BUSINESS THREADS

Is the cash cow of affiliate programs dying? How can you diversify your sites so that you don’t have to rely on traditional and outmoded affiliate programs? These questions and more were answered in the seminar, “The Lowdown on Affiliate Programs.” Clearing the picture for webmasters in attendance were the panelists, Scott Schalin (former Hustler editor, President of iGallery); David Schlesinger (Vice President of Marketing, Vivid Video), Colin Rowntree (Wasteland, Inc.) and David van der Poel (Python Communications).BUSINESS THREADS

Is the cash cow of affiliate programs dying? How can you diversify your sites so that you don’t have to rely on traditional and outmoded affiliate programs? These questions and more were answered in the seminar, “The Lowdown on Affiliate Programs.” Clearing the picture for webmasters in attendance were the panelists, Scott Schalin (former Hustler editor, President of iGallery); David Schlesinger (Vice President of Marketing, Vivid Video), Colin Rowntree (Wasteland, Inc.) and David van der Poel (Python Communications).

Cost per click has begun to fade from the industry. Although there are still many programs relying on cost per click, revenue share programs are becoming more popular. The formula is simple: a webmaster gets paid when the affiliate gets paid. Is there still a need for pay per signup programs? Not according to some of the panelists, including David van der Poel. Rev-share programs result in higher profitability, he stated, so the advice to webmasters was to go with the rev-share model for the long term. The overall premise was that click-through (CPM) methods are outdated and rev-share programs are in.

According to Scott Schalin, in the past, conversions were easy; however, these days, surfers are smarter. Due to excessive chargebacks and other factors, the pay per signup model will give way to the pay per active member model. To maximize your retention rate, argued Schalin, keep in mind that content is still king.

Colin Rowntree told webmasters that he doesn’t want their junk, non-converting traffic. He advised webmasters to select different affiliate programs, analyze conversion rates, and see how the stats are set up. For example, how does your page 1 sign up rate compare to that on page 2? If you get a traffic broker and acquire some non-adult revenue sources, suggested Rowntree, you can stay ahead of the innovation curve in regards to affiliate programs.

Designing new banners and updating them on your site offering hard-to-refuse deals can help counteract the ineffectiveness of Internet ads, suggested David van der Poel. David Schlesinger advocated including non-adult sections for cost-per-acquisition sales. One example he offered was to place a sports ticker on the bottom of your site.

Schlesinger told webmasters to get the chargebacks down however possible because the credit card companies “aren’t interested in being our friends,” to put it lightly. Therefore, webmasters need to be innovative with their marketing concepts. Schlesinger also advised webmasters to redefine their business strategy every six months because the industry is that prone to change.

Rowntree suggested adopting a policy of truth in advertising with your affiliate sites. The result, he said, would be more qualifying and quality traffic. Don’t mislead your affiliates or your surfers.

Choosing an affiliate with lots of bandwidth capability is also a wise move that the panelists advocated. If you align yourself with a site that has solid high-bandwidth content, the surfer retention rates will be much higher and there will be less chargebacks. Even if most of your customers don’t have high bandwidth access, choosing a rev share program that has a loyal, high-bandwidth following can help to increase the number of quality members that visit your site.

Consulting a knowledgeable person about a specific affiliate program is always a good idea instead of diving head first into one, advised the panelists. Read what people are saying about the affiliate in question on webmaster resources (such as the YNOTmasters.com General Chat board).

Although there have been lowered sponsor payouts, hence the question, “Is the cash cow (affiliate programs) dead?”, the number of come and go affiliates are on the decline (thankfully), and as billing solutions become more viable and popular (i.e. Euro payments), those lowered payouts will likely start rising again.

And don’t forget to read all the terms and conditions carefully for every affiliate program you align with!