idea of becoming an affiliate.
These are the two key factors that RevGlue is solving for affiliates – saving time and money with affiliate website design & development and data management. We want affiliates to concentrate on what they do best which is to promote their websites and convert those users to earn the highest commissions.
What’s the purpose of RevGlue?
AF – The purpose of RevGlue is to bring simple, easy to use tools to UK affiliates. This is particularly important for new publishers entering the market so that they can set-up their affiliate websites quickly and cost-effectively.
There are two core elements that RevGlue offers to affiliates to help them save time and money. The first is structured data sets available for existing affiliates on monthly subscription plus free WordPress plugins. The second are modules that have been developed specifically for publishers who are not familiar with traditional affiliate networks so they can have an entry point to start affiliate marketing on a revenue share model.
The RevGlue core technology engine is based on the data collection, cleansing and formatting of different niche segments that are required for every affiliate project. We believe that for affiliates to be successful we can take away the headache of data management and technical site support. And in turn, this will broaden the appeal of affiliate marketing to a wider audience of publishers, particularly millennials.
Which RevGlue tools are offered to experienced affiliates?
AF – RevGlue is working with all the leading UK affiliate networks and 5,000 e-commerce stores. We provide four core modules to existing UK affiliates:
Data Sets – to set-up UK shopping directory, discount coupons, cashback website, price comparison project, daily deals website or mobile comparison projects. All our structured data sets are free to try for the first 30 days.
WordPress Plugins – free WordPress plugins are available for affiliates to download to setup affiliate websites compatible with the RevGlue data sets.
Affiliate WordPress Templates – for affiliates wanting to create a new website. Fully responsive templates can then be purchased for a low one-off cost which are compatible with all the RevGlue data sets.
Stats – for affiliates working with multiple networks the statistics module allows all sales and conversion data to be viewed and downloaded into a single admin panel. The statistics module is also offered free for the first month.
These four dynamic modules mean that experienced affiliates can save enormous amounts of time and money on website design, development, data management and analysing sales and statistics data. The outcome is better marketing strategy decisions for their affiliate websites.
Which RevGlue tools are offered to new publishers?
AF – RevGlue has built four modules for publishers who are not familiar with the affiliate network route to affiliate marketing but still want to monetise their web projects such as blogs, social media apps, YouTube channels or content websites.
RevSocial – allows social media influencers using Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to promote a product, voucher code, mobile deal, banner or daily deal and publish it on their social channels with a click of a button, earning commission on each sale.
RevLinks – offers bloggers the ability to convert all their blog content into paid links by simply adding a code on their website, and thereby yield revenues on each sale.
RevAds – allows publishers to create static, banner or product ads on their websites or mobile applications and then control the content and layout of these ads, earning commission on each sale.
RevEmbed – offers publishers a dynamic iframe solution to embed entire website content onto their domains that looks and feels part of their project. The real beauty of this module is that publishers can set-up discount coupons, cashback, mobile comparison or product feeds websites on their web domains without needing any additional resources to manage the website content or the data.
All publisher tools are offered absolutely free to use and publishers keep 80% of the commission made from each and every sale generated with these tools.
What do you suggest to millennials who are thinking about affiliate marketing?
AF – The common factor across the millennial generation is they have huge passion and energy to make a difference to their world. I see new affiliates coming from all sorts of disciplines such as lawyers, accountants, marketers, IT professionals if we, as an industry, can make it easy for them to succeed.
Affiliate marketing has always seemed attractive to new entrants as a source of passive income but we all know the reality is a lot of hard work is required. That begins with understanding the basics of the affiliate market, finding a niche to work in, and then sticking to it until they start seeing the commission coming through. Millennials should be smart enough to avoid all those types of “get rich quick” messages that sadly plague all over the internet.
The industry needs to make affiliate marketing simpler with lower costs of entry. Don’t waste thousands of pounds to set-up a new affiliate website that contains every type of bargain product or service, as you need to spend that budget promoting the website. Affiliates earn commission by sending the relevant buyers to ecommerce stores and not just setting up affiliate websites.
The key strategy for millennials should be analysing your niche, bringing in relevant users and converting them to get the highest return on investment for the least effort.
What support do you offer to new affiliates?
AF – RevGlue is a customer-centric business and we spend countless hours each day making it easier for affiliates. Having great products is just the start and we also provide great service as well. That means RevGlue customers or prospects can talk to me directly on Skype or our webinar that we run three times a week. We also have live chat, tech support and also development support available to help overcome all the issues encountered during affiliate projects setup.
RevGlue also offers bespoke solutions to those sophisticated affiliates who want to hire an experienced design and development team for their customised projects.
What are your plans for this year?
AF – We have successfully completed beta testing and all of our products are now fully available. Our focus this year is to support UK affiliates and showcase our user-friendly and innovative tools to the affiliate marketing industry.
RevGlue is backed by four international investors that will allow us to expand into new markets such as the US from next year. Whilst each affiliate market has its differences, the fundamental purpose of our business – to make it simpler for affiliates to succeed – is common to all.
We are also working on new data sets and tools to offer the broadest set of data segments to affiliates and publishers. The RevGlue data management team works closely with each affiliate network to make sure we build strong connections with the ecommerce stores to provide the best inventory and offers.
Finally, how can affiliates learn more about RevGlue?
AF – The RevGlue.com website is the place to go. As well as detailed information on each affiliate and publisher module, we are building an active community for our customers. You may read our blog for the latest news, join our webinar, or contact our support team for assistance with all of our products.
