Category: Advice for Merchants

Affiliate Recruitment Strategies and Practices

By , November 6, 2007

Once a new affiliate program is launched, these are the most common strategies for recruiting new affiliates; I assume this work will be done initially by a single full-time affiliate manager. Read more »

My Usual Recommendations (for Merchants planning an affiliate program)

By , November 5, 2007

This is the most common set of recommendations I give to merchants who are planning to launch an “affiliate program,” based on the factors discussed in my other posts in this section. Read more »

Affiliate Technology & Network Choice

By , November 4, 2007
  • There are dozens of “technology options” for a merchant to implement an affiliate program. Read more »

What Factors Do Publishers (Affiliates) Consider When Selecting Advertisers (Merchants)?

By , November 3, 2007
  • Primary Factors Considered by Affiliates: When a prospective affiliate is considering which merchants’ programs to join and promote, the affiliate may consider a wide range of factors. Many affiliates rely only on one or a few of these factors in making decisions; none consider all factors. Read more »

Public vs. Private Affiliate Programs

By , November 2, 2007
  1. Should your affiliate program be public or private?
    • Public: Most affiliate programs are “public,” so that any member of the general public can learn about the merchant’s affiliate program (by using a link on the merchant’s site, by viewing a list of merchants on an affiliate network, or by finding a listing for the merchant in an “affiliate directory” site).
    • Private: However, several thousand merchants offer “private” or “secret” affiliate programs, which are available by “invitation only.” Read more »

Issues That Might Lead a Merchant to NOT Offer a Public Affiliate Program (Negatives)

By , November 1, 2007

As a consultant, I earn much of my income by advising merchants who seek to add an “affiliate program” (also called an “associate program,” “referral program,” or “partner program”). However, not all merchants should have affiliate programs, and even those who can benefit from an affiliate program should be aware of certain “drawbacks.” Read more »

What’s an Affiliate Program?

By , November 1, 2007

An “affiliate program” is an advertising arrangement between advertisers (merchants) and publishers (affiliates). Read more »

Should We Buy “Guaranteed Traffic” or “50,000 visitors”?

By , May 24, 2007

It really is “too good to be true.”  Several dozen web sites promise to deliver 10,000 to 100,000 visitors to your web site, for a low fee — much less than one cent per visitor, which is the cheapest you could ever draw traffic through Google’s AdWords program.

Paying for “guaranteed traffic” is a complete waste of money: Read more »

Affiliate Program Directories

By , July 21, 2005

My 2005 list of Affiliate Program Directories was quite dated and useless, so I’ve updated the list and assigned it a special page on my site: http://markwelchblog.com/affiliate-program-directories/

E-Commerce Business: Focus, Focus, Focus

By , October 19, 2001

October 29, 2001 Last week, when I read the book Dot.Bomb (by J. David Kuo), one amusing recurring theme was quite familiar. It seemed that every few pages, Kuo’s CEO would “announce” (or another employee would “suggest”) a drastic new direction for Value America, which was started as an internet retailer. Read more »

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