asia - is it a goer?

are asian sites up for affiliate programs?

[yorkcity]

hi there

just wondering if anyone has any general info about whether affiliate programs have worked over in asia?

i'm not after all the best partner sites - honest ;-)

rather - are asian based sites up for joining affiliate programs? is it a problem that we'd be paying in pounds or dollars rather than local currency?

any tips would be most welcome!

[chiyo]

Im not sure which affiliate programs work in diff languages (international?), but if you look at the major Asian markets, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan - almost all do not speak English, usually browse in the local language - and this is expscially so for broad mainstream consumers that affiliate programs seem to cater for.

In South Korea and Japan for example there is already a mass of affiliate programs in local language designed for local consumers.

The only markets where there is significant English speakers are Singapore (very small population but high affordability), Malaysia, and Philippines, to name the largest English speaking markets, but compared to the big four of East Asia you are talking very small numbers and significantly lower affordability. You can probably also target expats in all countries however, and many young professionals who have been educated in US/Canada/Europe/Australia and have returned.

Other than language issues, currency exchange is not a major problem - its a small matter in the end.

But the principle of "affiliatism" I can assure you it is alive and well and very comfortable around here. Consumers in South Korea and to a lesser extent Japan/Taiwan are not as easily swayed by global brands as many would expect, and trust local brands and affiliates much more.

[yorkcity]

Chiyo

Thanks very much for your help...

In terms of language, I will be trying to target ex-pats and also English speakers - so fingers crossed!

[shrirch]

I've been running sites out of Hong Kong for the last 5 years and have gone through the whole spectrum of affiliate offerings.

If you're targetting the expat market, there are few sites which would do affiliate deals, unless you have a proven product or a CPM component. Most of the expat sites I know of are making their money of some really well targetted local sponsorships through banks, insurance companies, airlines, hotel etc.

US$ payments are prefered as the clearing mechanism seems to be easier.