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Hello everyone. I just launched a website for a client and I think they are ready for affiliates.
Can anyone recommend the best affiliate software out there to manage Ads, banners, commission etc.??
I have found some online but I cannot determine their reliability or performance.
Any input greatly appreciated.
-Hector.
How recent was the site launched? Affiliates work best when the company/site/brand name is well known. Are you sure your client is large enough to gain the expected benefit?
Commission Junction is a good and reputable affiliate network. However, they are expensive.
Before trying affiliates, try AdWords or the Content Network first. Affiliate marketing should come after SEM.
-BEC
There is no best. With so many systems you really need to think about your strategy and then pick one according to the type of solution you need and specific features.
As BEC said above, you usually don't start an affiliate program right away.
However, I disagree with BEC's reasoning that the branding and site need to be known. The real reason for waiting is so that you can refine your conversions and know where the best traffic is coming from.
Most big affiliates won't invest in you unless you have proven history/credibility and some objective conversion data.
It sounds like I might not have given enough info.
When I say affiliates I mean approach another site and say "look you want to become an affiliate of ours, here is coded banners and a panel, drive traffic convert to sales and get paid.
Why would there need to be a wait for that? To me the more people I have signed up as affiliates the more sales we get.
In general it is a good idea to wait. Exhaust other marketing efforts first - like SEM (ones you have complete control of). By doing so, you create a baseline conversion ratio that you can use as a "selling point" to the publishers. Also, the additional traffic makes your site more reputable and more appealing to publishers.
Publishers are very much "in the driver's seat." They have valuable real estate and it is in their best interest to promote those who convert best. Thus, being able to state an impressive conversion ratio that has lasted the test of time is a convincing point to publishers. Otherwise, your emails and requests will most likely be ignored.
Hope this clears things up more.
-BEC
Basically you have two choices:
1. Join an affiliate network - they will give you an account for your website and take over anything else for monthly service charges (sometimes fix, sometimes depending upon clicks and/or number of affiliates).
This works best for you if you want to get something quickly done and don't want to deal with managing the technical side by yourself.
On the other side, you face monthly charges and are bound to that specific affiliate network (once you have some active affiliates, it is nearly impossible to decide for an other network - links and banners will change, and some affiliates may not move with you).
2. Run your own affiliate program by installing an affiliate management software directly on your server. This works well for small/mid-sized businesses. There is usually just one license fee (for the software) and you don't need to deal with another service provider - all personal information of your affiliates is in your hand, you don't need to share it with someone else.
On the other side, you should be willing to spend some time in getting familiar with the software and while installation is sometimes included (at least we do so), it definitively requires more attention.
Regarding a good affiliate management software, you may look at various CGI resource sites (http://cgi.resourceindex.com or http://www.hotscripts.com, for example) or check out our website at http://www.sunnyscript.com (yes, we are the developer of such a solution :-)