Setting Goals for 2016

Last week at a PMA board meeting in Las Vegas, I humbly accepted the role of President of our Board of Directors. I’m excited about the role, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t equally intimidated by it. I have some pretty big shoes to fill.

So, before we look at what’s to come, I want to stop and recognize that we’re incredibly fortunate to be standing on a firm foundation with support reaching far across the industry and rooted deep in the passions of professionals dedicated to the advancement of our craft. I sincerely thank Brian Littleton for his service to our organization as President of our Board for the last four years. Brian is a humble individual who aims to do the right thing for the greater good, so he’ll never admit it – but without his support, drive, funding and rallying, the PMA would have died years ago. Ask him about it, and he’ll thank you for your support. So, take my word for it – and simply thank him next time you see him!

Over the last few years, the majority of the work, the publications and the promotion that has come out of the PMA has been from our Councils. This groups of volunteers works together to tackle important topics and interesting opportunities to shed light on how performance marketers can and are impacting the online advertising world.

Currently, we have 5 Councils dedicated to everything from publisher recruitment to compliance. 27 members from all corners of the industry sit on these Councils and work together to develop the resources, stories and insight that you see coming out of the PMA month after month.

Participating on a Council is the single best way to contribute to the industry. Your ability to participate depends on your membership level, and as you can see by the work and promotion that was done last year – being on a Council places your company in a unique position to set standards and drive the conversations that move our industry forward.

This year, our councils are each going to choose one BIG thing to focus on. I’m anxiously awaiting their goals – and welcome you to reach out to them with your ideas. No matter what they choose, they are all motivated to develop quality information and resources that benefit the industry as a whole.

Imagine this… you’re sitting in a meeting with a potential client (or potential partner or investor). You’re describing performance marketing, its value, its reach and its potential in the coming months and years. Your client is intrigued. They are buying in. But they want proof:

• “Do you have any studies you could point me to?”

• “How much money flowed through the affiliate channel last month, quarter and year?”

• “What kind of ROI do merchants typically see with this strategy?”

• “How much do affiliates make?”

Wouldn’t you love to have those answers? Wouldn’t it be great to point to a study with industry-wide data and analysis?

So would we. And, who better than the PMA to organize that effort? So, one of our goals this year will be to develop a system for secure and comprehensive collection of data. We’ll concentrate on solutions that will allow industry professionals to submit useful data without compromising privacy, competitive confidentiality or IP rights.

Personally, my biggest goal for this year is to get more of you to come and claim your seat at the table. If you find yourself thinking, “Someone should do something about that…” or “I really wish more people understood this about affiliate marketing,” or “Why isn’t anyone talking about that…,” we want you to come and start the conversation, or join in on conversations we’re already having.

The PMA is an organization of heavy-hitters in the space. We have CEOs and founders from the biggest brand names in the space, the networks, the merchants, the OPMs and the publishers. Nowhere else is there an assembly of so many decision makers in positions to set the course for the future of our industry. And, we have a seat waiting for you.

How to claim your seat at the table:

1 – Becoming a member is step one. Choose your level based on your company size and the level of exposure and participation that best suits your needs. Join today.

2 – Join a Council, or tell us we need to start a new one. As I said above, Councils are the single BEST way to contribute to the PMA. You can jump in on a council that we already have running or talk to us about a Council that we should start.

3 – Respond to our Calls for Comment. Throughout the year, we put out calls for comment. These help us with blog posts, white papers, reports and other publications. It’s as simple as answering a question. Not only will we appreciate your contribution, but we’ll thank you with a link back to your site.

4 – Guest write a blog post. Do you have something to say about affiliate marketing, but don’t have a good place to post your ideas? We do. Let’s discuss your topics, goals and how we can help you spread the word to an appropriate audience. Start a conversation about it with us here.

5 – Share your news. Nothing speaks louder about the success of performance marketing than the actual performance of members. So, we want to collect and share as much of your news as we possibly can. Simply share a link to your blog posts when you release news, and we’ll share it with our members and those interested in learning more about performance marketing. Click here to share your news, or click here to scan back through all of the news that our members created last year.

Choose one of those things, all of them, or come up with your own. Your seat is waiting – come claim it and help us make 2016 an amazing year!