Clarification of Answer by
taxmama-ga
on
24 Jan 2003 12:16 PST
Hi myworldcards,
Sorry to take so long to get back to you.
My DSL went down and I need to replace it.
(Sounds like it will take another week to get
a new provider.) Meanwhile, I'm on a borrowed
computer, so I can follow up with you.
Here is a link to some of the top Affiliate Solution Providers (ASPs)
compiled by Shawn Collins, the manager of the ClubMom affiliate
program. His is one of the most successful programs online.
http://www.affiliatemanager.net/asp.htm
Frankly, although you might find another 50 or 100 ASPs,
I wouldn't look further. They keep going out of business.
And from the point of view of the people who join your
programs, you don't want to be changing software on them.
Being both a merchant and an affiliate, I can assure you
that switching programs will lose you most of your affiliates,
unless they are really loyal.
If you want a longer list of progams to explore, the Refer-It
folks, from Internet.com have a 'rated' list. (Not all that informative)
http://refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=displayList&cat=1031&header=directory
I'd like to stick with the companies that Shawn recommends.
Why? After several years at BeFree, Shawn just moved the
ClubMom program last year. So, his research is recent.
(And, rest assured, his best affilates moved with him.)
He answers all of your questions on his comparison lists of ASPs
US Providers - http://www.affiliatemanager.net/aspcompare.htm
UK Providers - http://www.dvisions.co.uk/AP_solution_matrix.pdf
Please note that Kowabunga's (My Affiliate Program)information
is on the international list. You definitely want to take a look
at that provider. Quite inexpensive. Lots of optional tools.
http://www.myaffiliateprogram.com
Aside from the fact that Shawn moved ClubMom there, they are the
absolutely most helpful solution provider, if you don't want to
run your Program on your own server - AND if you are looking for
referrals to affilate members.
Why? Because the folks at Kowabunga provide the most hands-on support
to help you build and develop your program. They have Team Affiliate
with people like the Affiliate Goddess, Linda Woods, and Wade Tonkin,
who, for an additional fee, will hold your hand. Help you set up your
program. Guide you through the kinds of creatives that will be most
effective. And them market you to their affiliate membership. (Even
paying for these personal consultants, your costs will be less than
half of what you'll spend with the other big programs.) They make
your contacts for you, among the top affiliates and market your to
the people who will sell your program - not just join it.
Besides, the Kowabunga folks know everyone. They are the only ASP who
goes to all the major and many minor affilate events. Members know
who they are. And as a merchant, you can certainly call up the
president and get personal help any time you need it.
You asked about numbers - membership of the recommended
companies. Well, the numbers of affiliates signed up for
the programs aren't nearly as important as how many active
affiliates there are.
Kowabunga, BeFree, CJ and LinkShare have thousands of affiliates
or publishers. Your target audience is a member of ALL those
programs, as well as the others Shawn listed. They all have
some advantages and some disadvantages. All of them are constantly
adding better communications and linking tools.
The fact is, you don't want thousands of affilates. They are
very expensive to support, for the small amount of return they
bring. They eat up your time with endless requests for support.
They rarely sell anything. (The only advantage is that your
brand gets seen many places. Is that enough?)
Honestly. You want do about 50 or 100 that actually sell.
The good ones, the Super Affiliates, are members of all the
major programs. But they only market a few key merchants, each.
(These are the guys that earn $5,000/mo and up in affilate
commissions. Many are in the quarter million dollar range...)
The big difference among them is that none of the major programs
have anyone to do personal introductions for you. They all have
mass mailing tools. And tools to let you do targeted mailings to
subsets of their members. Frankly, I delete all that junk. Most
affiliates do.
But when someone contacts me personally, and says,"Look, here is
a new Merchant that I know will be a good match for your site.
And, you know what, I will arrange a special commission deal for
you." I sit up and take notice.
Besides, from an affilate viewpoint? Having someone invite me
personally, and stay on my back about getting those links up...
well, I am more apt to do that, than just seeing a program I
like and putting it into my TO DO file.
One other thing you may want to consider. The length of the link.
Since the best way to market is via text or newsletters, the
shorter the link, the more easily your affilates can use them.
BeFree and LinkShare fall down in this aspect.
I do hope this helps. Let me check back in tomorrow to see if
you have any questions.
Best wishes
Your TaxMama-ga
P.S. I am using http://1automationwiz.com
While the program does run on their server, it doesn't have all
the same affiliate based recruiting as those above. Their
communications, tracking and upsell tools and autoresponders are
phenomenal. But, it acts more like an in-house ASP than the
ones Shawn lists. And this doesn't seem to be what you want.
