One Or Two-tier Affiliate Programs
| Category: Affiliate Marketing - Basics | Date: 2003-04-28 |
Ponder this question for a second...
. . . I am completely new to associate programs. I am starting one for my website but I dont know if I should go with a one or two-tier program . . .
The writer has at least four options to consider:
1. The Amazon.com-style system where you aim to have many thousands of associates. Because there are so many of them, youll have very little control over how they promote your company. Some idiots will promote you using spam. Some who own extremely low-traffic sites will complain bitterly that your program is useless. However, you do have control over which sites you approve or reject, so you can reject people who look too amateurish. The huge advantage is that you will receive an enormous amount of very cheap publicity.
2. At the other extreme, you could do what Declan Dunn did and choose a small, select group of associates whom you think are in a good position to achieve sales and who have a satisfactory image. Pay them very generously. That way you stay in control, knowing what everyone is saying about you and you can offer advice to anyone whose sales lag. Because you pay them generously, and they dont have much competition, they tend to promote your product with great enthusiasm. You dont have to cope with dumb questions because you are dealing only with experienced webmasters. This system will work well only if you can persuade reasonably busy sites to sign up, so you need an excellent product or service, such as Declans "The Complete, Insiders Guide To Associate & Affiliate Programs."
3. You could maintain good control over what your associates are doing by giving them the exact code to paste into a page. For example, the Network Solutions graphic for domain name registration on the main page at http://www.AssociatePrograms.com today works that way. Network Solutions uses the sophisticated Be Free system. For details see < http://www.befree.com >. Other companies do the opposite and encourage their associates to be creative in their promotions. They win friends but lose control - the choice is yours.
4. Have a two-tier commission structure with an automatic self-replicating web page and let the whole thing spread like wildfire (or a leapfrogging virus). Because of the two-tier structure, people promote you keenly, but because of the rapidly growing number of associates you may lose control over what they say. All the amateurish beginners will love you, because even an intelligent eight-year-old can sign up. The self-replicating web page system makes things very easy for webmasters so you shouldnt have to answer too many questions. You could end up with a lot of associates who earn very little and some will say rude things about you, assuming that it is all your fault. From an associates point of view, I like this system because I can make money from the efforts of people who sign up under me, although 80 to 90 percent of them wont make money for me.
Maybe the best answer is a two-tier commission structure which allows you to approve or reject sites. John Ferber of TeknoSurf < http://www.teknosurf.com/ > operates his that way (although TeknoSurf pays out in FOUR different ways). John upsets the people he rejects and also upsets webmasters whose sites attract lots of beginners because theres a high rejection rate. However, the ones you approve will promote you keenly because of the two-tier structure. As an associate, Im also keen on this system and tend to respect companies which choose associates carefully. As a merchant, this system would be my choice. Ill even go to the trouble of trying to persuade a top-rate e-marketer to sign up, because I will earn commissions on the money he makes.
About the Author
Allan Gardyne is the owner of AssociatePrograms.com and the publisher of the award-winning Associate Programs Newsletter:To contact see details below.
allan@associateprograms.com
http://www.associateprograms.com/
. . . I am completely new to associate programs. I am starting one for my website but I dont know if I should go with a one or two-tier program . . .
The writer has at least four options to consider:
1. The Amazon.com-style system where you aim to have many thousands of associates. Because there are so many of them, youll have very little control over how they promote your company. Some idiots will promote you using spam. Some who own extremely low-traffic sites will complain bitterly that your program is useless. However, you do have control over which sites you approve or reject, so you can reject people who look too amateurish. The huge advantage is that you will receive an enormous amount of very cheap publicity.
2. At the other extreme, you could do what Declan Dunn did and choose a small, select group of associates whom you think are in a good position to achieve sales and who have a satisfactory image. Pay them very generously. That way you stay in control, knowing what everyone is saying about you and you can offer advice to anyone whose sales lag. Because you pay them generously, and they dont have much competition, they tend to promote your product with great enthusiasm. You dont have to cope with dumb questions because you are dealing only with experienced webmasters. This system will work well only if you can persuade reasonably busy sites to sign up, so you need an excellent product or service, such as Declans "The Complete, Insiders Guide To Associate & Affiliate Programs."
3. You could maintain good control over what your associates are doing by giving them the exact code to paste into a page. For example, the Network Solutions graphic for domain name registration on the main page at http://www.AssociatePrograms.com today works that way. Network Solutions uses the sophisticated Be Free system. For details see < http://www.befree.com >. Other companies do the opposite and encourage their associates to be creative in their promotions. They win friends but lose control - the choice is yours.
4. Have a two-tier commission structure with an automatic self-replicating web page and let the whole thing spread like wildfire (or a leapfrogging virus). Because of the two-tier structure, people promote you keenly, but because of the rapidly growing number of associates you may lose control over what they say. All the amateurish beginners will love you, because even an intelligent eight-year-old can sign up. The self-replicating web page system makes things very easy for webmasters so you shouldnt have to answer too many questions. You could end up with a lot of associates who earn very little and some will say rude things about you, assuming that it is all your fault. From an associates point of view, I like this system because I can make money from the efforts of people who sign up under me, although 80 to 90 percent of them wont make money for me.
Maybe the best answer is a two-tier commission structure which allows you to approve or reject sites. John Ferber of TeknoSurf < http://www.teknosurf.com/ > operates his that way (although TeknoSurf pays out in FOUR different ways). John upsets the people he rejects and also upsets webmasters whose sites attract lots of beginners because theres a high rejection rate. However, the ones you approve will promote you keenly because of the two-tier structure. As an associate, Im also keen on this system and tend to respect companies which choose associates carefully. As a merchant, this system would be my choice. Ill even go to the trouble of trying to persuade a top-rate e-marketer to sign up, because I will earn commissions on the money he makes.
About the Author
Allan Gardyne is the owner of AssociatePrograms.com and the publisher of the award-winning Associate Programs Newsletter:To contact see details below.
allan@associateprograms.com
http://www.associateprograms.com/
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