Ryan McAweeney has been a veteran of digital marketing in San Diego for the last 15 years. He is the founder of Vertical Direct Marketing which was established in 2009. He has been working with brands such as Toyota, Wells Fargo, Direct TV and NFL. Now he wants to help individuals and SMEs to understand the benefits of affiliate marketing and make full use of it to improve their bottom-line.
Affiliate marketing started long before the internet revolution. The internet made it more practical. In the 90s and early 2000s, online affiliate marketing was weighed down by numerous issues. It was much harder to track results and use data to tweak and perfect your marketing campaigns.
With the advent of web 2.0 affiliate marketing was supported by better tools. It was easier to understand the impact of advertising at every stage of the buying cycle. The tools available for tracking are cheaper and easier to acquire now and can track the buyer at every stage providing valuable insights backed by reliable and easy to interpret data.
Ryan McAweeney is now focusing on helping startups in San Diego make the most of affiliate marketing. According to a report from the US Chamber of Commerce, the city is the fourth most favorable place to launch a startup in the country. San Diego has been one of the cities that have consistently ranked high as a digital hub. In 2016 it was ranked fifth in the country.
McAweeney believes this is the best place for a startup. The city has cheaper office space compared to Silicon Valley and other cities considered to be top digital hubs. It has also been praised for its industry specialization and regulatory environment.
Affiliate marketing is one of the fastest growing digital advertising segments. In 2009, affiliate marketing spending was projected to rise to $4.8billion by 2016. It is expected to continue growing by 10% every year to reach $6.8 billion by 2020. This is proof of how far affiliate marketing has come since its early days when it was plagued by numerous issues particularly those related to tracking.
Now McAweeney who has been in direct marketing for 15 years wants to help small businesses make the most of this channel. Affiliate marketing is still not perfect and is plagued with issues which he hopes to guide small and medium-sized businesses address. Using evidence-based strategies and effective tracking tools any startup can realize the full potential of affiliate marketing.