Forum Moderators: skibum
I'm investigating affilate networks for a client of mine. I don't have any experience with this and really need a bit of help. it seems like a mindfield at the moment!
My client is an insurance company, they work with high net worth properties and overseas insurance (we are UK based). They generally target the higher end of the demographic scale. They do have finances to back a campaign but i really need to know what would be the best networks to look into further - what networks would cater for an insurance company and a company that is slightly more focused on the type of person it sells to.
if anyone could give me some pointers, it would be appreciated.
thanks
Most networks will give you some management of your program as well as reliable tracking stats, but as to being able to get you the affiliates that would help your client out....well that's open for debate.
If you really want to get good affiliates to sell for your client, you'll need to either recruit these sites/organizations or outsource this recruiting.
All the networks will give you a bit of exposure about your program, but none of them proactively will recruit for you. You can also pay them to send out email notifications of your program, but that's about as far as it goes for the big networks.
thanks for the reply. So what you suggest is that we set up our own affiliate scheme to get the best results? I can see your point about networks not marketing it well, but as you mention, they provide good stats and set it all up. I guess it's a case of weighing up the pros and cons of doing it like that.
food for thought certainly
thanks
Quite often to really get your program going you'll need to employ a few different methods to get the top affiliates in your industry to switch over to you. Personally contacting good prospective affiliates as well as attending conventions and such should be an integral part of your recruiting efforts. Personal contact in this business model also helps greatly.
none of them proactively will recruit for you
Some of the UK networks *will* proactively recruit affiliates. I get approached every day by networks promoting new merchants.
Indeed, the UK networks that operate just on a 30% override (no monthly fee) have a real incentive to recruit affiliates.
As for which network is best for insurance products, PM me for more detail.
[edited by: eljefe3 at 9:37 am (utc) on Jan. 30, 2007]
Is this the generic email that tells of the new program ,or are they actively recruiting by giving you stats from this particular industry that this new merchant is in including average EPC on a sale/lead? Giving me a reason to actually look at a new merchant or industry is a bit more proactive then just hitting send to an email list.
I've never heard of a firm that just works on overrides, but it's a good situation for all parties I believe. It's the affiliate program of affiliate recruiting:)
Does this recruiting entail emails and phone calls, or is it personal meetings and pitches.
are they actively recruiting by giving you stats
Exactly. I have account managers from the more pro-active UK networks on IM. They contact me with details of new merchants - EPCs, background on what products are doing well, sometimes a private commission offer. Some of the UK networks even take affiliates along to pitches when they are competing for major new merchants.
I've never heard of a firm that just works on overrides
I can think of at least one European network that operates in the UK and operates only on the override. I assume this is 30% (the norm amongst the UK networks).
[edited by: QualityNonsense at 10:16 am (utc) on Jan. 30, 2007]
thanks for the replys. I'm pretty sure we're going to do down the route of developing our own network, however I have come across OMG network and with no management or setup fees, it seems worthwhile thinking about doing this as well. has anybody experience with this network? I've tried to do a search on it within these forums, but as OMG is a TLA, it's a bit exasperating!
