Promoting A company That Isn't Associated With A Network

[TylerDurden]

Hey guys. I have a niche review site and there is a company that I'd like to promote on my site because I think they have a great value proposition. I contacted them to see if they have an affiliate program and they do. They gave me an affiliate link but didn't mention anything about tracking or reports. As far as I can tell they are a very reputable company however it seems like they are just starting out in their respective industry.

Can anyone recommend some questions that I would need to ask regarding info that I need to know when working with a company that's not in a network? Also is this pretty common?

 

[peterryan]

- what are their goals and objectives?
- what types of creatives will they supply?
- do they have conversion statistics?
- who do they consider their target audience?
- do they have a ppc campaign?
- will they place your tracking pixels?
- what tracking pixels do they support?
- what tracking software do they use?
- do they share this tracking information?
- does the software have an open API?
- how do they pay out?
- do they have lead caps?
- what are the lead/conversion minimums?
- do they run limited offers?
- how many affiliates do they currently have?
- how do they choose these affiliates?

(off the top of my head)

 

[geekcognito]

- what are their goals and objectives?
- what types of creatives will they supply?
- do they have conversion statistics?
- who do they consider their target audience?
- do they have a ppc campaign?
- will they place your tracking pixels?
- what tracking pixels do they support?
- what tracking software do they use?
- do they share this tracking information?
- does the software have an open API?
- how do they pay out?
- do they have lead caps?
- what are the lead/conversion minimums?
- do they run limited offers?
- how many affiliates do they currently have?
- how do they choose these affiliates?

(off the top of my head)

I actually work much more with companies like this than traditional affiliate networks. Nice list, if I think of anything else I'll come back and add to it. I've not always been very diligent about "interviewing" companies before starting to work with them and have encountered a few nasty surprises.

 

[Garrett]

I actually work much more with companies like this than traditional affiliate networks. Nice list, if I think of anything else I'll come back and add to it. I've not always been very diligent about "interviewing" companies before starting to work with them and have encountered a few nasty surprises.

Same here. There are a fucking TON of affiliate programs on the net.

 

[junglepocket]

Are they are a recognisable company? Most of the affiliate programmes I promote are through merchants are who are well known household names. This makes sending traffic to them a lot easier than sending to an unknown quantity as it converts much better.

Unless you can get a higher than normal commission rate (compared to affiliate networks) and there is virtually zero compeition, then why not stick with promoting merchants found on a network? Although you are not guaranteed to be safe dealing with affiliate networks, at least they have experience and track record dealing with affiliate programmes, tracking, payment etc.

 

[Mike90]

JUst join a republe cpa network best shot you got...

 

[bitsdawg]

The company that I earn the most revenue from (and have for about 2 years) has their program on big networks. But they also have an in-house program, and that's what I use.

I actually think they are more generous, more willing to credit for downtime, bonuses, etc. on the in-house program because they don't have to pay network fees.

 

[TylerDurden]

Thanks for the help guys. My affiliate manager at the company also mentioned that I'm not allowed to bid on the same keywords as them and then asked me how I plan on promoting my site. What is an appropriate response to this? Should I say SEO and PPC and then ask them what keywords they bid on so that I don't compete with them? I know I could always just say SEO and still do a PPC campaign but my ninja skills are non-existent so there is no way I could pull this off without them finding out. Any you guys have suggestions?