R.O.EYE Affiliate Marketing Agency Senior Programme Executive Daniel Austin an Interview

Tell me about R.O.EYE?

R.O.EYE launched in 2004 and we were the first network-neutral specialist affiliate marketing agency in the UK. We help to generate sales for clients such as eBay, Alliance & Leicester, DSGi and Links of London to name a few.

It is a fantastic company to work for and there are some great people working here.

How did you get into affiliate marketing?

It was completely by accident, my previous role included looking after a number of paid search campaigns and I was looking for a job closer to home and in a similar role, I understood the concept of an affiliate but that’s it really. I noticed a job advertised at R.O.EYE and the rest is history.

What was your biggest challenge getting into affiliate marketing?

To be honest I think the only challenge was my knowledge of the industry – I had to start from scratch and learn from the ground up. Luckily I joined a great company with great people so it didn’t take too long.

What does it mean to be up for an award?

It is an absolute honour to be shortlisted for an award. Not only to be in the same category as some great people involved in the industry, but as it was decided by affiliates it makes it even more special, I am looking forward to the big day now.

What are the main things merchants do that you wish they wouldn’t?

I think this depends on the merchant and I don’t think there is one thing they all do that they shouldn’t. Each merchant and programme is different. There is still a lack of knowledge amongst merchants of the importance of the affiliate space as well as how to utilise it, that’s where we come in. I do wish merchants would listen to us and affiliates advice a little more as we all have their best interest at heart.

What are the main things affiliates do that you wish they wouldn’t?

Not responding to me when contacting them as I think it would help affiliates enormously to be more transparent and open to communicating. We all need to work together closer to ensure effective campaigns for both merchants and affiliates and better communication can only be an advantage.

Where do you see growth in the affiliate field?

I see the focus of the affiliate channel changing to quality over quantity and to be honest we are already seeing this with a number of our clients. They are getting more sophisticated in measuring the value affiliates add and putting a greater emphasis on quality and brand protection. Going back to the question above it is now more important than ever for affiliates to continue to communicate and open up their activity.

What new ideas are advertisers coming up with to take advantage of new traffic sources?

I think the emergence of Twitter has been a great tool for advertisers to capitalise on new traffic sources, used correctly it can be an amazing way of engaging your existing customers and picking up new ones.

What do you do to improve the world?

This is a tough one but I would have to say just generally trying to be a nice person to everyone, always being positive and upbeat about everything, I also don’t pour boiling water on ants.

What do you do that is green?

I drive a super diesel that only cost £30 a year road tax due to it being so green, it’s amazing, I recycle and we plant trees at least three times a year.

What is one thing about you that not many people know?

I didn’t attend a conventional school until I was about 10, I attended Sylvia Young Drama School and I was an aspiring actor. Yes it was like the kids from Fame and I appeared in a number of TV commercials as well as stage plays,

What is on your iPod?

Way too much to mention as I am a huge music fan – I can’t stop listening to the last Elbow album, you will find MIA on there and there is always room on my Ipod for Prince. The George Lamb podcast is must at the minute.

What’s your favourite book?

Again to many too mention but one is The Search – John Battelle, I would recommend this to anyone interested in Google and the future of search, anything by Malcolm Gladwell is always fantastic

What are your contact details (email, company, blog, facebook, myspace, forums etc) ?

[email protected]
0161 228 1228
07890463008

I do have a Facebook account so feel free to look me up there but I don’t use my Myspace account anymore.

Who would recommend you and why?

Too many people to mention; only kidding. I would say my biggest fans are my daughter and amazing partner, they are constantly tell me how great I am. Slightly biased but never the less.

Apart from that I think my close friends and work colleagues would be happy to recommend me as well as a number of affiliates, these are the people who know how much hard work I put in.

In the industry there are a lot of people not getting the recognition they deserve. This may be because they don’t get involved in the forum and have much day to day contact with affiliates but their roles are vital to us all. Here we have a number of people in the technical and data department who do some fantastic things that make my job a lot easier. They are geniuses and come up with things that make my head spin. There are so many people I would recommend and to be honest I could write a whole a post about them, but off the top of my head Tom Jones from Affiliate Window and Charlotte Senger-Jones from DGM are unsung hero’s who do a fantastic job.

What one thing can people do to help you?

Email or call me back when I try and contact you, even if it is to tell me to get lost as at least I know where I stand. Get in touch if you have any problems or ideas regarding any of our merchants we are always keen to help and listen.

R.O.EYE Affiliate Marketing Agency Senior Programme Executive Daniel Austin

R.O.EYE