Forum Moderators: skibum
Questions -
1) How does this work? How can the merchant afford to pay $10 for every free signup? Is it really free for the end-user?
2) What type of conversion rate can I expect if I use pay per click search engines? An approximate figure would be very helpful.
3) I see that the keyword "credit repair" is highly competitive in all the PPC search engines (2 Sponsored link ads and hundreds of AdWords ads in Google). Does it make sense for me to join such an affiliate program?
Does it make sense for me to join such an affiliate program?
In my opinion, these services seem to be UCE/SPAM driven. It's kind of a Push/Pull situation in that, while the rates of bankruptcies are on the rise in the United States, if the amount of UCE/SPAM I've seen is any indication, the spammers seem to be cashing in on this.
I know I've seen many UCE/SPAM mails touting just such services as 'Credit Repair' and 'Get out of Debt'.
In any case, one would need to have many referrals to make such affiliate programs profitable and to that end, one has to ask "At whose expense?"
Just my opinion, mind you. But I find 'any' association that promotes UCE/SPAM in any way inherantly bad. Including the most demonous of all, those who open such mails and subscribe to them.
The Spammer wouldn't make a dime if folks wouldn't subscribe. Especially when there are so many Credit Repair Services in hometowns across America.
Pendanticist.
And yes, I have received many of those "credit repair" emails too, eventhough I'm not from the USA. Frankly speaking, I have no clue what "credit repair" companies do as such companies do not exist in my country.
Hence the first question - How can the merchant afford to pay $10 if it is free to sign up? Maybe I shouldn't promote a service that I don't understand.
I have no clue what "credit repair" companies do
I would want to know alot more about an industry before i PPC'd them for an affiliate program.
There are many profitable areas for affiliates on the web, this cold well be one of them but, I'd do a little more homework on the industry in general before parting with any cash...
Nick
The companies could easily afford to pay $10 per lead for this.
Id suspect that those who are likely to subscribe for such a report are also likely to sign up for a loan without thinking! :) Id assume there would be a decent sale conversion rate for the company, and therefore would be profitable in the long term.
But i dont think that the actual take up would be that fantastic - a few a month perhaps? 1 in a 1000?
Given the large amount a spam associated with this industry and the bad reputation that loans and credit companies have, I really dont think it would be worth your while.
Id say that the reason we see this kinda of stuff in spam emails is because it is only profitable on a massive scale.
Just my 2 c though! :)
JOAT
I would want to know alot more about an industry before i PPC'd them for an affiliate program.
I am too embarrassed to send them a mail - "Look guys, I want to promote your service but I have no clue what you will do to my customers!"
I will give this affiliate program a miss and start looking for greener pastures.
<added later> Interesting thoughts roscoepico (what a tongue twister) </added later>
....debt reduction, diet pills, viagra, macdonalds... ;)
JOAT
and sell them every 24 hours to a variety of REAL debt consolidation firms
therefore it makes sense to cut out the middleman, run a campaign to collect people's details and sell them on yourself to a debt consolidation firm.
>>> side note.
for one merchant who pays affiliates 10% commision, i have their products on a site process the orders myself and then just phone through the sales to the merchant who ships direct to the customer - low volume of sales but decent ticket price and i get 50% this way.
<snip>Frankly speaking, I have no clue what "credit repair" companies do as such companies do not exist in my country.
Credit repair is a burgeoning industry in the United States. I'm not sure how other Democratic societies handle this, but loosly put:
A credit consumer gets in over their head where they no longer can afford to pay more than "the minimum monthly payments" on things such as credit cards (et., al.). The principle continues to grow and eventually the debtor has buried themselves.
Once this, uh, pinacle has been reached, they go to middleman company who acts as a broker between the debtor and those who hold the notes until a new, somewhat lower balance has been agreed upon.
The seller cuts potential profit margins and the buyer gets a reduced purchase obligation.
Basically, it is a stop gap measure prior to personal bankruptcy.
In many cases it saves/preserves the credit rating (to a greater or lessor extent) of the debtor.
Pendanticist.
1) A polite phone call from a pleasant lady.
2) A not-so-polite reminder from a not-so-pleasant guy.
3) A personal visit to the defaulter's home by the credit card employee to "discuss" the issue.
4) Threatening phone calls (pay up, or else..)
Really don't know what happens after that. The defaulter usually shifts home or the credit card company just writes off the amount.
until a new, somewhat lower balance has been agreed upon.
And the credit card companies agree to that? I guess their logic is - This guy is going to go bankrupt anytime soon. Let me get what I can from him before he sinks!
Debt consolidation/credit repair here in US is not as bad as you think ...
As pendanticist pointed out the debtor wins in the end...It have some bad reputation only becuase of the email spam some of the Debt consolidation people doing...
But one caution ....its a very very competitive industry...So unless you directly sell the leads to a debt consolidation company its difficult to attain profitability
[edited by: eljefe3 at 2:12 am (utc) on Dec. 17, 2002]
Hey, its kinda like competing in the SEO business! There's professionals, and there's hacks.
You've got to do your homework before you sign up for any affiliate program.
Debt consolidiation & counseling indeed a middlemen, usually funded by credit card companies, to "help" you meet payments and budget usecured credit debts. These are legit, although often very harsh and misleading companies.
Credit repair groups, although legal, skirt the edge of dark legal magic.
The two most often used "credit repair" methods are new social security number (SSN) (an ID all working US person must have, and credit records are associated with), and the "30 day response rule".
The first, you get an alternate SSN, and use that to get new credit. Problem with this is, the three largest credit bureaus started to cross check this.
The second is very simple. There is a section in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which mandates that any creditor must produce evidence in 30 days to prove dept to a request. If they fail to provide it, be it one day late, this invalidates the information on the credit report, (which is held by the big credit bureaus). These credit repair companies send letter after letter requesting proof, until the vendor fails to respond within the 30 days.
So, to be back on topic, if you do not care where your money comes from and how "filthy" it is -- go for it.
There’s no initial fee & no monthly fee! We will only charge you when these things happen:
$5.00 When an item is disputed on your credit report.
$15.00 When an item is removed from your credit report.You are just a few simple steps away from enjoying the freedom of better credit.
It’s that simple!
As mentioned before, it is free for customers to sign up and the affiliates get $10 per lead.
Is this any different from the usual "credit repair" companies?
I just typed "credit bureau" in Google and ended up at Experian.com which offers free credit reports.
Why don't American consumers just signup for Experian?
</added>
AAnn
Experian, as AAnnAArchy said, is not responsible to help individuals with credit problems. They are simply the holder or database, or credit bureaus for the information. They sell this information about you and your habits, and credit worthiness to creditors, such as Visa, AmEx, bank loaners, etc.
