Questions for Affiliates/Publishers

[p.hancock]

Hello all!

I'm new here but I have a simple question. I've been doing online advertising for some of my offers now for a little over a year so I understand the email game the best (not spamming). The affiliate marketing is new to me and I have a new site coming out soon and I am looking at all of my options and here is my question to the affiliates.

Would affiliates rather work directly with merchants themselves in an affiliate program or do affiliates actually prefer having a middle man like linkshare or someone who facilitates everything?

My personal preference as the AM for my company is to work directly with affiliates. that way affiliates have a direct contact with me and there is no middle man taking a piece of the bounty.

So tell me am I wrong in my thinking? I have heard it both ways, and am trying to get clear on whether to just manage it in house or to go with a 3rd party.

Any input is appreciated!

Paul

[Linda Buquet]

Hi Paul,

Affiliates all have different opinions on this issue. Some prefer networks for ease, standardized reporting and consolidated checks - others prefer Indies. A great low cost network is www.shareasale.com. Many affiliates prefer them and setup is only 150. If you decide to go Indie, picking tried and trusted sofware is key. Here are some of the best options: http://www.5staraffiliateprograms.co...gsoftware.html

Depending on the type of products and commission plan, I may lean one way or another on my recommendation.

Hope this helps. Anyone else have feedback for Paul?

[James Nardell]

I think most of the affiliates are not too concerned either way. As long as the commission payments are; accurate, paid on time, and they see positive ROI they'll be more than happy.

I'm an affiliate myself for a few programs, and I promote both programs under management (by people like AMWSO) and pure in house programs. As i said above, for me at least, I really don't care as long as i see ROI.

From your point of view it may make sense to keep your program in house, but you'll find you can free up a lot of your time and potentially make cost savings by outsourcing the program. Plus if you choose the right people to work with you could end up making higher revenues even after accounting for management fees etc.

[stephfoster]

You're easier to find if you're in a network, of course. I don't worry too much either way, although the majority of the programs I belong to are in networks.

Some affiliates prefer networks because it's harder for a company to just vanish without paying them. I've never experienced that personally, but I haven't been at this as many years as many of the affiliates I know (just finishing up my second year at this stuff).