Affiliate Networks or direct to company

[rudo1ph]

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Please can someone explain the difference between signing up with an affiliate network and signing up directly with a merchant?

Are there any pitfalls with either?

Will you earn more per lead / sale etc if you go directly to the merchant because there is no middle man to pay?

Are you protected at all if you go through a Network?

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

Rudi

[danielscharles]

Hello Rudi

As per my experience Sign up from direct merchant is more pofitable then sign up from a network.B'coz you have direct communication with merchant.

Thanks

[yesasia]

Sometimes direct to merchant will pay more (but not in our case). In our case we also pay by paypal for direct affiliates, which may be preferable to some.

The disadvantage is that you have to reach your minimum for payout for every single merchant, you have to log in each merchant's site to pick up banners and check your stats. Some affiliates also don't want to rely on the merchant's own tracking.

Payment protection depends on the network. Some will always pay the affiliate, and some will only do when the merchant pays them.

Stefan

[trigger571]

As was already said, some Merchants pay more commission if you go directly, than if you go through a merchant because there is the cost saving of the networks over-ride and monthly fee. In our case, we do pass this saving on to the affiliate but only after performance - i.e. an affiliate needs to show us they are taking the program seriously by bringing in a number of bookings.

Other Advantages:

* A direct relationship with the merchants in-house affiliate manager
* which normally means you get a better understanding of the products
* which means you will be in a better position to sell.
* working directly means you could benefit from exclusive tools such as API's.

Disadvantages:

* Some programs are run by affiliate managers who know nothing about affiliates - AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE!
* You will have multiple logins
* Lots of minimum payments which could be costly on deposits unless you use PayPal - Do your research before!

* TRUST - this is neither and advantage nor disadvantage. You will need to learn and understand very fast if you can trust your account manager and the tracking system.

[Hero]

tracking reliability, reporting accuracy & prompt payments are the main reasons why promoting a merchant through a network is preferred over joining the inhouse program.
Also, don't forget that most merchants run network programs alongside their inhouse, so as to benefit from the recruitment the network does for them. They will usually want to "test" you through the network program, before inviting you in the inhouse one....

[trigger571]

tracking reliability, reporting accuracy & prompt payments are the main reasons why promoting a merchant through a network is preferred over joining the inhouse program.

This is very true for some networks and not for others. Likewise it is very true for some merchants and not for others. There is a lot of information and many opinions on this forum about which networks can be trusted and which should not. Opinions vary, so do some research before joining any network or indipendant program.

[Yourslice]

I find I always get paid more and you can build a better relationship if you go direct.
Also if you need something doing it tends to get done quicker.

[Lee_Owen]

Direct is a nightmare unless you're going to do money for them, if you're niche and small then direct is best and if you have the memory to remember where all their sites are, the passwords, the checking of stats, the payment, however if you're into everything and doing things on your own, networks are far easier but it even becomes an hassle checking several networks.

I tend to move around a bit, I don't like TD much these days, rubbish interface, just can't get around it these days, unfortunately they've done a dgm, idiots. Not nice but it's true, why do they do it to themselves? All so the front page can look better so muck up the inside? Madness.

But yes if you're going to do the money with an independent then it's worthwhile the extra money otherwise you'll be forever waiting for payment, forgetting they are there, logging in all the time... it's not worth the hassle unless the money is there or you really want them and they're not on a network.

Personal choice + Personal need = you decide.

[Yourslice]

I have never had a problem being paid or paying my affiliates so long as there is an invoice it gets paid.

[Azam.net]

Each routes has its own advantages and disadvantages.

You will generally earn more if you go direct to a merchant. For example, WHSmith used to pay 10% on their independent program whereas when they moved onto TradeDoubler the commission plummeted to 7%.

There was an article a couple of weeks in the NMA about the increasing trend of super affiliates to go direct to merchant and this being a threat to networks.

The downside with going direct to merchant is there are more likely to be issues with tracking, payments etc. And also you have to get used to a different interface, linking format etc. with each one.

[Lee_Owen]

Yes I know your fighting angle, your slice, I was just giving my own opinion of managing 1200 merchants and figuring out which one will make me money and when and how on which network and what problems they're going to give me day in day out.

[Easily Does IT]

In terms of our Affiliate Scheme and my experience

Direct
- At the moment we pay better commission direct, with a special promotion of 25% on our Easily Website Creator Tool which is not available on the Network
- Our support system means that if you do have a question it comes direct to my PC and pops up on the screen so response is usually within an hour or 2

Network
- Is likely to be better for affiliates with massive number of links purely from a financial standpoint because you will only have to chase one company rather than multiple
- In the long term it is easier for a Merchant to manage a large number of affiliates through a Network

[marketraise int]

DIRECT MARKETING TECHNIQUES TO YOUR WEBSITE
FEW WAYS TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF UR WEBSITE USING DIRECT MARKETING
(1)Make it easy for a prospect to locate and gain access to a web response area.Web response forms allows prospects to potentiaaly qualify themselves.reinforcing the response area by providing links acroos the site provide multiple opportunities to respond.
(2)Cr8 a promotional area with special offers.Make sure this special offers change 4m time to time.Tie these offers with direct marketing campaign
(3)Place an onsite banner ad.An onsite banner ad is used to advertise and promote ur website on other peoples website
(4)Offer a free subscription letter to a online news paper on ur site (eg www.affiliatesdirectory.com)
(5)Drive traffic to ur website via traditional media.After investing on a website be sure to capitalize on its existence.then promote the website aggresively.If u have any special offers promote it on searchengines thereby drawing traffic to ur site.
thanking you
Best Regards,
Shuvayu
MarketRaise Corp.
marketraise2005@gmail.com
marketraise@marketraise.com