All the big product launches we get to hear about are done via a network of joint venture partners with large lists.
It is not uncommon for the same subscriber to be on several lists and hence receive emails about the same promotion from several joint venture partners or affiliates at the same time. When a sale happens, the big question becomes, which affiliate is entitled to receive the commission on it: The first one to deliver this offer to the prospect or the last one who sealed the deal and convinced the prospect to take action?
Either approach has positive and negative aspects.
The “first cookie wins” approach allows you to give your major partners an incentive to mail early and to create the momentum for your launch. However, smaller partners who find out about the launch or start promoting it late, will have little if any incentive to participate because a lot of their own subscribers would have been cookied but the larger affiliates. This also invites “black hat” tactics like “cookie stuffing” that some of the less scrupulous affiliates may turn to in order to gain advantage over other partners.
The “last cookie wins” approach seems the most fair. After all, it’s the affiliate that gets the sale who should get paid on it, right? So it is no surprise most affiliate tracking packages work according to this scenario. Obviously, it may be a little harder for you to recruit some of the big list owners as your partners as now they’d have to work harder to make their commission from your launch.
It is also possible to use a combination of the two approaches by using the “last cookie wins” for tracking but recording the affiliate ID along with the contact details for the prospect in your autoresponder. When you send out follow up emails, you can drop in the affiliate code of the original affiliate in the purchase link. In this case it’s the affiliate who generated the lead is the one that ultimately gets paid the commission.
Technorati Tags: product launch, affiliate management, affiliate tracking, joint ventures, Internet marketing
This is something I really need to look into once my own product is in a launchable state………….
Peter Davies recently posted..Reasons Why Email Marketing is Better Than Print Advertising
Twitter: alexmakarski
July 28, 2010 at 9:58 pm #
Peter, the hardest thing for many of us to learn is the concept of “good enough”. Maybe your product is already more “launchable” than you think
My view is that IM is now so competitive that if you want to be succesful then you have to raise the bar higher than others.
Especially if its your first time out there……..
Peter Davies recently posted..What Is Affiliate Marketing And What Are The Real Routes To Success
Twitter: alexmakarski
August 12, 2010 at 3:00 pm #
Much like in any business, the question is, what do you bring to the table? What makes you unique and special? If you business were to disappear tomorrow, what would be missing in this world?
Many people are lured into Internet Marketing by the promise of easy automated riches coming from pimping affiliate deals, only yo discover there is no easy, no automated, and no riches. Unless, of course, you can figure out a unique angle and bring a unique value to the marketplace. USP (Unique Selling Proposition) has been, is and will be the single most important factor of long-term success.
You’re right Alex- although the internet may give you more freedom to market your products, it is certainly not an easy option or a quick fix. As much, if not more effort needs to be put in in order to successfully promote products or services on line. Even if you are fortunate enough to have established a solid USP, there are no short cuts when it comes to advertising the fact. As long as sufficient research is undertaken and there is an awareness of the amount of work that must be put in it’s possible to use the internet to great advantage in business.
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