An “Affiliate Program Development” seminar took place at the Internext Expo convention on Wednesday, January 5th, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Internext Expo is the online adult industry’s largest trade show; the semi-annual event recently completed its winter version at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.The “Affiliate Program Development Seminar” featured a panel of knowledgeable speakers from various companies that operate successful adult product affiliate programs. Included on the panel were Dave Levine from SexToy.com, Mike from AdamEve, Ellisa from Platinum Bucks, and Mike Price from SilverCash. The approximately sixty-minute discussion included topics related to operating and promoting a successful adult affiliate program.

Customer Service

Dave Levine told the audience that running a successful affiliate program means paying attention to affiliates and giving them what they need.

“You want to keep the affiliates happy,” said Levine.

Mike from AdamEve pointed out that running an affiliate program necessitates being open to the changes and improvements that should come from experience.

“It’s an ongoing process,” said Mike. “You learn as you go.”

To back up Mike’s point about flexibility, Levine pointed out that shipping prices are constantly changing – so companies that ship inventory need to be ready to adapt to these price changes as they happen.

Ellisa told attendees that it’s important to stay in constant communication with affiliates and provide them with accurate statistics. She acknowledged that it’s not always possible for an affiliate program to offer affiliate sales stats that are instantly updated, but said there are things an affiliate program can do to keep their affiliates informed.

“At least have an email sent as soon as the order is complete,” said Ellisa. She said failing to quickly acknowledge affiliate sales can lead to misunderstandings. “People just start to assume that you’re ripping them off or something”

Price agreed that communication is vital.

“The more detailed stats you can give somebody the better,” said Price.

Levine pointed out that the majority of an affiliate program’s sales will come from the sales efforts of its top thirty affiliates, even if the program has hundreds or thousands of affiliates signed up. For that reason, said Levine, it’s important to pamper the best affiliates and keep them happy.

Software Issues

For the webmaster who is thinking about starting an affiliate program, where can one find the necessary software?

“There are out-of-the-box affiliate programs that you can buy,” said Mike. But he added that affiliate programs will eventually need their own custom software if they want to compete at the highest levels.

When pressed for specific examples of affiliate program software that beginners might use, Mike mentioned Taboo Revenue as one possible solution.

Price added that some of the third-party billing companies also have affiliate program software that is available to their clients. He said a new webmaster can’t go wrong with ccBill, for example, but agreed that serious affiliate programs will eventually need to develop their own software.

Marketing and Branding

When asked about the importance of branding, Price admitted that advertising is an important part of his company strategy. He said his company likes to keep a high profile in the adult webmaster community. Levine added that it’s important to also market an affiliate program to those webmasters who aren’t connected to the industry through trade shows and chat boards. Mike added that it’s not a good idea to dismiss an affiliate because of his or her perceived size in the industry.

“Don’t discount the little people,” said Mike, who pointed out that some of his company’s best affiliates started off rather small.

Price then added that the best way to promote an affiliate program is to get people talking about it.

“Word of mouth advertising works better than anything else,” said Price.

Does the competition amongst affiliate programs ever get nasty?

“We’re all friends,” said Price. “I consider us friendly competitors.”

For more information on Internext Expo, please visit www.internext-expo.com.