How Eight Sleep Does Influencer Marketing: Q&A with Jessica Dolnick

This week we continue our blog series dedicated to providing a peek into the merchants that use our site and sharing their influencer marketing strategies. The Dealspotr Marketplace is an upcoming platform that enables brands to easily and affordably collaborate with influencers on branded campaigns.

Today, we interview Jessica Dolnick, an Affiliate Manager for Eight Sleep. Eight Sleep is a line of smart bedding products that help you get a better sleep. In this Q&A, Jessica shares some insight into Eight Sleep’s product line and the types of influencer marketing strategies they use.

HI JESSICA, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US, PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF, WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR STORY.

Hi Jimmy! I’m the Affiliate Manager at Eight Sleep and manage our influencer program. Our founder, Matteo, came up with the idea of Eight’s first product, the sleep tracker, due to his own battle with sleeplessness and insomnia. All of the other trackers he used in the past didn’t work for him because he would forget to put them on or the results themselves weren’t accurate. He decided to build something that he could put on his bed and leave there—which led to a smart mattress cover, which is essentially like a bed sheet with a thin sensor strip embedded. In 2014, the product was launched on Indiegogo and raised $1.5 million in preorders!

In 2016, Matteo and the team decided to build the perfect bed based on millions of hours of sleep data gathered from over 10,000 users. It has four layers of high density foam and pairs seamlessly with the tracker.

In 2017, I was hired to seek out influencers and spread the word about our brand. I’ve been in the affiliate industry for 6+ years now working at various startups, but Eight has definitely been one of the most unique brands I ever worked for.​

IN 20 WORDS OR LESS, WHAT'S THE ONE THING YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT EIGHT SLEEP?

We analyzed over 1.8 million hours of sleep data to create the perfect (and smart) mattress.

WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS, AND HOW DO YOU REACH THEM?

Our customers tend to be male millennials who are looking for the latest innovations. We first got their attention through our Indiegogo campaign/word of mouth. As time went on, we reached them through our Facebook ads, email campaigns, and articles/videos from influencers.

HOW DO CUSTOMERS INFLUENCE YOUR COMPANY AND DIRECTION?

We talk to our customers every day through live chat and have weekly meetings to discuss how we can solve their needs. We are currently working on two new products based on their requests!

DESCRIBE YOUR CURRENT INFLUENCER MARKETING STRATEGY. WHAT TYPE OF INFLUENCERS DO YOU WORK WITH, AND HOW DO YOU REACH THEM?

We work with most of our influencers through our affiliate program. We currently work with deal sites such as Dealspotr, as well as YouTube influencers, mattress review sites, and much more.

WHAT'S THE ONE TRAIT OR QUALITY YOU LOOK FOR IN AN INFLUENCER?

The most important thing is that the influencer uses their platform for something they are passionate about. An established, engaged user base is ideal, but we don’t discriminate against small bloggers -- quality is more important than quantity. We want the reader to trust what the influencer is saying about our brand.

WHAT'S ONE WAY YOU WISH YOUR INFLUENCER MARKETING CAMPAIGNS COULD BE IMPROVED?

I would love to somehow take advantage of geotargeting.

WHAT'S ONE OF THE MORE CHALLENGING ASPECTS OF DEVELOPING A SUCCESSFUL INFLUENCER MARKETING STRATEGY?

Oftentimes, the larger the influencer, the harder it is to gain their attention. Eight sometimes has to compete with huge brands that have major budgets, but I’ve found that strong relationships and quality products often prevail over everything else. My best strategy for this? Persistence.

WHAT TOOLS, RESOURCES, OR WEBSITES HAVE BEEN MOST HELPFUL IN YOUR INFLUENCER MARKETING CAMPAIGNS?

I love the Alexa toolbar. I can figure out the influencer’s demographics and reach, which in turn help me discover what types of campaigns will work best. It’s also a great tool for finding new partners.

WHAT'S ONE INFLUENCER MARKETING TOOL YOU WISH EXISTED, BUT HAVE NOT YET FOUND?

I wish I had a tool so I could see what everyone’s upcoming marketing plans were without having to ask! We are currently working with over 400 partners so it’s tough to have the latest information on everyone.

HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN ROI WITH YOUR INFLUENCER MARKETING CAMPAIGNS GIVEN INFLATION IN FEES AND COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH WORKING WITH INFLUENCERS?

It can definitely be tough sometimes! I’ve noticed some of the largest publications have fees that are so massive that it costs more than you can earn back. In these instances, we really evaluate how large their reach is and their potential to reach our customers. We measure it more like a commercial you would see on TV. They might not convert right now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t later. Most of our customers don’t purchase immediately.

WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS WORK BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS? CAN YOU SHED LIGHT ON SOME UNIQUE WAYS YOU USE THESE PLATFORMS?

We’ve found that Facebook tends to have our highest engagement. We like to post articles based on our research of various sleep topics. 

WHAT'S BEEN YOUR SINGLE BIGGEST SUCCESS WITH INFLUENCER MARKETING?

Signing up for the affiliate program was one of our best decisions. It’s the best way to reach a lot of influencers at once, as well as track their performance!

WHO'S A BLOGGER OR INFLUENCER THAT YOU REALLY ADMIRE?

Ben from Sleep Sherpa is awesome! He creates some of the coolest content out there. From using infrared lights on mattresses to show how they retain heat to ripping open mattresses to show what they’re made of, it’s the kind of stuff someone like me will totally nerd out over.

WHAT BUSINESS CHALLENGE KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT?

Continue growing month over month is always a challenge because you require a compound effect to be able to achieve this. I’m sure it’s a challenge for all e-commerce companies, not just us.

ARE YOU ABLE TO SHARE ANY NEW FEATURES OR PRODUCTS YOUR TEAM IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON?

Yes! We are working on new mattresses that can bring benefits to specific types of sleepers.

If you would like to stay connected with Eight Sleep, you can follow them online at Dealspotr, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  

The Dealspotr Marketplace is an upcoming new platform that better connects merchants with influencers and shoppers. Are you a retailer? Claim your page on Dealspotr and start promoting exclusive deals, control your page presence, and interact socially with our shopping community.

If you would like more information on claiming your merchant page, or to how to become featured in one of our running blog series, please feel welcome to reach me at jimmy@zipfworks.com.