Can anyone recommend an affilate provider?

1. 59

   Mark Knowlesposted 13 years ago

   Hi all
   
   I have a product I want to sell through affiliates and only have experience of these things from the other side. i.e. as the affiliate.
   
   Anyone got any advice or suggestions as to who offers the best (and most transparent) service? I am familiar with clickbank and paydotcom. I am probably too small potatoes for CJ.
   
   Thanks.

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      rorymullenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Stick with ClickBank . They have a solid track record and you do not have to worry about any complications.

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      White Teethposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      You might try ShareASale (but I don't have any experience from the merchant side either.)

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         Vcizeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Shareasale's interface drives me nuts.
         
         I prefer CJ for tangible products, and of course Clickbank for digital.

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2. 71

   sunforgedposted 13 years ago

   clickbank has a $50 fee to begin selling a product, there are a few alternates that do not have that opening fee. Im checking my bookmarks for the  info.

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3. 59

   Mark Knowlesposted 13 years ago

   Thanks guys.

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      sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      plimus is the easiest to get started - ejunkie is another simple  alternative to clickbank.
      
      
      In most cases, clickbank will be your best option because of the larger base of affiliates
      
      alternately, running your own aff tracking program via a wordpress plugin is an option
      
      plimus set up video: http://app3sc1.plimus.com/ecommerce/lea … -affiliate

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         Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         That is a good idea, but I am looking for  some one with a decent base. Paydotcom is looking best so far.

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            recommend1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I had the same idea - then I decided that it wasn't suitable for high value and low volume items and so have started my own affiliate programme.  Damn hard work though
            
            However - I am also interested in what you dig up as I also need general advertising and it may suit.

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            1. 59

               Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I want a third party provider.

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4. 0

   Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

   What about Shareasale? They have a great reputation in the affiliate community.

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5. 59

   Mark Knowlesposted 13 years ago

   Thanks Nelle - I will check them out. My product is quite high ticket so I want something that looks good and has a reputation. Both clickbank and paydotcom will take anything.

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      Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      If you go to the forum AbestwebDOTcom. You'll see that Shareasale has a very loyal following. Some of the biggest individual affiliates hang out there and praise Shareasale for its transparency and reporting.
      
      I love Shareasale myself and promote hundreds of their merchants. You might even want to consider an affiliate manager consultant. Andy Rodrequez is a great one.
      
      I don't actively participate in the forum, just lurk, but I always look at the merchants who make announcements there. Being willing to open themselves up to Abestweb scrutiny, gives me a high level of comfort, with almost anyone.

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         kephriraposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Shareasale is my favourite as an affiliate. I mainly use them and clickbank (plus amazon). Shareasale seems more transparent than clickbank from that side, and they have a lot of high quality programs. My single best earning affiliate product is through them and makes me around $100 per month average.

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   kirstenblogposted 13 years ago

   Hey Mark, when you have it set up and such would you write a hub?
   
   It could be very interesting to read what you decide to use for selling as well as results etc.

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   sunforgedposted 13 years ago

   I use all of the above as an affiliate and have also set up the new product registration for all but paydotcom.com.
   
   Personally as an aff, paydotcom and ejunkie are the least friendly for finding new products, checking stats etc. The interface is just clunky so unless I find the program outside of an aff network I never search within their specific product lines for an offer.
   
   It will cost you $650 to become a shareasale vendor , $100 of that is a deposit for your affs and then you still have to pay a $25 monthly fee.
   
   I would test run on a smaller platform, its not hard to switch over. Ive followed one vendor to 3 different networks as they have grown.

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8. 59

   Mark Knowlesposted 13 years ago

   Thanks guys. So far I like the look of shareasale best. No up front charges either.

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      sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      ?
      
      sure is!
      
      It will cost you $650 to become a shareasale vendor , $100 of that is a deposit for your affs and then you still have to pay a $25 monthly fee.

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         Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Well hidden. You are right - their front page it says, "As a Merchant - you decide the commission structure to pay - and only pay when results come in."
         
         
         
         Back to paydotcom.

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   skyfireposted 13 years ago

   iDevaffiliate script allows you to manage your own affiliate program on your site. If not self-hosted then shareasale/payloadz are much better options. Please never ever ever ever choose CJ/PDC.

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10. 0

    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    What is PDC?

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11. 81

    skyfireposted 13 years ago

    Pay Dot Com.

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    sunforgedposted 13 years ago

    You know sky, I have never seen the issue you have with Cj - clickbank has it and they drained me for $150 after i abandoned their program when the offer i promoted expired ..but CJ - doesnt have a unique cc requirement

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       skyfireposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Agree, CJ is much better than CB on point of CDR policy. My another issue is that you can't approach Affiliate manager from CJ dashboard which you can with most other networks (or maybe there is some high sales requirement to get that power ?). In case of shareasale/Linkshare i managed to get into few affiliate programs by directly approaching affiliate managers. I was unable to do that with CJ because they didn't allowed me to do that.

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          sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Your aff manager will usually email you when you are accepted into new programs (form letter) and their contact info is in the company profile information.
          
          I dont think I hate any affnetwork more than LinkShare! .. the site is just ridiculously badly designed.

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    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    I hate the CJ interface. Linkshare is almost as clunky. Shareasale runs so fast, it's a joy.

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14. 70

    Bill Manningposted 13 years ago

    I will only add that I would not go with my own affiliate program using a plugin or anything like that.
    
    The reason is affiliates will not trust you as they will think you can shave them.
    
    I am still looking for a Disney tickets sponsor and the only one I can see has a private affilite setup.
    
    So I am at their mercy as far as being honest with sales. I don't have that much trust!

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    skyfireposted 13 years ago

    I don't know how many non-us affiliates managed to fill up online tax form from linkshares interface. I think their programmer assumed that SSN/VAT ID format for other countries has same format like US. I had to fax the form to get over that bug. lol
    
    By the SF, do you prefer to promote Hostgator from CJ or directly from HG interface ? I got denied by HG on CJ network but made few sales from their own hosted program. Weird affiliate marketing world.

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       sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       well - the cj commission is 200% higher .. but the hg structure gives boosts for performance levels
       
       i dont really "promote" hg though, its the host i actually use! ( istill have some sites on godaddy but they truly blow, no mincing words.. and my main design client uses bluehost and have no complaints about them either)

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16. 59

    Mark Knowlesposted 13 years ago

    If CJ is as bad on the other side of the coin as it is as an affiliate - I am not touching it.
    
    I will probably bite the bullet and join shareasale.

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    sunforgedposted 13 years ago

    Im the only one who likes CJ? .. my niches are all best represented there and i frequently search for new vendors via their interface.
    
    Although, i do like SAS and use it often, they have some annoying qurks like a complete failure to remove expired vendors from their listings

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    1. 59

       Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       CJ lost $1200 by sending it to the wrong account at my bank in October and I still have not managed to find it.
       
       I hate my bank though - so it could well be them.

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       Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I like the money I make with cj merchants - just hate the link building tools. If possible, I use popshops to work with cj merchants.

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18. 71

    sunforgedposted 13 years ago

    I use my own spreadsheets and online databases for linkbuilding. When i get interested in a new merchant I just transfer their links to it.
    
    Of course, that means I do have to do some double checking on campaigns that I may have let slide.
    
    
    By using my own online tracking (redirects) I can keep tabs on reporting differences.
    
    Im about to give popshops a 30 day trial though - reconfiguring datafeeds to csv's has become quite annoying. I am using datafeedr but am open to alternatives

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    Pearldiverposted 13 years ago

    Splash Out Mark.
    
    Develop it yourself... It's not that hard and you already have a significant base of trustworthy and savvy people in your network.
    I think there are people here that are more than able to do the job and you can structure regional opportunities!
    
    It doesn't matter what the product is... it is the ability to get it to market.  There's nothing wrong with using a cart for the first quarters performance! Damn so many opportunities go astray because of the inability to join smart people together throughout the world!
    
    Is that exactly why CJ and co rape the ducks on the pond?

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       Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       LOL _ I wanted a third party for the trust - but looks like they all have issues.

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          Pearldiverposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Really.... What's wrong with developing that through your own business ethics? Surely they are less flaky than most of those big guys mentioned? 
          Put your own team together...
          I'll help you...
          so will others like Eric and many others!
          We all have complimentary skills!
          Once that was the primary requisite for developing solid businesses!  MLM Style Mentality is NOT the smartest business templet - Develop a better model...
          That's the sort stuff that people like me are good at!

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             Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             I will drop you a line.

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    skyfireposted 13 years ago

    I trust merchants with their own script. We're at mercy of someone all the time be it online or offline business. Who knows adsense stats are legit ? or big fish affiliate networks are legit with their reporting ?
    
    Popshops ? have to check it out. I tried goldencan and unable to tweak it to fit my theme (it always breaks). As for reports there is nothing interesting so far from them.

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    Len Cannonposted 13 years ago

    I'm using Google Affiliate Network because for some things I am using it was the only right option. I never hear much about them, though.

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       Bill Manningposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Do they have many sponsors Len? I never hear much about them either, don't know why. In fact I only found out about them a few months ago, have not joined yet.

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    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    The network used to be called Performics before Google purchased it. They have a lot of big names. You have to have a Google Adsense account. I work with lots of them and have found it to be very professional.

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       Bill Manningposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Great, I will get an account there also then.

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