A New Concept in Affiliate Marketing - I Think

[Markit]

Hello all you marketeers and Webmasters (if you think this post is in the wrong place feel free to move it - I'm after good advice, not coverage).

Well I'll dive right in at the deep end for my first posting here: I have developed a stand-alone, down-loadable, rich media viewing module aimed at the property/estate agency market. In short, interested home buyers can download a module with video, still images, floor plans, music and last but by no means least a dedicated web browser. And that, kind people is where you all come in.....cause the web browser will have affiliate links on it. Now what I need to understand/know is when this module is downloaded to the users/viewers local PC he or she (women love this thing) will be viewing my affiliates not as normal from or via a website but from their own PC -

1) does this have any technical implications?
2) can anyone recommend an affiliate company that is dependable and interested in aquiring many new merchants? Each estate agency will be "sponsoring" the customisation of the module - with their logo and choice of affiliate merchants for the viewers to visit - something along the housing line such as mortgage lenders, removal companies, decorators, etc.

I am very interested in starting a conversation with someone from this forum who is knowledgable and willing to share this with a "newby". Oh, and if you would like visit the website and have a look at the future of property sales online:
http://www.windowontheworld-property.co.uk/index.html

Go to the contact/download page for the module and enjoy.

Thanks in advance
Mark

[stevenm]

No offence but the demo is 64mb in size and on 1mb broadband it takes longer than I would wait to download. From your description it just sounds like a Flash presentation in executable format...or am I missing something fundamental here?

Steven

[Markit]

Flash it isn't but it is an executable download - and I take on-board the size of the download but bearing in mind that most of the traffic on the internet is downloading of porn movies (all those that haven't waited for hours for some "special" movie to download raise both hands) I think and hope that that should not be too much of a downer. Please also bear in mind that the humble 1 Meg/sec broadband speed is fast becoming a thing of the past and that most people in Europe and the US now have up to 8M available with soon to be 25 to 50M speeds atainable with new adsl2 technologies.

Please persist in the download - it normally only takes about 15 minutes with 1M/sec broadband and tell me what you think.

Best regards
Mark

[km8]

Originally Posted by Markit Flash it isn't but it is an executable download - and I take on-board the size of the download but bearing in mind that most of the traffic on the internet is downloading of porn movies (all those that haven't waited for hours for some "special" movie to download raise both hands) I think and hope that that should not be too much of a downer. Please also bear in mind that the humble 1 Meg/sec broadband speed is fast becoming a thing of the past and that most people in Europe and the US now have up to 8M available with soon to be 25 to 50M speeds atainable with new adsl2 technologies. Please persist in the download - it normally only takes about 15 minutes with 1M/sec broadband and tell me what you think. Best regards Mark

Both hands raised!
I know a bit about Real Estate on the net but I didn't (and won't) download it because:

- It's just way, way too big even on a DSL connection.
- If I'm interested in a shortlist of 6 properties, I'm not going to download 360 MB, even on DSL.
- I've been there with viruses, spyware and adware and so I rarely download executables and never without a very compelling reason.
- I think the idea is good but way too complicated for the average punter
- Your DSL comments above suggest you don't live in the same world as I do. Most people don't even have DSL yet, never mind 8Mb connections.
- Your opening line was "Hello all you marketeers and Webmasters (... I'm after good advice, not coverage)." yet you don't appear very open to advice.

All that said, I'll offer some advice for what it's worth.
Estate Agents don't/won't want to do all that work. You're offering them a tool - you'd do better offering them a solution. You do the legwork on affiliate deals etc, and offer them a readymade solution.

Please don't read this as an attack on your product - it's intended to be the sort of advice you asked for.

[Shine]

km8, any chance you could clear some PM space or let me have an email address? I'm after a bit of advice on some property marketing? Hope you can help?

Thanks

[Hari Seldon]

Originally Posted by Markit I take on-board the size of the download but bearing in mind that most of the traffic on the internet is downloading of porn movies (all those that haven't waited for hours for some "special" movie to download raise both hands)

Two hands raised here also, I've never in my life downloaded anything approaching 60MB and can't imagine many people would be prepared to do so with current technology.

For the benefit of feedback to you I did start the download and after 5 mins Windows was still reporting 25 to 30 mins to go - far, far too long for anyone to wait.

Add in that this is an executable and I think you've got your work cut out marketing this idea.

Sorry to be so negative but I think you need to revisit your basic idea, maybe you can emulate the idea in Flash in a normal web browser?

[km8]

Originally Posted by Shine km8, any chance you could clear some PM space or let me have an email address? I'm after a bit of advice on some property marketing? Hope you can help? Thanks

Oops! "144 message stored of 50 allowed" - looks like somebody changed the quota.

Lots of PM space now.

[pricethat]

I Have shiny fast 8Mbit connection plus a 3Mbit just for a laugh and i cant be assed either, not because its that big on my connection speed, just cant be bothered. Plus i would never download an executable.

I unlike the average consumer am not scared of virus or spyware/adware as i make sure i dont have anything on my machine that important at any one time, but i still cant be assed to fix knackered machines all the time.

A little tip for you, why do you not make a self updating package. a lot more peopel will probably download it if it is 1 or 2mb in size, then get it to connect for updates after its finished. Also the live update feature will help you improve things and update peoples machines in the future as well.

Seperately 60mb is too much for an application, what the hell are you running? a whole operating system fits on a 700mb disc, you cant be offering as much functions as 10th of an operating system, ok its about 600mb archived so why dont you learn a little more about compression technology as well?

Hope thats food for thought, but it sounds like your already ready to go with your ideas already. Take a step back while you at this stage, its too big, no one on the net asks you to download 60mb for toolbars, plugins and other things, sure its accepted 60mb is normal for small videos and things, so what, thats a video!

[Pete Taylor]

Originally Posted by km8 Oops! "144 message stored of 50 allowed" - looks like somebody changed the quota. Lots of PM space now.

That caught me out last week!

[andysears]

After 5 minutes, still reporting over an hour to complete download. 512 connection, (thats all we can get here and that was a push). It isn't going to happen, the i-Spy360 panoramas with floor plans load up much quicker, and do not require the massive download to start with.

[Markit]

First off, many thanks for taking your valuable time to look at and critique my humble submission, I'm just sorry from all those that thought it worth replying that, apparently, none thought it worth downloading the module to first find out what they were talking about......... This is the major problem with the construct and business idea - the thought that spending 20 minutes downloading something other than free music/porn isn't worth the effort. Now if people want to go and view a house they will take hours preparing and walk in the door and within the first 5 minutes decide that it's all wrong because of the view out the back window or the size of the living room or because the couch suite is the wrong colour (yes, strangely enough, people will buy or not according to the owners furniture taste).

I wonder also if the forum interest would have been different if any of you were looking for a house in the relevant area? Also, it is worth noting that at any time there are between 3 and 7 differnt "house" programs on the main channels - the interest is there for looking at houses but not, apparently, amongst online marketeers.

For the good advice concerning estate agents and their "solution" needs - had you viewed the module you would have seen that it is the solution that the agents need and has been constructed with their close cooperation along the way.

The main problem that all online marketing of any sort has is viewer distraction (I'm sure there is a great "marketing" name - I just don't know it) - I have tried to countered this lack of vie