Hi Kate,
I have used affiliate companies in advertising banners and links on my website to earn commission on click throughs/sales - so I can give you a few pointers that may come in useful from a publishers point of view.
When I was looking for companies to become affiliated with three things were important;
- Their reputation: as it is no good me offering links on my website of companies no-one had heard of. It was important of the quality of advertisers on my site as it reflects on my site overall.
- The quality of the advertisers banner adverts; it surprises me the number of businesses that sign up with affiliate companies and either have very poorly designed banners, or just had one banner all the time without updating (both were the example of a major high street clothing store!)
- Offers and promotions; it is important to me to show banners that I think will be of interest to my visitors. Importantly special offers and free offers increased click through rates, and my commission.
What you need to ensure, or ask yourself if you do venture in to this, is why will publishers want to become affiliated with me - and what can I offer them. Don't forget when a publishers joins an affiliation company looking for affiliates to advertise they are presented with hundreds of companies to choose from in a wide range of catagories. You have to make your company stand out with high commissions, good selling products, quality advertising banners and good offers.
Also make sure you have a range of banners created and keep them updated. A publisher will not want the same advert on their website for months and months. They will generally keep with the same advertiser if they are receiving good click throughs and commission ( which is where the quality of your banner plays a part) and that your banners change so that it appears as fresh new content on the publishers site.
From a merchant point of view they start up costs can vary from the expensive
http://www.cj.com to the cheaper
http://www.affiliatefuture.co.uk and the middle of the road
http://www.tradedoubler.co.uk - shop around for the best deals, but with a high number of publishers.
You will tend to find that 2% of the publishers that choose you as an affiliate will drive about 95% of your revenue. So its important that when you gain publishers - you keep them happy with high performing incentives and maybe competitions to.
If you need any more help, or advice with this type of marketing, please drop me an email through my website.
Hope this helps,
Dean
C2 Web Design
http://www.c2webdesign.co.uk
Web Design | Online Marketing | Search Engine Optimisation
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