We recently were approached by a company that wanted to join our affiliate network. Often, a business will be under the assumption that an affiliate network is their best method for marketing. On the contrary, affiliate networks are usually the worst alternative.
It might appear to be the best ROI only paying for qualified leads or sales; however, if your investment is zero, your return might be zero. A primary reason for this is that most publishers are not interested in affiliate partnerships. Substantial investment is required by the publisher to implement a new affiliate. Then, there is the on-going problem of tracking leads and sales. In the long run, how does the publisher know they will get paid? And, what about getting paid on repeat customers?
For these, and many other, reasons, publishers tend not to promote affiliates.
Following is an example of a proposal offered to a perspective affiliate:
From the information obtained during our meeting and the subsequent emails, it appears as though you are interested in joining our affiliate network. The affiliate network is available only to advertisers who meet specific program criteria. You may wish to broaden your efforts to not only include affiliate networks but to also include other advertising programs.
There are many options from you to choose from in order to start moving forward, including, but not limited to:
1) We would be happy to consult with you to prepare you for affiliate networks. Areas that need to be covered prior to implementing an affiliate partnership involve deposits and implementation fees, set up for tracking, test tracking program, creatives, publisher display and advertiser merchandising information, default publisher commission rates, preparing a detailed affiliate SEM policy, as well as, additional program terms and conditions, lock down accounting practices, etc.
2) If you wish to minimize consulting for our affiliate network, you can satisfy the first criteria item on our checklist — implement a Google Affiliate Network account. By obtaining approval for a Google Affiliate Network account and launching their affiliate program, you will have accomplished most of the items we require for affiliates.
Please let us know if either of these options work for you.
Thank you. We shall await your advice.