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With an already hefty lift of % from CJ, and then the 4 digit fees + % shares affiliate recruitment/management company charges, are they well worth the money, 2 months down the road, 6 months down the road, then 1 year down the road?
Any of you that runs an Ecommerce store, that passes over all your affiliate management to an established company?
I'm looking for advice on the Pros and Cons of stepping on this, as there won't be turning back once I place my bucks in.
Would me, myself and I, be able to grow my own network and match that of a company, eventually?
And if not, what tips/advice can you offer me on this? What stuff should I ask for in the contract and stuff?
Urban
I am already signed up, and is considering to let affiliate managers/companies to help us recruit/promote our program.
However if given time, and let's say I hire 2 greenhorns (not many knows about the robes of AM, not even me) and train them to recruit, will I be able to have an impact on our affiliate program?
Or is the $X,#*$! money well worth spent with the company, along with their % sales?
What would readers of this thread do, with your company's affiliate management process?
Rather than 2 greenhorns, you'd be better off getting someone in-house with some savvy to manage the program and the PPC (if they have the background). Personally, in your place I'd at least get some initial consulting for the program launch from a seasoned OPM (outsourced program manager).
If I were to do this alone, I would:
0) Have a proper affiliate tracking backend system integrated with our existing e-commerce platform
1) Copywrite an honest, down to earth, softsell company description and mission.
2) Match, or top the average % commission values of similar products on the marketplace.
3) Hire an affiliate PR firm to send out PR releases.
4) Submit to the 100+ trusted affiliate program directories of our program (some paid some free).
5) Announce the program on affiliate forums (I think this is paid as well?)
Simple in concept, but I'm not too sure if it's efficient...
However, the bigger picture for us is that it does generate new customers to which we can then upsell etc.
The downside, apart from costs, is the lack of communication direct with affiliate. We have to go through the affiliate company. This makes it a little awkward.
We've now developed our own in-house and are due to launch shortly. it will be hard a work, but we think in the long run it will prove to have been the correct move.
I doubt there will be to many people move from our out-sourced program to the internal program to be honest. However, we are fortunate that most of the sale from the outsourced program only come from a handful of very good affiliates. It is more complex than I am making it sound, but we are giving ourselves a good few months to build up our own program before possibly parting company with the out sourced program. I say possibly because what they offer isn't bad, it's just that we spend so much ... but remember, because of the affiliate model, even although we spend a lot, we are earning more. So there is still profit from the process.
In terms of the comment above about some progams allowing contact with affiliates, I do know this. Ours doesn't, so our choice was either to go through the signup process with another outsource or really focus on developing our own.
urbanzen, since you've already made a sizable investment with CJ, it's fruitless to just let the program lie fallow, unless you're already getting sign-ups from people who are active the only ones who count for pulling sales, or at least sending you some traffic.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, that can one person alone, if given time, can develop an affiliate program just as well as an OPM/firm. But then the point is moot, as my time is better spent on training my staff on other venues of marketing within my niche, and let an expert truely handle the program.
Urban
can one person alone, if given time, develop an affiliate program just as well as an OPM/firm
yes.
my time is better spent on .... other venues
yes
herein lies a problem of having only 24 hours in a day.
