Affiliate marketing – pros and cons.

Discussion in 'Affiliate Programs' started by Doughty, Jan 17, 2005.

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  1. #1
    As for me affiliate marketing has its pros and cons.
    Well, the advantages are:
    - more exposure;
    - more sales.
    On the other hand you will face the commission costs: costly set up and maintenance fees that are associated with a lot of affiliate facilitators.
     
    Doughty, Jan 17, 2005 IP
  2. 5starAffiliates

    5starAffiliates Well-Known Member

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    #2
    If an affiliate program is set up right it should be a WIN/WIN.
    If it's prmoted right you should get enough good affiliates that they make good money and you have enough increased sales to cover all your costs plus make a profit.
     
    5starAffiliates, Jan 17, 2005 IP
  3. roadies

    roadies Well-Known Member

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    #3
    And with the right affiliate software, an affiliate program can generate hundreds to thousands of backlinks to your site. That feature is almost worth the cost and hassles of an affiliate program by itself.
     
    roadies, Jan 17, 2005 IP
  4. luisfernandez

    luisfernandez Peon

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    #4
    Good point.
     
    luisfernandez, Jan 23, 2005 IP
  5. seoxperts

    seoxperts Peon

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    #5
    all businesses have advertising costs, and think of this as building your brand out by exposing them on hundreds/thousands of websites if done well. Can boooooooooom the sales like anything ;)
     
    seoxperts, Jan 23, 2005 IP
  6. KenMendonca

    KenMendonca Peon

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    #6
    I just wanted to weigh in as well.

    Unfortunatly it's on the con side. You can't forget that managing those affiilates will take up a huge chunk of time. Our affiliate program has more than 10,000 between our in-house program and CJ. We have 4 full-time affiliate managers in addition to our Director of marketing to handle all those people and make sure the products are not being marketed illegaly or inapropriatly, and sometimes you still can't prevent things from happening.

    But then on the positive side Affiliate sales bring in a good portion of our total sales so we have them to thank for our success.
     
    KenMendonca, Jan 24, 2005 IP
  7. viralmagnet

    viralmagnet Peon

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    #7
    One of the main keys to reducing headaches is to take advantage
    of the pros while avoiding the money hassles if you can.

    Two approaches that I use are

    1) A free viral marketing type approach where the affiliate is
    selling directly themself (ie: reseller program)

    and

    2)
    Using the pay your sponsor then you (seperately) approach, such
    as when the customer makes two payments. One to your
    paypal (or other account) and one to the affiliate directly.

    My main members only site works like #2. They still join my database
    and still get to brand/customize the site but they collect their
    share directly for upgrades.

    Mind you I am a programmer by trade and was able to create the system
    but there are plenty of scripts (or techies) out there to help you.
    :cool:
     
    viralmagnet, Feb 12, 2005 IP
  8. honey

    honey Prominent Member

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    #8
    APM is a full time job, and if it's going well, it's worth the time, effort and resources, in terms of ROI. I feel Amazon has the biggest Affiliate base as of today. Pick up any product from Amazon, and Google it, and see what you get. It's duplicated by affiliates several hunded thousand times !!
     
    honey, Feb 13, 2005 IP
  9. tictacx

    tictacx Peon

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    #9
    I felt that the commission for some of the affiliate programs are not guaranteed. this is why this site has catch my eye: getPaidMoreOnline.com. If you are a reseller, you will get paid first, then you pay the author. This based on trust.

    Do the judgement yourself at: GetPaidMoreOnline.com
     
    tictacx, May 16, 2005 IP
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