Hello emailproject,
Thank you for your question.
Incredimail is a developer of free email enhancing software. As they
say on their own page:
http://www.incredimail.com/english/what.html
"What is IncrediMail?
IncrediMail is an advanced, feature-rich email program that offers you
an unprecedented interactive experience. Unique multimedia features
will enable you to tailor your email experience so that it fits your
mood and personality. Visual effects will entertain your every sense.
Go ahead. Express yourself like never before!
What are IncrediMail's special features?
Not all email programs are created equal! IncrediMail offers a wide
array of customizable and personalized special features and an
ever-growing Web-Gallery packed with exciting content that will not
only make your email recipients appreciate your creativity but also
leave them impressed. Check out the Feature list below to learn more
about IncrediMail has to offer you:..."
And, their feature set is very rich. They include emoticons, notifiers
to alert you of not only new mail, but who it is from, 3D effects,
backgrounds, sounds and even a voice message recorder. They are highly
rated by the usual rating sites including TUCOWS, ZDNET and CNET.
You ask how they make money. It appears that they also offer enhanced
packages for sale and have a lucrative affiliate program for others to
profit in the sale of their software:
http://www.incredimail.com/english/affiliates.html
"Earn 20% on every sale!
Email Has Finally Evolved! . . .
Expose your users to our top of the line email products. IncrediMail
and the Letter Creator cater to both private home users seeking a more
engaging email experience as well as businesses seeking to strengthen
their brand image.
It’s no coincidence that we’ve maintained top ratings on CNET’s "Most
Popular Downloads for PC" for almost a year! IncrediMail products are
known for their high quality and breakthrough features...
It Couldn’t Be Easier!
Go ahead. Take a few minutes and join our Affiliate Program. We
provide you with banners, buttons, text links and images that have
been thoroughly tested for their efficiency. All you have to do is
recommend our software to your users (any which way you choose) and
any person that buys IncrediMail Premium, the Letter Creator or the
IncrediBundle will get you a whopping 20 % commission of the sale..."
Incredimail's commercial products include:
http://www.incredimail.com/english/order.asp
"IncrediMail Premium Offers :
No Advertisements Displayed
Extra Letters and Notifiers
No Link at the Bottom of Outgoing Email
Sender ID - your Notifier just got smarter
VIP Technical Support"
This program sells for $29.95, so this is the first revenue stream we
can uncover for this company is upgraded products that are purchased
rather than free.
Let's look a little further and see how the free and purchased
products differ:
"No Advertisements Displayed -
Seen enough advertisements to last a lifetime? NO advertisements will
be featured in your Status Window..."
Incredimail "free" makes money by charging for advertising other
products when you use their program and when you receive email
generated from their program. This is most likely their main revenue
stream, and a clever one at that. Their free product is incredibly
popular and desirable as it adds animation, sounds, graphics and other
features easily to your email. Many people will easily tolerate the
advertising to use this program for free. Many advertisers will enjoy
reaching this large user market. This genre of product is known as
Adware and a download site for Incredimail notes:
http://yippee.i4free.co.nz/html/win/internet/title10219.htm
"This software's license is Adware, which means that this program is
an Advertiser-supported software that enables the author or developer
to generate additional revenue. In many cases if you register your
copy of the software the banner ads can easily be removed. "
An article at Business 2.0 talks about Adware and why it is a
successful business model:
http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/print/0,1643,13541,00.html
Pitch Ware
Software featuring built-in ads are becoming the hot new thing -- if
they don't drive users crazy first.
By Susan Kuchinskas, April 2000 Issue
"...Adware refers to a software application with advertising — from
offline companies such as Visa and Sprint to dot-coms such as Amazon —
built right in. Ads appear as interstitials before the application
launches, or in windows or banners in its interface — wherever the
publisher thinks it will get the most exposure without annoying the
user. For software developers, it transforms the dying off-the-shelf
distribution model, and even shareware, into a new revenue stream. For
advertisers, it's a way to get out of the browser-only model and onto
the desktop...
...Qualcomm may have taken a cue from Web3000.com, which has offered
its ad-enhanced NetSonic Internet Accelerator since early 1998. The
company's original business model called for giving away a limited
version, then upselling to a more powerful version, NetSonic Pro, at
$39.99. Then the company tested an ad-supported version in February
1999, quite successfully. "What we didn't realize," says CEO Gene
Kavner, "was that the ad revenue and response to ads from our users
would be so great." Kavner won't disclose how much that revenue was,
but pegs it as 10 times the revenue from the sale of the product...
...Most adware gives users a similar deal: Complete a registration
form with basic demographic data, then download and use the software
free. Ads are typically sent behind the scenes when a user connects to
the Internet. Then they are cached on the hard drive to appear when
the software is in use.
The software reports to the ad server, telling it which ads have been
shown, which have been clicked, and what the results were. Some ads,
such as those from Radiate, can launch a user's browser and dial up
when clicked, linking the user to the advertiser's Website.
Ads can be targeted by the user's registration information, and by
inferences from the application itself. Someone who has downloaded a
stock tracker program, for example, is probably a good bet for ads
from an online brokerage.
A big appeal to advertisers is the amount of face time the ads get
with users. "It becomes extremely compelling to reach people in the
offline environment," says Conducent's director of marketing Robert
Regular..."
You might wish to read the entire article. Other interesting articles
on Adware include:
KansasCity.com
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/technology/personal_technology/3506403.htm
Adware, spyware can quietly take over PCs
By John Biggs
New York Times
About Adware
http://www.rosoftengineering.com/cdextractor/help/AboutAdware.htm
And from WebAttack.com, a major download source for freeware and
shareware:
http://www.webattack.com/Adwarepop.html
What is adware?
You can find many more articles simply searching Google for "adware".
Incredimail also sells another product, the Letter Creator, for $39.95
and will sell both products bundled at a discount price of $49.95 - a
savings of $20.
Letter Creator is described as:
"Create Your Own IncrediMail Letters:
Email Letterheads for your business
The Letter Creator is a simple and inexpensive solution for businesses
looking to establish their brand image through email. Produce
professional email Letterheads that feature crucial brand images and
marketing components such as logos, contact information and even
promotional Internet links.
Have your emails look the way you want them to.
Finally, a way to take full control over the appearance of your
emails! Now you can express yourself by designing Letters with your
favorite rock star, sports team, actor or any other interest in the
background of each email you send.
Place your pictures in your emails
Go on; admit that you love to show-off your family photos. The Letter
Creator introduces a brand new medium to express yourself through
email. Design special Ecards and Letters of your family, friends, pets
and yes, even yourself so that you can share them with everyone.
Flaunt your artistic skills
Have a creative soul? Think you can design better Letters than we can?
Use the IncrediMail Letter Creator to select your Letter’s 3D effects,
font styles, images and start flaunting your artistic skills. Everyone
that uses your Letters will be exposed not only to your wonderful
creations but also to your copyright credit featured at the bottom of
the Style Box..."
So, we have a revenue stream from advertisers as well as a revenue
stream from upgrades and licenses for their commercial products. And
in several press releases I have found, Incredimail claims that sales
of their commercial products have exceeded their projections and
expectations so this is an important component to their overall
revenues:
http://www.incredimail.com/english/press_release5.html
"IncrediMail Already Exceeding Sales Expectations For Q2 2001
Tel Aviv, Israel – April 23, 2001 – IncrediMail Ltd., a pioneer
software developer of experiential email for consumers and
corporations, announced today that sales for IncrediMail products,
that began approximately one month ago, have already exceeded
expectations for the second quarter of 2001. Within thirty days,
revenue projections for the entire quarter, made by
PricewaterhouseCoopers, have already been surpassed.
"We are thrilled with the initial results of our sales," says Yaron
Adler, co-founder and CEO of IncrediMail Ltd. "The market response we
received so far validates our revenue model and reaffirms the market
demand for products that enhance the overall email experience. Based
on our sale figures, we are confident of our ability to accelerate the
development of the next generation of IncrediMail product offerings
and launch them sooner than we expected."...
Incredimail also makes good use of the other side of affiliates
programs and advertises other products on their site that they receive
commissions for sales that result from click throughs from their
pages. Some of the ads I noticed include:
King Casino
ICQ
Casino Las Vegas
Casino On Net
MyInks.com
And others. So, while they are marketing their own free and commercial
software products, they are also exposing you to other products and
services that will financially benefit them if you click through and
become a customer of the advertised affiliate. It is possible that
they may even receive some revenue just by your clicking through and
without the requirement that you purchase anything from their
affiliate. I am not privy to the terms and details of their agreements
with others. But we will look at the possibilities a little more
closely in the next section:
The company also describes themselves as follows:
"IncrediMail Ltd. is a reputable Internet company dedicated to
developing and advancing innovative solutions that will bring the use
of the internet into a new level of experience.
The IncrediMail Ltd. team comprises of a group of very creative and
highly skilled employees, all of whom share a common vision.
With IncrediMail, its debut program, the company introduces the
concept of Experience Email -- an advanced email program that will
forever change, both the look and feel of emails, as well as the
behavior of the email program itself..."
This would lead us to believe that other products are perhaps on the
drawing boards or in the pipeline and what have seen to date is just
the beginnings of their offerings. By reading through their list of
Press Releases, I can see that they have expanded their market
worldwide by "localizing" their product and translating it into other
languages. They list several partners including Commission Junction
and Bravenet Web Services.
Let's look at Commission Junction for a moment.
http://www.cj.com/
"What is Pay-for-Performance?
Pay-for-performance is a form of online advertising where a marketer
pays for results rather than paying to reach a particular audience. A
Web site (the "publisher") advertises products or services offered by
another Web site (the "advertiser") in exchange for a commission on
actions, such as leads or sales. The publisher displays banners, ads,
text links or products on their Web site and is paid a commission by
the advertiser when a visitor takes a specific action, such as filling
out a form or making a purchase. Commission Junction, the largest
pay-for-performance advertising network, acts as a trusted third party
managing the network, tracking and reporting on the ads in real time,
and handling monthly commission payments to network members."
So it would appear that Incredimail uses Commission Junction both to
garner commissions for products they advertise in both their free
product and their website as well as commissioning others that send
customers their way.
Another page notes the following on Commission Junction:
http://www.zyra.org.uk/cj.htm
"...Commission Junction is an affiliate marketing company. If you join
CJ.com you can get paid for putting advertisements (of your choice) on
your website. The next page is the direct link to Commission Junction.
If you enable cookies for this page and sign up, I get paid $2 ...
Commission Junction has various advantages and disadvantages versus
other affiliate marketing companies. Here's a summary, in the personal
opinion of an affiliate website creator:
Advantages:
-Commission Junction is the market leader in affiliate marketing
solutions.
-Commission Junction has more merchants than any other affiliate
marketing company I have seen.
-The system at CJ.com is very grandiose and well-featured.
-There is a very nice feature of a SCORE at the top of the screen
showing you how much money you have made so far.
-If you have people working for you setting up affiliate stuff they
can have different security privileges.
Disadvantages:
-There are a lot of cookies involved, and even TEXT LINKS have a
built-in 1x1 transparent GIF with a cookie. I don't like cookies so I
have had to double-isolate all the links!
-During the early part of 2002 there was an unfortunate tendency for
merchants to drop out of Commission Junction! It appears from
statements from some of those merchants who have left that the main
reason was that Commission Junction had put the prices up A LOT! This,
the dropping-out of merchants, was VERY BAD for Commission Junction,
as there is very little incentive for website creators like myself to
put a huge amount of work into creating pages about merchants on the
site on the gamble that they will not disappear from the system!
(Thankfully the depletion of the merchant-list appears to have stopped
now (2002/05) and so we are now signing up with more merchants again!
Oh good!)"
So, this explains the process of affiliates a little more and shows
what might be a possible commission using CJ.
Incredimail also mentions Bravenet Web Services as a partner, and they
also have a referral / affiliate program:
http://www.bravenet.com/samples/affiliate.php
"Make money from your website just by referring people to the best web
services site on the net. Earn $1.00 for every active new Bravenet
member you refer to us! "
And Bravenet offers Incredimail to their users here:
http://www.bravenet.com/incredimail/index.php
It is possible and seems to be implied that Incredible is running on
the Bravenet servers for Bravenet customers. Consequently, Incredimail
may be licensing the use of their free software to other providers who
then benefit from charging for advertising that is displayed to their
customer base. Although I could not find confirmation of this, it is
extremely possible and probable that Incredimail has these types of
arrangements with other providers.
And, although On Oracle is also listed as an Incredimail partner, it
is not obvious if this affiliation creates any revenue stream for
them, though Oracle does offer finder's fees as mentioned on this page
and others:
http://www.hallmark.avnet.com/sta/home/0,1466,RID%253D0%2526CID%253D0%2526CCD%253DUSA%2526SID%253D706%2526DID%253DHMD%2526LID%253D1324%2526BID%253DORC%2526CTP%253DSTA,00.html
"The Oracle Applications and 9iAS Affiliate Initiatives are offerings
to companies who bring new applications and 9iAS opportunities to
Oracle. In return for new leads, Oracle is compensating companies with
a finder's fee for the lead once the prospect has purchased Oracle
Applications or 9iAS..."
Incredimail's Privacy Policy states in part:
http://www.incredimail.com/english/privacy.html
"...What Information will I be asked when I register with IncrediMail?
While you register with IncrediMail, you will be asked to submit
certain non-personally identifying information as your country, age
and gender. In addition, in cases where IncrediMail cannot identify
your e-mail settings, you will be asked to complete your display name,
e-mail address and incoming/outgoing server settings. This information
will not be available to other users or to any third party.
What will IncrediMail do with the registration information?
IncrediMail is committed to providing you, the user, with better
service. Using the information submitted, IncrediMail is able to
provide you with more personalized content. In addition, IncrediMail
may use some of the information in order to tailor rich media content
and advertisement that might be of interest to you..."
So, although they do not collect and share user identifiable
information with third parties, they do pick up valuable demographic
information that can be sold to advertising and marketing companies.
Once again, I do not know for sure if this is part of their practice,
but it also would not surprise me. As a matter of fact, they note:
"...The information may be used for statistical purposes in aggregate,
anonymous (non-personally identifiable) form. Such use will only
include users' demographic, non-personal information, such as age,
gender and country. Information may be also used for commercial
purposes, including advertising, marketing, co-registration to other
services, promotional or any other commercial activity. Furthermore,
IncrediMail will never willfully disclose personally identifiable
information about any of its customer to any third party without
receiving that customer's prior consent..."
So, we now have another potential revenue stream in sales of
demographic information to advertising and marketing companies.
To summarize, it appears that the revenue streams for Incredimail come
from:
-Advertising, click throughs and commissions from banner ads in the
free product
-Sales of their commercial products
-Commissions from affiliate programs advertised on the Incredimail
site
-Possible licensing agreements for other providers such as Bravenet to
use Incredimail on their own servers
-Possible sales of demographic information gathered through the use of
their products
Search Strategy:
incredimail
commission junction
adware +revenue
I trust my research has identified the revenue streams as you desired.
If a link above should fail to work or anything require further
explanation or research, please do post a Request for Clarification
prior to rating the answer and closing the question and I will be
pleased to assist further.
Regards,
-=clouseau=- |
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