Advice for Starting an Affiliate Program

[jmn111]

Hi all -- n00bie here, please be kind.

I'm responsible for starting a new affiliate program at my company, and I'm looking for some advice.

(Note: I'm not promoting or mentioning the name of my company, I'd really just like some advice.)

THE PRODUCT

My company makes an online hiring app targeted at small businesses. This app lets you access many job board sources (Monster, Careerbuilder, Craigslist, etc.) from one place. It also funnels all applicants through an assessment which tells a potential employer whether the applicant would be a good "fit" for the job or not.

This type of assessment typically costs Fortune 500 companies many thousands of dollars -- we're the first company to make this process scalable and affordable for small business (and we've patented the technology).

COST

We have a 7 day free trial, and then we charge an employer for each hire in increments of 30 days somewhere between $200-$500, depending on which job board sources they choose to include.

QUESTIONS

There's a lot of things I'd like to understand better in order to make this program successful for our company and for potential affiliates.

I don't expect anyone to answer these points one by one but any insight on any of these areas would be really helpful.

• What's the best affiliate network to use? Commission Junction seems to have the best reputation, I've also heard good things about LinkShare or ShareASale. Any advantages, disadvantages, suggestions?
  
• What types of commission structure will help us recruit the best affiliates? Should we pay out per free trial (lead)? Pay out a percentage of sale? Blended model? Any other ideas?
  
• How long a cookie window is typical for this type of product?
  
• Best ways to support our affiliates? What types of ad creative, information, etc. will help them (and us) be successful?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[ForexMaster]

Its always a good idea to offer a variety of commission plans. Having a CPA, RevShare, and Hybrid option will allow you attract more affiliates.

 

[jmn111]

Thanks ForexMaster.

Are there any particularly attractive types of plans you've seen that you'd recommend I look at? Any examples help.

Appreciate it!

 

[RGC13]

There are so many free online hiring company. How do you think this works?

 

[jmn111]

Hi RGC13,

Just to clarify, do you mean how do I think the free job boards make money, or how does our product differ from the free job boards that are out there?

Thanks.

 

[jeffrey]

Don't.

 

[StangMan23]

If you're paying out commissions on a trial basis, you'll have to pay out a lot less because of the nature of the trial. When paying out on a sale, you can pay out a lot more because you are actually acquiring revenue for the purchase of the product. I'd stick to a percentage based commission.

 

[johnny009]

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