Guest Writer: Sean Cheyney, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, AccuQuote
Insurance offers have been around almost as long as affiliate marketing has existed. Auto and health insurance offers were first to the game, and have endured success with relatively low payouts due to their universal consumer appeal. Life insurance offers, on the other hand, came into the fray a little later. These offers, such as the ones from AccuQuote, drive consumers through a life insurance quoting funnel similar to what we’ve seen from other types of insurance. The difference is that life insurance, unlike auto insurance, targets a smaller population. Therefore, it yields much higher payouts in order to keep pace with the eCPM’s generated by other types of offers. These higher payouts represent a huge opportunity for savvy affiliates that understand how to drive the “right” audience to the offer. The key to success is to understand the “secret sauce” that works for the life insurance broker, as well as for you, the affiliate.
As a life insurance brokerage, we spend a lot of time understanding our audience composition, analyzing ad campaign performance, and identifying what a good customer looks like. When we find an affiliate that drive a higher percentage of customers rather than leads that don’t buy, we latch on and find ways to make it even more profitable for these affiliates. So, what do life insurance brokers like AccuQuote look for?
One of the biggest areas that we look at is audience demographics. Every life insurance broker / company is going to vary a little in terms of their sweet spot, but in general we look for the following demographics:
- Ages 30-65
- Married with children
- Homeowners
- Annual Household incomes over $75,000
In order to create the win/win scenario, it’s not just about what the life insurance company wants. It’s about what you need from a life insurance partner in order to have success with the offer. I recommend asking these questions to potential life insurance advertiser partners:
- What resources do you have to develop creatives outside of what’s already in the cookie cutter program?
- Do you have rich media content (flash, video, widgets, articles, calculators, etc…) and/or ads that are currently available or can be developed?
- How long does it take your legal department to approve new creatives that are either created by you or by an affiliate partner?
- Are you willing to increase the affiliate payout if the leads are converting well for you and driving a strong ROI?
Boiling it down, if you’re able to deliver the right customer for the your life insurance partner, and they can give you what you need to make the relationship a win/win situation, everyone involved will be smiling all the way to the bank.
To sign up for the AccuQuote Affiliate Contest on the Direct Agents Performance Network please click here!
Sean Cheyney is responsible for spearheading the overall growth and direction of AccuQuote’s marketing initiatives, channel development, strategic partnerships, emerging media platforms, brand image, and customer acquisition through both online and offline advertising.
A California native, Cheyney resides in Northbrook, Ill., and holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology, law, and society from the University of California-Irvine.