Have You Ditched Next Directory And Other Low Paying Programmes - Poll

[Elaine]

I am very interested in whether programmes which do substantially decrease their commissions do see a major down turn in their online presence - or, are some affiliates so apathetic that they simply 'tut' then carry on with the programmes regardless.

I am focussing on the Next programme, as I DID send quite an amount of traffic (more about this laters!), but this could equally apply to all programmes that have huge reversal rates - Shade Station, or introduce 0% commissions - Dixons.

[Alfie]

I'm usually a bit lazy with merchants that lower commissions, and as long as the campaign is profitable, then so be it.

However, i did remove Next - i just felt strongly about the way they chopped and changed commission rates.

Its a shame, because they converted really well - but at the end of the day, the final drop in commission meant that the traffic i was sending could be more profitable elsewhere.

I hope the program is reviewed and commission rates reset in the New Year!

[Elaine]

I cannot believe, on this paltry result, that 66% - two thirds - of affiliates are still promoting Next when they have reduced your earnings by 50%.

Some of you don't deserve to make a profit and maybe should stick/return to your full time job

or am I missing something?

[ian]

just changed the stats from 66% to 61% for you Elaine!

Stats might be slanted by the type of sites that pople run i.e. cashback or voucher sites. They aren't going to stop promoting a merchant if their visitors are asking for them. Factor in that a few of the realy active posters on a4u have these sites, and the results aren't unexpected.

2p deposited.

[Maxafi]

I still promote Next, for the following reasons;

- I can't 'not' have their feed on my system, If I didn't have them, I wouldn't be offering site visitors the broadest range available (and to qualify this, I also allow merchants without programs to upload their products).

- The program is still profitable for me. I evaluate a program based on it's ratio and conversion - if it drops below a certain pre-defined level, I begin to look into the amount of exposure they get (and reduce it if necessary).

- They didn't shut their program down completely for the 'busy' months, unlike some others.

Whenever a program reduces commissions like this, or does something else that isn't really positive, I also factor in other factors such as which network they're on - if they were on CJ for example, I'm far more likely to drop them.

I think it largely depends on the types of site being run. I might not promote Next on a blog, or add links to sites that don't have 'ready to buy' visitors. However, on price comparison sites, or discount code sites, not including them is basically cutting your nose off to spite your face.

[Jacqui]

I am still promoting it for all the reasons in Maxafi's post. Most of the places it is listed on my sites would have a big gap without them, and I would list them even if they didn't have an affiliate scheme, albeit lower down the page. However for the majority I also get a Next Directory sign up fee, so if you factor in the extra £8 on even a tiny sale it makes the overall commission look very nice indeed!

[Qui Gon Jinn]

However, on price comparison sites, or discount code sites, not including them is basically cutting your nose off to spite your face.

Though this merchant doesn't affect me ... by any affiliate suggesting that simply sets the continual precedence, that its a free for all & other merchants can to continue doing this. I am not having a go at you personally but you have to look beyond the short term & the actual long term ramifications ... & ... outside of the box for just a moment on any problematic merchants.

Networks too ... are just as guilty as they are either too scared to lose the client or that we all know other sycophantic networks will welcome them with open arms & embrace them who don't have the affiliates concerns at heart at all, by not envoking suitable contractual measures that are commonly discussed on the forum to protect affiliates, which should be standard practice measures in the first instance.

There is an inverted formula :

The Bigger The Merchant's Brand = The Smaller The Network's Gonads

Unfortunately there are only a few affiliates with decent sized wheelbarrows.



If a few merchants & networks don't respect the affiliate channel, then why should the affiliate mutually respect the merchant or network, before long ... as we are seeing already ... we'll have a free for all whereby anything goes because of self proclaimed profitablity when it's quite simple to seek alternatives.

That coupled with the abstinence of a number of affiliates from acting together as a community by them adopting a selfish, rather than selfless approach will allow further situations to occur & become worse.

Anyone is quite welcome to flame me.

But you made the decision ... you made your nest ... so lay in it ... but don't go running to mummy when it really does affect you.

P.S. The override from a decent Income Earning Affiliate probably equates to the income from the over ride from an Average Sized Merchant. Networks should maybe think about that for a moment.

[KevinEdwards]

As previously stated this merchant continues to cost in for many affiliates.

No one likes to see the reduction in commission (why should we? We're paid on a % of sale as well) but at 2% Next's online team have secured the open, unhindered running of the Retail programme for 2008.

I wonder whether there would be such an uproar about the campaign if Next paid 10% but converted at 1% with a 50% deletion rate?

No one is strong arming any affiliate to promote Next; the truth is clear that for many affiliates this is still a profitable campaign that brings in substantial sales unlike a number of other competitor merchants who pay more commission yet don't have anywhere near as good ROI.

We welcome constructive feedback and Next is aware of this thread and the current issues.

[Maxafi]

Paul,

I appreciate the points you make, and some are perfectly valid (IMO), however I would add the following;

- If as an affiliate your business is based around Landing Pages, Blogs or PPC then yes, commission drops are going to be a problem for you. In my opinion, the best way for such affiliates to react is to simply pull the campaigns and vote with your feet. I'm not convinced kicking up a fuss and 'ganging up' on a merchant it necessarily the right way to get a positive reaction. Pull the campaigns and hit their bottom line. Make them want your business.

- An affiliate whose activities work on a broader basis are effectively stuck with the commissions, because by not including them you're damaging your own business. Sure, you might not promote them as heavily, but you still have to include them.

The point I want to make is that if your goals are long-term, the priority has to be the site visitors - you have to give them the broadest range possible, even if that means you lose out on the odd occasion. You obviously don't want to make an overall loss though, so you need to find a way of trying to direct visitors to profitable avenues - you may, for example, put a banner for a competitor on a page covering Next, or compare the Next range against someone else. What you don't want it to find your visitors saying things like 'everyone knows x merchant has a better range of widgets, so why are they not here?'.

As I say, it comes down to your business model and goals at the end of the day. Build something with value, and merchants will want your business. If you don't add value, then why would a merchant want to bow to pressure?

[Elaine]

I wonder whether there would be such an uproar about the campaign if Next paid 10% but converted at 1% with a 50% deletion rate?

Yes there would, Kevin !

[KevinEdwards]

I can lay my hands on a handful of programmes with similar performance stats that no one has been particularly worried about enough to post about here.

As previously stated the decision has been made by Next, we support them and are looking to hopefully build stronger, individual affiliate relationships in 2008.

I welcome any affiliate to contact me directly to discuss further.

Thanks,

[Gavinio]

Let's not forget that every affiliate that decides to ditch profitable links on a principle frees up space for other affiliates to promote the merchant.

I'm sure Maxafi would be delighted if every other affiliate stopped promoting Next, or any other programme for that matter. Paul, it's entirely your perogative to ditch a programme that has a reduction in commissions, just as it's every other affiliates' to benefit from this, and to run what still may be for them a profitable programme (albeit maybe less so).

[Maxafi]

I'm sure Maxafi would be delighted if every other affiliate stopped promoting Next, or any other programme for that matter.

Quite the opposite, for 2 reasons;

- The more promotion a merchant gets, the more a visitor will recognise them - that helps conversions because there are still a lot of folk out there that won't buy from an unfamiliar store.

- If I was the only one left promoting a merchant, something tells me the programme wouldn't last much longer

Unless you do nothing but PPC, I see no benefit to be had by other affiliates dropping them.

[Gavinio]

Quite the opposite, for 2 reasons;

- The more promotion a merchant gets, the more a visitor will recognise them - that helps conversions because there are still a lot of folk out there that won't buy from an unfamiliar store.

- If I was the only one left promoting a merchant, something tells me the programme wouldn't last much longer

Unless you do nothing but PPC, I see no benefit to be had by other affiliates dropping them.

Point 2 is very valid - I'll give you that one! However I doubt Next would suddenly lose it's customer recognition if affiliates stopped promoting it.

Are you saying there's no competition in SEO or Voucher code sites then?

[Maxafi]

Point 2 is very valid - I'll give you that one! However I doubt Next would suddenly lose it's customer recognition if affiliates stopped promoting it.

Are you saying there's no competition in SEO or Voucher code sites then?

In terms of customer recognition, I was speaking more generically (as you mentioned 'or any other programme for that matter...') not specific to Next.

Of course there's competition in SEO and Voucher sites - but the lack of a programme shouldn't necessarily mean such sites wouldn't still promote them (in fact, in the case of voucher sites, the lack of a programme could be seen as a benefit from a traffic point of view).