30 Dec 08 A quick review of my affiliate success in 2008
I thought it was time I had a look at the types of affiliate programs which are working well for me. I have to admit to having limited success with some – and some much more positive results with others.
- I have had best success by promoting physical products. As I run a store in Helensburgh, I guess I understand more about this than anything else. This is definitely my comfort zone. There are some great affiliate networks out there and some fabulous tools to take advantage of the earning opportunities.
- I have had limited success with ebook marketing – BUT until recently, I didn’t have a product of my own. Now that I have my own ebook, I am working at setting it up so that I can build my own affiliate network. This is a complete change in emphasis and so I am going through all the hesitation and indecision which no doubt affects us all from time to time.
- Promoting high ticket items?? I should do more of this. I keep putting obstacles in my own way, because I always feel easier about marketing something which I own myself. This is more or less what I was describing in relation to ebook marketing.
Which affiliate networks have got my attention?
Well, one program which has done quite well for me (despite frustrations of one kind or another) is the eBay Affiliate Program – details of the affiliate program are at the foot of the page. I use eBay to sell some of our own products – and so I understand how powerful this marketplace can be.
The frustrations of the eBay program are to do with tracking issues (ok, this probably occurs in other affiliate commission networks). I also get frustrated that I can drive traffic to auctions using various strategies only to have my commission redirected to some other site (eg auctiva or onecause – although there are other services which do the same).
I have had some good success with the shareasale network – physical products to promote, some great merchants – and some very useful tools provided which make promotions fairly easy. Also, Shareasale will direct deposit into my bank account with no fuss. (In the electronic era, it can be frustrating to have to bank cheques when a machine can do it for you.)
Among the tools offered by shareasale is their “make a page” section which pulls product information already formatted with your affiliate link – and you can safely copy and paste this information into a web page. I also like (and use) the datafeed section – although I have to learn a few more bits and pieces to take full advantage of this one.
In the months to come, I am considering building an affiliate program for my Scottish Gift Shop and Shareasale is in the running for this.
I also like Commission Junction – for banners and text links – but I long for the day when they provide a similar datafeed service to Shareasale 
– although using Popshops is also a possibility.
My google adsense earning fluctuates widely. Because of this, I am now putting less adsense code into my sites and am finding other ways to market and monetise them.
All in all, I have had quite good experiences with the networks I promote. I am looking forward to next year as I know that people will still be shopping online and will still be looking for coupon codes, bargains and special offers.
Margaret
