Posts Tagged "AWin"
Wickes – A Prize Worth Going For
Only minutes after writing a post about my trip to Barbados thanks to SunShine.co.uk and Affiliate Future, do I stumble across a thread over at A4U Forums detailing another affiliate incentive.
Again this is another beauty that’s well worth going for, and is achievable by everyone, not just ‘Super Affiliates’ or ‘Pretty Good Affiliates‘ 
The Prize
The prize is a brand new bathroom (fitting excluded as far as I can see) from Wickes. Obviously the merchant that’s offering the prize is Wickes themselves, managed by Equator via the Affiliate Window network.
How To Enter
All you have to do to gain entry to the prize draw is make a single Wickes bathroom sale over £200. Each affiliate can only have one entry, so once again the chances of winning are just as good for small new affiliates, as those larger more established ones.
Was It A Bank Holiday Or Something?
Once again merchants have missed the opportunity to make the most of bank holiday visitors to my website due to poor plannnig and communication of their special event and bank holiday sales.
I presume merchants have, somewhere in their offices, a calendar of sorts… it doesn’t have to be a special all singing all dancing calendar, just black and white or a simple photocopy will do! These low-tech gadgets tend to HIGHLIGHT when we have bank holidays in the UK and can be a very useful tool in planning ahead!
Sadly some merchants and/or account managers, have left it until the very last minute to inform affiliates about what special offers they have taking place this bank holiday. When a merchant knows something is being planned… you know like a Bank Holiday sale, why don’t they let us affiliates know in advance?
Merchants obviously have to prepare their back end for price changes, have to arrange with development teams the changes to the look and feel of graphics, and for those that have outlets, have to also prepare signage to be shown in shop windows. This is all prepared weeks in advance, yet when it comes to their business on the Internet, it is presumed we affiliates need nothing more than a couple of hours or in some cases minutes!
The problem is, what maybe some merchants don’t fully understand, is that I and other affiliates have what’s known in the trade as a newsletter. This newsletter is prepared a day or two before an event such as a bank holiday, in order that it gets sent out today. This way I can make the most of people who have registered their works email addresses, and gives them something to read waiting for the Friday 5pm bell to toll.
In order for a merchant to be listed in my newsletter, and others I guess, they need to have told me a day or two before what they have planned and have creatives (if required) in place. Failure to do so means that by the time you have sent me an email at 4pm on Friday afternoon, you have already missed the opportunity of being in my newsletter, and 9 times out of 10, I don’t have the inkling to update my site.
Now lets not be totally negative… Over the past few years things have improved immensley when it comes to providing seasonal information, allowing us to plan our sites and newsletter distributions. But there is still a lot of work to be done, in order for a merchant to make the most of what us affiliates have to offer.
HELP IS HERE
Any merchant without a calendar, pop over to Getting Personal and treat yourself… I’ve even managed to get you an exclusive £5 discount!
Other sites – don’t think about stealing this code you bstards!
Meet The REAL Merchants – Zak Edwards (Prezzybox) – #1 of #8
Following on from the successful series of interviews Kirsty ran with affiliates, and the reciprocal interview with the Haggis Muncher herself, I’ve interviewed a further 8 people in the industry and will be releasing them over the coming days.
The interviewees are from the 4 corners of the industry so as to provide a proportional representation of the industry, a better understanding of affiliates, agencies, merchants and networks and get to know some of the individuals behind the scenes a little better.
The first of the interviewees with Zak Edwards from the mighty Prezzybox (available on POR and Affiliate Window)…
How did you first hear about Affiliate Marketing?
To be honest I can’t quite remember (and no, I wasn’t drunk!). I think I’d approached a gent about linking to Prezzybox from their site. He said “of course I will, what affiliate network are you with” and it went from there.
The first network I spoke to were Affinity Ark I think (or Affiliate Button) and was given my first lesson by Julie Wood of AWIN fame.
What has been your career track and did it help your prepare for your current role?
Basically I did a degree in Law and Politics, then went to work for my Dad as a Sales Rep (selling Car Parts and Accessories). Whilst working for my Dad, I was sent to do an MBA to help add some structure to the company. During which time my old man chuffin flogged the company and I was duly the ultimatum by the new owners that I either a) could come back to work or b) I had to return my company car within the week. Charmin!
So, after I’d successfully sued them for Constructive Dismissal I thought right – “I don’t fancy working for anyone anymore, I’ll set up my own business”. That was just as the .com bubble was bursting. Great timing!!!
Would you ever consider moving over to the dark side and becoming an affiliate yourself one day?
Chuffin hell yesiree! I wished I’d have become an affiliate in 2000 rather than a merchant, I’m sure that I’d have been in a much better position than I am now.
In all seriousness what appeals to me about an Affiliate is that you are providing a service. Consequently you don’t handle two of the biggest problem areas in any retail business, namely customers and stock.
Stock can be a real headache for any business of any size. For example, we sell Paddling Pools. Because of the nature of the product you have to order these early in the Year. Last year, because of the heat wave in April, we ordered container-loads of Paddling Pools whilst rubbing our hands together in anticipation of “coining it in” after we sell all these pools. After the wettest Summer in human history, we’ve still got 75% of them and are having our rear ends firmly kicked on a regular basis by our warehouse who have to keep finding a place to house all these overstocked pools!!
Sat in a pub with your friends, how would you describe an average affiliate?
Ha ha – I see what you’re trying to do Mr Frost. You want me to come out with something derogatory involving the words Grubby or Pollutant.
No comment.
What aspects of the day to day running of Prezzybox are you personally responsible for?
To be honest Affiliate Marketing only takes up about 10% of my time at Prezzybox. The rest of the time I’m in charge of strategic direction and operations. So, basically I work on pushing through strategic changes and direction for the site.
What are the biggest changes you have seen since being involved in the industry?
Blimey. That’s a toughie.
I think the Affiliate Industry has really grown up (if that makes sense). When I first entered the Affiliate Arena (circa 2000) there was a handful of clever people making money – and some of them lots of it - from their bedrooms. It seemed to me that it was a fragmented cottage industry. Now, with the introduction of the Forum, the Expo and the expansion of the bigger networks, I feel the Affiliate Sector has really come of age in the last 2-3 years.
In an ideal world with no boundaries, what issue would you address first in the affiliate marketing world?
Another toughie!
If I could only address one issue, then I would introduce an Affiliate/Merchant Middle man. Kind of like some arbitration council. Basically if frustrates me when merchants get flamed on the forum. Don’t get me wrong sometimes they totally deserve it, but other times it is totally unwarranted. We’ve been flamed publicly before on the forum and it was a) totally unfounded and b) the affiliate hadn’t even had the decency to approach me about the issue first.
So, I’d introduce some form of Judge Judy to arbitrate.
In fact, I reckon we could have Judge Jules. She’d do a job!
How reliant is the internet on Google and is it a good thing?
Massively! A huge % of our sales come directly, or indirectly (through affiliates) are driven by Google. It actually scares me. If Google were to up sticks and leave overnight there would be a lot of poor people wondering round aimlessly with no work to do.
It makes me laugh actually, when people slag off Google. Especially some of the PPC affiliates. I find a strange sense of irony that they’re banging on about how much they dislike Google, then make most of their money through (Google) AdWords.
In 3 years time, how do you think the industry would have developed?
No idea. You think about it, 3 years ago there was no facebook, no myspace, relatively little broadband compared to now…. A lot can happen in 3 years.
However, for the sake of this interview to have a modicum a sensibility I shall try to answer…
I think Affiliate Marketing will have grown into 2 distinct camps – namely “corporate affiliates” and “hobbyist affiliates”. A number of decent sized Affiliate business’s have sprung up in the last few years – be there focus on PPC, SEO or whatever it may be – and I think this trend will continue.
I also think affiliates will have to be more adventurous and ingenious to make a dollar. There’s a lot of hypothesising that Google at some point “may” do away with affiliates as we know them and become an Affiliate themselves in their bid for World domination. If this happens then Affiliates will need to think of ways in which to work smarter. I’m sure both camps – the corporate affiliates and the hobbyist affiliates will do this.
Complete this sentence in no more than 25 words;
At the next A4U Expo I would….
put Zak Edwards presentation on at a different time to Lee “I’m so popular” McCoys Social Networking presentation in a bid to get more than one man and his dog to show up! (I’m not bitter – honest!).
To be honest I think the Expo was fantastic last time. Maybe more varied entertainment on the night would be my only addition.
Now its time for some quick fire either or….
Wembley or Twickneham
Wemb-er-ly every-time. I’m not a fan of Egg Chasing. I mean, how can it be a GOOD thing to kick a ball out of play and to only be allowed to pass it backwards???
Risotto or Roghan Josh
Never had either, but I’ll go for Risotto.
Hardcore or Winebar
Hardcore. Or for that matter any other form of building material.
Bill or Sergey
Who?
Burn It or Recycle It
Well – if you’re talking paper – recycle. If we’re talking cardboard – burn it.
2 Wheels or 4 Wheels
3 – the Reliant Robin hails from Tamworth where Prezzybox are housed.
Hotel with Spa or Backpacking
Hotel. Although when I see you I’ll tell you about my trip to Tea in the Park years ago. It’s a classic.
XBox or PlayStation
Currently PS2 although I’m thinking of getting a PS3. Any good?
Sun or Snow
Preferably both. Just come back from a skiing holiday where it was baking hot.
Frank Sinatra or Snoop Snoopity Doggity Dog
The snizzle bizzle.
At this point I expected the interview to end!
The word document that contained the questions I asked Zak, also had a list of names which I hoped to interview in the future. Zak, however, thought it was a continuation of the Either Or round of questions and has kindly answered as follows (it will also give you an idea of who I am hoping to interview in this series).
Agency – Sean (MVi) / Fiona (Eq8tr)
No idea. Both sound like smashing chappies.
Network – Hero (Webgains) / Mark (Existem)
Well Marks my Hero, so I’ll say both.
Merchant – Zak (Prezzybox) / Graham (BuyAGift)
Graham. Zak’s a buffoon.
Affiliate – Shane (Targeted Media) / John (Big Idea Media)
Woah – battle of the big guns!!! How come you’ve picked 2 middle aged, slightly balding and a little on the portly sized men for me to pick from??
Surely a simpler question to answer would have been:
Networks – the girls from AWIN topless mud wrestling with Carol from POR. Who’d win?
Again. No comment.
Thanks Zak!
Read MoreNext Affiliate Programme Is A Disgrace To This Industry
Next Affiliate Programme
You will not silence me!
… A bit of history
The Next Affiliate Programme joined Affiliate Window and at the time I thought what a great programme, managed by a great agency (MVi) available on a great network (AWin). Sadly, it didn’t perform as well as I had hoped, but still managed to push close to £250,000 sales their way last year. It was one of those programmes that ticked over by itself I guess.
… Where they went wrong
Sadly for Next, things started to go wrong the minute they were nominated (and went on to win) the 2007 Best New Merchant, and some affiliates have questioned whether their award should be revoked! That’s how strong the feeling is in the Affiliate Community towards this merchant. Sadly Next have their head buried in the sand as are not open to any constructive critisim and never discuss their programme. They obviously think they are too big to engage with affiliates!
Don’t get me wrong, the Affiliate Marketing industry is one I love, find challenging and have made some very good friends from all sides, merchants, affiliates, agencies and networks. However I feel that merchants such as Next don’t bring anything good to the table, and are only to happy to abuse the industry and those involved in it.
… Oblivious and in denial
If Next actually cared about their affiliate programme, or if the agency or networks promoting them had the balls to stand up to a big brand and educate them, then they would soon realise why there is so much ill feeling. For a network or agency to add Next to their books doesn’t impress me at all, as I dont see any contribution they have made over the past year worth noting. With their attitude to affiliates in the future (see below) I am not convinced that they are even willing to learn by their mistakes – yet they wanted to wipe the slate clean! Lets have a quick look at their achievemtns to date in the affiliate marketing industry;
In Summary;
- Next dropped commissions just in time for Christmas (see here)
- They moved from a perfectly good, proactive, agency and network citing they wished to “clear the slate” (see here)
- There was nothing wrong from an affiliate POV, with the agency or network involved at the time. If Next wanted to clear the slate, then they should have started in-house and not laid blame at other peoples doorsteps!
- Next bid on trademarks of their competitors (see here)
- Next do not honour their 7 day cookie upon transfer of network (see here)
… New developments
Over the weekend I applied to join Next via the Buy.At network. Why? Well because I have some good SEO’d pages out there in the wild, and I guessed it would be best to make use of them. Upon applying, I received an email from Buy.At asking me to complete an “Affiliate Application” form. It was sent under the pretense that Next want to ”get a better understanding of their affiliate base”! Sorry, but anyone falling for this bullshit is in LaLa land! Next don’t give a toss about their affiliates, they simply want to clamp down on anyone who has anything bad to say about them, any gripes or groans, or they just want an alternative way to screw affiliates even more!
Do you have a blog?
Do you PPC or SEO?
Do you own a voucher code website?
What business is it of Nexts whether I have a blog, whether I SEO or PPC my websites or whether I have a discount code website? They should only concern themselves with the website where I promote them to ensure I do not break any guidelines.
I replied to Buy.At that if they wanted me to answer their questionnaire then I would request that Next answered my own set of questions, to determine whether they were a merchant I wanted to associate myself and my websites with. Remember a partnership is a two way agreement. I stated that in my questionnaire I would be asking about the future of commission levels, the bidding on other merchants trademarks etc. I presume from the response, Next wouldn’t complete my questionnaire;
“I appreciate that you have had issues with Next in the past and have been quite vocal in your thoughts regarding their programmes. In light of this Next has decided that they would prefer not to work with you moving forward, particularly after your last blog entry.”
- presume you mean this blog entry, where I question their failure to honour sales within a cookie period, that in my eyes, amounts to theft!
OK, so to become an affiliate of Next you must NOT question their ethics, their business model or lack of morals. If you want to become a Next affiliate, you have to accept their decisions, conform to them, and never question anything. Basically become a nodding dog?
Sadly there are many nodding dogs out there in the Affiliate Marketing industry from all areas but I aint one. Some people will stoop to any level, given a back-hander or a favour and that leads me to question the future of this industry. Is it one I really want to be part of, yet continue to be disillusioned by?
Sadly I haven’t seen anything that Next have brought to this industry that they can hold their heads up high an be proud of. They have simply taken from affiliates, messed them around with changes in agencies, networks and commission structures and let them down by not honouring 7 cookie periods.
I sincerely hope this is a one off and no other merchants go down this route. In-fact Next could be held up as the prime example of how NOT to run an affiliate programme! I also hope in future, networks tell merchants who operate like this to sling their hook rather than focus on the £/$ a programme of this nature could generate for them. Get some balls!
Update
Just wanted to say thanks to everyones support on this. It’s a real eye opener to the numbers who are upset and dismayed at the Next affiliate programme, and their bully tactics. Sadly for Next the number of people who are pulling away from their programme as a result of this, is phenomenal. No affiliates want this to be seen by merchants as acceptable and I think if it’s allowed to continue, it could be a very bad precedent that’s set.
Merchant Traffic Light System – Good vs Bad
Welcome to my traffic light system.
Much has been said and written over the past few weeks when discussing how affiliate programmes should be managed if they’re to be successful. A few examples can be found here, over there and in that direction. This includes both inhouse and managed programmes. My traffic lights have arisen partly due to wishing to thank a few merchants, but also to highlighting the extremety between good and bad merchant.
IWOOT (Affiliate Window)
IWOOT, like many merchants, donated prizes for the Christmas Tree campaign ran by Affiliate Window. This generated a fair amount of buzz as it was a new idea and offered affiliates something for nothing. It also had the positive effect of making affiliates sit up and take notice of some merchants they may not have heard of. As a direct result I joined a handful who now feature on a number of my websites.
Gizoo (DGM)
Over the weekend, I received a personal letter, not email, from Gizoo via DGM thanking me for joining their programme when they first launched on DGM shortly before Christmas. Also enclosed was a small Solar Panel Charging Unit which could be used to charge a wide range of things including iPod, Mobile Phone, Bluetooth Earphone etc. As they showed their appreciation, their communication is good (direct and via network), comissions structure in line with others and they are receptive to creatives and suggestion, this is one programme I will pro-actively promote this year.
Currys (Affiliate Window)
An incentive was run at the end of 2007 (unbeknown to me) whereby a select number of best, new and improved affiliates have been offered a day out quad biking. Not only does this sound fun, it also gives affiliates the chance to meet and chat with Currys, increasing the likelihood of future working. Sadly I won’t be attending for the pure reason of location…. yeah, you guessed it….. down south! It turned from a nice prize/incentive, to something less attractive as travel and hotels would have cost over £200 
eSure (TradeDoubler)
I have to ask WHY WOULD I EVEN BOTHER?
Today I received a standard email from the dreaded NOREPLY email address, informing me that eSure were dropping me due to lack of sales and leads. How very proactive of the merchant and the network! If we look at this as a prime example, we see that as an affiliate I have a massive selection of insurers on other networks I can promote. Infact I am almost spoiled for choice. Why don’t the networks or the merchants take a proactive approach like other merchants have?
OK, so some of my examples mention prizes, gifts and incentives, however two of the most important factors to any affiliate are commission levels, and communication levels. Merchants have to remember that some affiliates could actually flog a chocolate tea pot to someone living in Egypt in the height of their summer. Infact some affiliates would be able to flog a ship load! The thing you have to ask yourself is are you the only chocolate tea pot producer?
If you’re not, then you like an affiliate, are fighting for sales over and above your competitors. Joe Public will choose an affiliates website that offers value as well as those that appear top 5 in google. Affiliates will choose merchants that also offer value, something of which they seem to forget. It doesn’t always have to be a free gift, it could be longer cookie length, unique discounts, increased commissions, regular communications or even something as simple as a variety of up to date banners!
If you don’t offer anything special, then why would I promote you above on of your competitors who does? In terms of managed programmes, you should also think about the network and account manager. Are they really delivering what you expected from them when they were pitching for your business?
Update
I received the following email from TradeDoubler today, and with their permission, agreed to post it:
Read MoreHi Chris,
Hope you are well.
I wanted to drop you a line in reference to your recent post on the
web affiliate blog.In order to ensure compliance with FSA regulations, Esure are
conducting a review of every site that has signed up to the affiliate
program since launch in 2002. As I’m sure you can understand this is a
mammoth task and as a first step we need to remove any affiliates who
have signed up to the program (maybe as long as 6 years ago) and are
not actively promoting the brands.We are of course eager to support those affiliates who are committed
to promoting the Esure brands and have therefore put in the measure of
contacting only those who have generated no unique visitors on the
program for the last 4 months. As an additional safeguard, we have
asked affiliates to email us back if they are intending to promote the
brands so that we can ensure their affiliation is not affected.I would like to reiterate that this email was not intended as notice
of termination and apologise if it has been construed as such.If you are interested in promoting the Esure brands then we would
welcome you to do so, please drop me a quick email back to confirm and
I will ensure that you’re affiliation is continued.I hope this clarifies our intentions, Esure is committed to the
affiliate channel and we would welcome any further feedback you have
on the programme. If you would like to discuss further please feel
free to give me a call.Kind regards,
Victoria McPherson
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