We are planning to aunch our affiliate program on Commission Junction (CJ) soon. According to our previous experience in Google Affiliate Network and Shareasale, I would like to talk about a few factors that need to be carefully considered for a B2B third-party trading website when launching affiliate program.
The fisrt factor that may limit the performance of our affiliate program is that not many publishers target the B2B wholesale area in the affiliate atmosphere. It is true that about 80% websites that we in-coporated with were B2C-based, most buyer's purchasing capability driven from these publishers are limited and not interested in bulk purchase. Further implications of this fact is that these publishers tend to understand how to attract individual consumers but got very narrow marketing mediums or ideas about bringing in business purchasers, which requires some input from our side. We may, however, even suggest that a certain web page or advertising space to be customized designed in order to adapt to our B2B kind banner ad.
The second element is the commission structure. Our website acts like a third party and only collect commission from buyers after their products have been sold. The nature of this type of business model brings the fact that percentage-based commission will not be favouable. Think about it, we get only about 12% commission from the total amount generated from a buyer's order, the 12% is the total money we earned and then how much we can distribute to our publishers will bring strong impact on our profit margin.
For now we will stick with pay-per-lead for out affiliate program, which means that commission will be made based on each sign up.
Mar 24, 2009
DHgate review: facts about buying on the site
As an online B2B wholesale marketplace,DHgate has recently gained far-ranging attention from online buyers all over the world for the low prices of products sold. Buyers from other countries can buy goods at great prices from Chinese providers via the marketplace. The company was established early in 2004 and is now the most important account of PayPal in Asia.
If you want to buy merchandise from the platform or want to make clear some interrogation concerning the reliability to buy on the platform, here are some facts about DHgate for your reference:
DHgate review 1. Before purchasing: Why there are voices such as “DHgate spams” or “DHgate frauds”?
DHgate is quite similar to platforms such as eBay. The difference is that the providers on DHgate are all Chinese and the products sold on DHgate are comparatively lower than other websites. However recently some accusations such as “DHgate frauds” or “DHgate fakes” have been made against the company.
In point of fact, DHgate only acts as the third party in transaction and helps relieve a variety of possible difficulties purchasers confront during transaction. DHgate does NOT sell any merchandise itself.
They have a seller evaluation system, which is an essential reference for buyers, especially those new buyers who do business on the site for the first time. When purchasing an item from a seller, do check the seller’s credibility presented by feedback scores. It is dangerous to purchase items from sellers with not good records.
To clear off counterfeits, DHgate has set some regulations to restrict sellers’ sales behavior. And a committee is established for auditing the sellers’ behavior on the website. The company has banned many stores recently to sweep out counterfeit goods. There will be severe punishment given to those improper behaviors. In reality, there is a very high threshold (the seller should submit his license, identity and other credentials for evaluation) for an applicant to register as a seller. If the seller’s store is banned because of his wrong behaviors, the seller have a great trouble, and will have a great difficulty to re-register the site.
DHgate review 2. After buying the products: Just in case that the products I purchased are counterfeits…
Sellers on the site are required to give accurate description of the products they sell. However, sometimes, the merchandise are not exactly as described.
The marketplace has a safe payment service which is named as Escrow. It first hold the money the seller paid for an item and release it to the seller until the buyer has examined the items he received and confirmed that they are OK.
It also supports payment methods such as PayPal.
The website acts as the third party throughout the transaction process. There is customer service staff giving the members some guide. In the event that something wrong happens to the transaction, for example the items are not exactly as the seller had described, or delivery delay, etc., the buyer can open a dispute or come to customer service group for help. Some standard work-flows to process common disputes already exist. Usually, a buyer just need to follow the steps and solve the problems all by himself. If the dispute is tough to resolve, the purchaser can escalate the dispute to customer service group. They coordinate the relationship between sellers and buyers, gives specific suggestions, and makes unprepossessed arbitration based upon the real situation
If you want to buy merchandise from the platform or want to make clear some interrogation concerning the reliability to buy on the platform, here are some facts about DHgate for your reference:
DHgate review 1. Before purchasing: Why there are voices such as “DHgate spams” or “DHgate frauds”?
DHgate is quite similar to platforms such as eBay. The difference is that the providers on DHgate are all Chinese and the products sold on DHgate are comparatively lower than other websites. However recently some accusations such as “DHgate frauds” or “DHgate fakes” have been made against the company.
In point of fact, DHgate only acts as the third party in transaction and helps relieve a variety of possible difficulties purchasers confront during transaction. DHgate does NOT sell any merchandise itself.
They have a seller evaluation system, which is an essential reference for buyers, especially those new buyers who do business on the site for the first time. When purchasing an item from a seller, do check the seller’s credibility presented by feedback scores. It is dangerous to purchase items from sellers with not good records.
To clear off counterfeits, DHgate has set some regulations to restrict sellers’ sales behavior. And a committee is established for auditing the sellers’ behavior on the website. The company has banned many stores recently to sweep out counterfeit goods. There will be severe punishment given to those improper behaviors. In reality, there is a very high threshold (the seller should submit his license, identity and other credentials for evaluation) for an applicant to register as a seller. If the seller’s store is banned because of his wrong behaviors, the seller have a great trouble, and will have a great difficulty to re-register the site.
DHgate review 2. After buying the products: Just in case that the products I purchased are counterfeits…
Sellers on the site are required to give accurate description of the products they sell. However, sometimes, the merchandise are not exactly as described.
The marketplace has a safe payment service which is named as Escrow. It first hold the money the seller paid for an item and release it to the seller until the buyer has examined the items he received and confirmed that they are OK.
It also supports payment methods such as PayPal.
The website acts as the third party throughout the transaction process. There is customer service staff giving the members some guide. In the event that something wrong happens to the transaction, for example the items are not exactly as the seller had described, or delivery delay, etc., the buyer can open a dispute or come to customer service group for help. Some standard work-flows to process common disputes already exist. Usually, a buyer just need to follow the steps and solve the problems all by himself. If the dispute is tough to resolve, the purchaser can escalate the dispute to customer service group. They coordinate the relationship between sellers and buyers, gives specific suggestions, and makes unprepossessed arbitration based upon the real situation
Mar 10, 2009
Affiliate marketing commission reviewed
The flat rate commission has been applied for about 4 months now and it looks ok in terms of brining in new buyers to our site.
Some of our publishers did not seem to get used to the tiered structure we offer on Google Affiliate Network. We used to break the sales order amount into different levels and assign a certain percentage of commission to each level. On top of that, the commission paid to each level will be different based on the type of the buyer, i.e new buyer or old buyer. For example, for sales above $500, if it was placed by a new buyer, we give publishers 3%, if that's an old buyer, then it would be 1.5% . While such structure can provide experienced publishers with enough guide regarding on which field they should focus in order to drive the most revenues based on their own capabilities, some new recruits got largely confused in our partnership.
Now for the flat rate commission, which offers fixed 3% sales commission to all publisher and an extra $10 to those bringing new buyers, the image is clear for publishers and also makes us (as a merchant) easily develops a non-confusing customized offering to our hard-working publishers. This means that we can increase either the sales commission rate or the fixed amount given for generating publishers for some top-performing publishers. In additon, I must submit that the general enquires about our commission structure from publishers seem to have dropped, which allows us to pay more attentions to other key elements in our affiliate program.
Wei
Some of our publishers did not seem to get used to the tiered structure we offer on Google Affiliate Network. We used to break the sales order amount into different levels and assign a certain percentage of commission to each level. On top of that, the commission paid to each level will be different based on the type of the buyer, i.e new buyer or old buyer. For example, for sales above $500, if it was placed by a new buyer, we give publishers 3%, if that's an old buyer, then it would be 1.5% . While such structure can provide experienced publishers with enough guide regarding on which field they should focus in order to drive the most revenues based on their own capabilities, some new recruits got largely confused in our partnership.
Now for the flat rate commission, which offers fixed 3% sales commission to all publisher and an extra $10 to those bringing new buyers, the image is clear for publishers and also makes us (as a merchant) easily develops a non-confusing customized offering to our hard-working publishers. This means that we can increase either the sales commission rate or the fixed amount given for generating publishers for some top-performing publishers. In additon, I must submit that the general enquires about our commission structure from publishers seem to have dropped, which allows us to pay more attentions to other key elements in our affiliate program.
Wei
Nov 25, 2008
Commission Structure Updated
I have finally finished the update of our commission structure. It has been changed from a tiered structure back to a flat rate again, but this time the difference is that we can add an extra fixed amount of money to those who bring in new buyers.
The reason behind such initiative is easy to understand, that is, to drive in more new buyers. When a company has an efficient clients service team, the focus on continuous growth in sales amount by using affiliate channels seems not to be aligned well with a company's expansion in a highly competitive market. Usually the accumulated sales figure has been largely contributed by old buyer who repeatably use coupons or other promotional incentives. In this case, affiliate should play an offensive role rather than a defensive one.
Although having been advised that separating new buyers and old buyers is not a common practice, I believe that the strategic focus of a company is the determining factor. A website's affiliate program is often a good reflection of the company's attitude towards its market.
The reason behind such initiative is easy to understand, that is, to drive in more new buyers. When a company has an efficient clients service team, the focus on continuous growth in sales amount by using affiliate channels seems not to be aligned well with a company's expansion in a highly competitive market. Usually the accumulated sales figure has been largely contributed by old buyer who repeatably use coupons or other promotional incentives. In this case, affiliate should play an offensive role rather than a defensive one.
Although having been advised that separating new buyers and old buyers is not a common practice, I believe that the strategic focus of a company is the determining factor. A website's affiliate program is often a good reflection of the company's attitude towards its market.
Nov 7, 2008
A chat with Performics
I was glad to have a nice chat through Webex with Chris and Jamie from Double Click Performics, now known as the Google Affiliate Network. I have been looking for such a good opportunity to have a closer contact with them. It appeares to me that a chat on the phone can really help us reslove some issues quickly. Several things were addressed, inlcuding the change in our commission structure, the overview of affiliates in North America etc. Some questions can be easily answered on the phone rather than sending each other e-mails. This helps us gain a better understanding of the affiliate climate in our targeted market.
Thanks, Chris, Jamie, and Webex :)
Thanks, Chris, Jamie, and Webex :)
Oct 22, 2008
Should merchants provide brand flexibility to publishers
Today's topic is rather interesting as this is the dilemma faced by many merchants.
Should I maintain strict control over the use of my brand and trademarks?
Strategy 1:
"No." Allow brand flexibility; extend full brand usage rights.
Pros:
* Empowered publishers will find many ways to drive conversions
* Maximum brand reach online
Cons:
* Risk of brand abuse when undesirable content frames your brand
* Altering of creative and destination URLs in ways that are inconsistent with your brand
Brand flexibility is good for advertisers who:
* Have sufficient resources for monitoring and branding education
* Have stringent publisher acceptance criteria
* Are looking to aggressively increase consumer acquisitions online
* Are looking to significantly increase the number of publishers in their program
* Are less sensitive to issues relating to usage of name, image and likeness
Strategy 2:
"Yes." Maintain brand sensitivity and control or limit usage of my trademarks.
Pros:
* Consistent brand message across all channels
* Protection of established image and brand messages
Cons:
* Loss of potential revenue from publishers who know how to convert
* Potential loss of paid search page real estate (to competitors or resellers)
* Brand control is good for advertisers who:
* Have a well-established brand and significant investment in brand positioning
* Have a brand requiring a very specific context for proper promotion, or may have contractual obligations to manufacturers from whom they license products
* Have marketing activities in multiple channels requiring coordination for consistency
How Your Brand Fuels Your Bank Account
If you are prepared to offer support to minimize branding abuse, it would be recommended that you allow publishers to use your brand and trademark materials to drive traffic and increase your return on investment (ROI).
Instead of excessive brand control, we suggest you shift your focus to monitoring and education to prevent brand misuse. Treat your publishers like an online sales force. If they are well-trained and have the right collateral and best practices to promote within the scope of your brand requirements, they can effectively market your program to consumers.
On the other hand, if you choose a strategy of tight control over your brand, you should use consistent promotions across all channels to reduce channel conflict; use the same offers and creative on your Web site, in stores, and in your affiliate marketing channel.
Because publishers typically misuse branded material only when they feel they are provided with insufficient tools, we suggest you compensate for strict usage terms by offering ample creative and tools. Provide enough links, options, and even data feeds (especially if you are a retailer) to support creative publishers. Also, think of boosting your commission payouts or incentives, because strict promotion rules can generate higher lifetime value traffic, which is worth additional compensation.
Should I maintain strict control over the use of my brand and trademarks?
Strategy 1:
"No." Allow brand flexibility; extend full brand usage rights.
Pros:
* Empowered publishers will find many ways to drive conversions
* Maximum brand reach online
Cons:
* Risk of brand abuse when undesirable content frames your brand
* Altering of creative and destination URLs in ways that are inconsistent with your brand
Brand flexibility is good for advertisers who:
* Have sufficient resources for monitoring and branding education
* Have stringent publisher acceptance criteria
* Are looking to aggressively increase consumer acquisitions online
* Are looking to significantly increase the number of publishers in their program
* Are less sensitive to issues relating to usage of name, image and likeness
Strategy 2:
"Yes." Maintain brand sensitivity and control or limit usage of my trademarks.
Pros:
* Consistent brand message across all channels
* Protection of established image and brand messages
Cons:
* Loss of potential revenue from publishers who know how to convert
* Potential loss of paid search page real estate (to competitors or resellers)
* Brand control is good for advertisers who:
* Have a well-established brand and significant investment in brand positioning
* Have a brand requiring a very specific context for proper promotion, or may have contractual obligations to manufacturers from whom they license products
* Have marketing activities in multiple channels requiring coordination for consistency
How Your Brand Fuels Your Bank Account
If you are prepared to offer support to minimize branding abuse, it would be recommended that you allow publishers to use your brand and trademark materials to drive traffic and increase your return on investment (ROI).
Instead of excessive brand control, we suggest you shift your focus to monitoring and education to prevent brand misuse. Treat your publishers like an online sales force. If they are well-trained and have the right collateral and best practices to promote within the scope of your brand requirements, they can effectively market your program to consumers.
On the other hand, if you choose a strategy of tight control over your brand, you should use consistent promotions across all channels to reduce channel conflict; use the same offers and creative on your Web site, in stores, and in your affiliate marketing channel.
Because publishers typically misuse branded material only when they feel they are provided with insufficient tools, we suggest you compensate for strict usage terms by offering ample creative and tools. Provide enough links, options, and even data feeds (especially if you are a retailer) to support creative publishers. Also, think of boosting your commission payouts or incentives, because strict promotion rules can generate higher lifetime value traffic, which is worth additional compensation.
Oct 20, 2008
General introduction to Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the most powerful ways to make money online today. There are plenty of affiliate marketing tips out there that will jump start your way into making over 6 figures a year just by selling other merchants products. If you do not know what affiliate marketing is, please let me explain. Affiliate marketing is when you sell someone else's product or service for a commission. You can sell someone else's product or service through your affiliate marketing website or through paid advertising. The e-commerce pionner The e-commerce pionner Amazon.com
is probably the first one that put this concept into practice. There are different ways for you to earn your commission:
Cost per click (CPC) - When a visitor clicks on the merchant advertisement and the affiliate get paid by per click.
Cost per lead (CPL) - Affiliate will get paid when the lead generated.
Cost per sale (CPS) - Affiliate will get paid when the sale generated (Maximum Earning Program)
Success in affiliate programs is not easy, affiliate marketing requires extremely hard work. There are many affiliate marketing help message boards around that will answer any questions regarding affiliate marketing that you may have. Once you find the right affiliate marketing niche, it is easy sailing from there.
You will need the following to be a successful affiliate marketer:
1. A Niche Affiliate Marketing Product-You need to find a product potential customer's NEED, not WANT. Your job is to bring the customer to the sales page and make them NEED the product and not just WANT it. Many customers see products all the time they want, but convincing them they NEED the product will lead to a affiliate marketing sale of up to 75%.
2. A Website- Now you do not need a high cost website, just something basic and neat. The purpose of your website is to offer some sort of review page, reviewing the affiliate marketing product of your choice. You need to show potential customers the benefits of your affiliate marketing product and why they need it.
3. Set up Paid Advertising- Go to Google and click on the AdWords section. You need to bid on keywords your potential customer will search for when searching for your affiliate marketing product. You don't want to spend to much money here and you may not need paid advertising, but it truly does help and lead to sales.
4. Article Writing-It's FREE! You need to write as many articles as you can inserting keywords on each article. You need to submit them to EzineArticles. I suggest you submit 50+ articles on any affiliate marketing product you choose.
Affiliate marketing can be one of the most profitable and low start-up costs businesses out there. There is nothing that compares to the benefits affiliate marketing can bring. In less than 4 hours, you can have a product that is already making sales with NO start-up costs.
is probably the first one that put this concept into practice. There are different ways for you to earn your commission:Cost per click (CPC) - When a visitor clicks on the merchant advertisement and the affiliate get paid by per click.
Cost per lead (CPL) - Affiliate will get paid when the lead generated.
Cost per sale (CPS) - Affiliate will get paid when the sale generated (Maximum Earning Program)
Success in affiliate programs is not easy, affiliate marketing requires extremely hard work. There are many affiliate marketing help message boards around that will answer any questions regarding affiliate marketing that you may have. Once you find the right affiliate marketing niche, it is easy sailing from there.
You will need the following to be a successful affiliate marketer:
1. A Niche Affiliate Marketing Product-You need to find a product potential customer's NEED, not WANT. Your job is to bring the customer to the sales page and make them NEED the product and not just WANT it. Many customers see products all the time they want, but convincing them they NEED the product will lead to a affiliate marketing sale of up to 75%.
2. A Website- Now you do not need a high cost website, just something basic and neat. The purpose of your website is to offer some sort of review page, reviewing the affiliate marketing product of your choice. You need to show potential customers the benefits of your affiliate marketing product and why they need it.
3. Set up Paid Advertising- Go to Google and click on the AdWords section. You need to bid on keywords your potential customer will search for when searching for your affiliate marketing product. You don't want to spend to much money here and you may not need paid advertising, but it truly does help and lead to sales.
4. Article Writing-It's FREE! You need to write as many articles as you can inserting keywords on each article. You need to submit them to EzineArticles. I suggest you submit 50+ articles on any affiliate marketing product you choose.
Affiliate marketing can be one of the most profitable and low start-up costs businesses out there. There is nothing that compares to the benefits affiliate marketing can bring. In less than 4 hours, you can have a product that is already making sales with NO start-up costs.
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