Looking for an affiliate network? Here's a quick crib sheet that will help you find the right one for your needs.
It’s not a necessity, but outsourcing some of your affiliate marketing efforts to an existing network vendor can bring your program up to speed much faster and more cost effectively, and can also contribute to its level of success.
Such networks can help you because they effectively provide you with instant, turn-key access to a large number of affiliates, so you don’t have to try and recruit them on your own (which usually means one by one). The networks also handle much of the day-to-day record-keeping and chores required to support these affiliates, keep them up to date on changing program details, and distribute their payments.
A few of the networks you might want to evaluate, in alphabetical order, include:
Advertising.com offers proprietary technology including a unique yield management system that dynamically allocates individual ads to individual affiliates based on expected revenues rather than more conventional criteria. The goal is to maximize each advertiser's affiliate marketing income across the network of affiliates. Its email management system enables easy maintenance and tracking of multiple lists and multiple mailings. The system also integrates easily with popular merchant lead capture and email systems. In addition, the company's proprietary ad-serving technology reliably and cost-effectively delivers more than 10 billion impressions each month. Merchants need no infrastructure of their own and are not required to pay any up-front costs. Advertising.com is owned by AOL.
ClickBank provides affiliate marketing support for more than 10,000 products and services delivered entirely over the Internet. Online publishers place a "Buy It At ClickBank" button on their Web site, enabling ClickBank to promote the item through its network of 100,000 affiliates. Affiliates use their own Web sites to send traffic to a publisher's site, which retains full responsibility for explaining the product and referring customers to ClickBank for a purchase. ClickBank then pays commissions to both the publisher and the affiliate. ClickBank asserts that this arrangement has significant advantages over any combination of stand-alone solutions for billing, marketing or affiliate management. It helps assure affiliates they will be paid for every sale, frees advertisers from fear of fraud or misrepresentation, and pays commissions only on a purchase. The latter is very good from the publisher's standpoint, since every dollar of cost is derived from a consummated sale. Payments are normally made within 15 days of the close of each accounting period.
This network boasts an unusual number of high paying merchant programs, many paying per sale, while others pay per click or per action. Some affiliates complain, however, that its user interface is far too complex. Programs can be operated in any combination of several currencies, including U.S., Australian, Singapore and Canadian dollars, British pounds, Euros, Japanese yen, Korean won, and Thai bahts. Payments are made by check or through PayPal, at the recipient’s preference.
This is probably one of the most popular affiliate networks. Affiliates tend to like this network because they receive just one check no matter how many programs they are affiliated with. Commission Junction boasts real-time tracking and reporting for both affiliates and advertisers, as well as advanced tools that can help advertisers (that’s you) earn the most revenue possible. It publishes performance metrics on publishers, advertisers and their ads, and emphasizes service, education and promotion. The company ranks among the largest ad networks in the world.
DirectLeads pays for both leads and click-throughs. The network has a wide variety of merchants signed up, and claims that most of its programs are very successful -- generally making money despite payouts as high as $0.50 per click, or even more. Founded in 1997, at the very start of the affiliate marketing boom, DirectLeads now claims some 19,000 affiliates working for more than 200 top-tier merchants. It offers participants creative consultations as well as campaign management and the usual portfolio of technology and information services.
FineClicks can be set up to pay for clicks, leads, sales or pop ups. It pays within 20 days by either check or PayPal. The company focuses on helping advertisers get the best return on investment (ROI), and claims its affiliates are carefully screened and thoroughly reviewed. Merchants can also reject any affiliates they feel do not measure up, and can recruit their own affiliates and run them through the FineClicks network. Merchants can choose to pay their affiliates per sale, per lead, per click, per pop up or pop under, or any combination of these.
This network, relatively new to the industry, supplements its straight offerings with co-registration offers and “pop unders.” Its interface is considered very easy to use, and the network provides a full suite of tools and options to generate responses, including banners, buttons, skyscrapers, pop ups, text ads, rich media, HTML email, autoresponders and more. A merchant can pay network affiliates only for leads, sales or registrations. Also, Lead Crunch is relatively selective about accepting affiliates, and takes time to evaluate every applicant for quality. No setup charges and a 30 percent commission make the network’s services attractive to a wide range of merchants.
LinkShare positions itself as a pioneer in the online affiliate marketing industry, and claims to run “the largest pay for performance affiliate marketing network on the Internet,” with some “10 million partnerships” in the network. Using patented technology, LinkShare reports on every ad or placement in the network, and prides itself on helping a merchant new to affiliate marketing set goals, define strategies and prioritize tactics en route to creating, managing and optimizing their affiliate marketing program.
Performics lets its clients develop a custom approach to affiliate marketing, search engine marketing and lead generation programs. The company's style of active account management is intended to help clients get the most from every one of its online customers. If you’re interested in Search Engine Optimization and/or Lead Generation, in addition to Affiliate Marketing, Performics is well suited to help you with any combination of these marketing methods.
Websponsors specializes in paying for user action, such as signing up for a newsletter or inquiring about a product. The network has a wide variety of merchants’ offers. According to its statistics, conversion rates (prospects becoming customers) tend to be quite high. Many affiliates say this is their most profitable network, and it has the added advantages of paying promptly. It offers merchants an international reach without the usual cross-border problems.
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