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HI,
I have found out a lot of webmasters are now not only selling links but also are charging affiliate programs for the prime spot on their websites.
Lately I have received a lot of call/emails from affiliate managers asking for top placements, exclusive reviews and so on but no extra money at most a 5% increase in revenues.
I would like to hear from those who are working this way and share a few hints.Dominique has addressed a long time ago about the factor “BRANDING”, besides the revenues, we are spreading their brand and I’m sure we don’t get any $$$ for that.
So, my question is: How you folks are dealing with this?
Feel free to share your experiences about:
– Link sales only;
– Link sales plus revenue share;
– Top placements (with and without affiliate links);I think most of us are dealing with sales to webmasters but the question is about sale to affiliate programs only.
We know the traffic volume, brand of the affiliate and conversions play a huge rule but all the inputs are welcome.
We are constantly emailed/phoned by affiliate programs looking for premium banner placement. Just as you have mentioned, most of them are only offering a 5-10% commission boost, and usually for just a short amount of time. Hardly an attractive option IMO.
Since we would rather keep the banners running that we know convert, we end up ignoring most of the requests. We do however accept payment for banner placement under one of two conditions:
1) Affiliate Banner Placement – Pay a set amount up front and we guarantee 2 months of exposure. Our affiliate code is tagged to the banner so we can track progress. If the banner converts well, we keep it up, if not, we drop it after 2-3 months.
2) Straight Banner Placement – Pay a monthly fee and we will keep the banner running.
So far the majority of interest is in the Affiliate Banner Placement.
@webber286 215451 wrote:
1) Affiliate Banner Placement – Pay a set amount up front and we guarantee 2 months of exposure. Our affiliate code is tagged to the banner so we can track progress. If the banner converts well, we keep it up, if not, we drop it after 2-3 months.
I think there are some major benefits to this system.
1. Both Affiliate program and affiliate get instant positive results. Branding is of course of major importance for aff programs. And to offer a small fee for 2 months is a very cost effective way to get their brands dominating out there. For the affiliate it provides instant revenue stream that they can pump back into their site/s.
2. Gain trust together over a short time – Lets face it, we are riddled wih both affiliate fraud and program abuse as well as aff programs witholding payments. Just look around the forums and you will see this happen day after day….CPA fraud, programs ripping off affilaites. This helps to gain trust on both levels..
3. Increase relationship or Cut – What i mean by this – the aff program can get off lightly in terms of cost for advertising. They nly pay a small time fee for traffic, branding and if they do not like results they can cut out. Same goes for affiliate, if these placements do not convert they can stop after the 2-3 months..
The idea is when you start a campaign its hard to tell what will or will not convert. Some programs will some wont. Instead of trying to figure all this out and provide numbers of how many conversions, ect ect.. you can develop a good deal between the two parties…
Affiliates who will spend a good 4-8 hours or possible more doing work on reviews, banner uploads, linking webmastering will feel they made something for their time. While the aff program can guage the worth of site, and brand their sites..
Its a win win really and i think its a gateway for better future negotiations….
These Ams who come with 55 percent, 10 percent more high cpas ect are not what affilaites want in my mind – unless you own a site and are a super affilaite….I may be wrong!!!
But the option provided up top is a good middle ground… both sides win!!!
Steve
Thanks folks,
I’ll change a few things from now on how i deal with linksHints:
1. Look at email address from sender.
If email is from AffManager@CASINO chances for direct ad sales/paid placement are possible.if email is from AffManager@AffiliateCompany chances for straight paid placement/link deal are close to none…hybrid deals are possible. paid in advanced deals possible (against future commission)
if email is from whoever@3rdPartySEOCompany representing CASINO, chances for straight paid placement deal are pretty good (although I guess the contents of that email might be a little different).
2. To weed out the deals that wont do direct, be brief and to the point. It is your website, tell them your policy. No need to sell them on the idea, remember they contacted you and they want something from you. Tell them how they can get it.
“Thank you for your offer…I don’t do affiliate deals.”
“Thank you for your offer. The top spot on my site(s) require a placement fee”.
“Thanks for the email. Are you looking to advertise on my site or are you looking for affiliates?”
Yep. you’re right.
The first thing to do on my websites is to add a “advertise page” with details for prices, links, banner placements and so.I think that will reduce the requests since only the serious affiliates/managers will contact regarding those spots.
I’m tired of that “we’ll give You an extra 10% boost on your commission” but what if their program doesn’t convert? You can get 90% on REV Share but 90% of ZERO is still a big fat zero.
For me and those working online for more than a few years know what I’m talking about. You can hit a whale but if their site not convert someone else will laugh at the end with fat pockets and we know we don’t need a monster traffic for that.
The first thing to do on my websites is to add a “advertise page” with details for prices, links, banner placements and so.
This is not necessary and can actually do more harm then good. As long as you have a way to contact you on your site, people who want to advertise will contact you with or without that page. When advertisers come and ask, they already know what they want.
My goal is to find out what they want, determine if it their request is reasonable, and provide it if it is.
“Thanks for the email. I do have advertising space available. What were you looking for?”
If you are set on having this advertising page on your site, I would make it as generic as possible. Say things like:
“advertising space”
“drive traffic”
“advertising options”and not
“Pagerank”
“Paid Reviews”
“Links”
“Here are my prices”Good point, but I have that in my mind to not use words like “links”, “PR”, but a PDF file with info. For SEO reasons its not good to “sell” links on your website but by end it will be the same, just a different approach.
Still, I prefer deliver customers to the right places (trusted casinos, poker rooms and bingo halls) than sell ads but let’s see how it will work.
