Posts Tagged "Commission Junction"

Was 2008 A Bumper Year?

Posted on 2 Feb 2009 in Development | 9 comments

In the past, I’ve kept track as to the amount of sales I done on behalf of merchants purely out of interest. 2008 has been a good year mainly due to the introduction and focus on new sites, especially niche and seasonal ones, helping to bump up sales throughout the year.

Sadly the huge increase in sales, isn’t reflected in the same way when it comes to commissions. Trust me, I would be jumping for joy if I could say an average 10% commission was paid for each sale, and certainly would be giving up the day job!

Even so, it goes to show that us small affiliates (the ones that do it along side fulltime jobs, in our bedrooms) can still help companies achieve growths and profits.

So why the changes? Well once again a lot of it is down to my relationships with networks. CJ, who in the past I’ve found to be a bit of a faceless company, have made contact with me. Just having a contact on MSN (thanks Hildegunn) has driven me to look at and push their merchants a little more, resulting in a 426% increase.

Another possible reason is the introduction of a bi-weekly newsletter. After collecting email addresses since I care to remember, I never did a single thing with them. Now my newsletters are sent out every 2 weeks, pushing merchants who in turn offer me and my visitors something special.

All in all a good year, but I’m not holding out much hope for this year with the credit crunch, yet think Eco Friendly stuff maybe worth a punt.

Innovation At Last!

Posted on 28 Jan 2009 in Merchants | 4 comments

How often do you find a site you like and then Google it to see if there’s an affiliate programme? Personally I do it maybe once a week, and in the lead up to seasonal sales, possibly twice a week! After using Marks new website, Affiliate Merchants for a number of days, I think it’s something all us affiliates should offer our support to.

It’s not a completely new idea, infact it WebAffiliate started off listing merchants way back in 2001. Due to the manual update required it was scrapped pretty quickly. Affiliate Bounty then emerged as a solution, but again over recent months, has been pulled. Now we have Affiliate Merchants, the latest attempt at informing affiliates of all the programmes in the UK, available on all networks.

The site makes use of feeds from networks, meaning the updating should be a breeze (in theory). Mark’s website is new, and so modifications and additions will take place over time. Currently Affiliate Merchants doesn’t list ever merchant, due to not all networks supplying him with the information, but as a starting point, it’s definately one to have in your favourites or bookmarks.

The site is very easy to navigate and allows you to search for a merchant by name or category, something Kieron could have used only a few days ago when Figleaves pulled the plug and he asked the question about alternatives lingerie merchants.

Currently the information provided on each merchant is minimal, which in one respect is a refreshing change. I don’t want to know the merchants history as I can often find this out from their network signup page. Straight to the point info such as which network their with, the category, whether they have a feed or allow PPC is whats relayed currently. I have fed back to Mark that it maybe useful to include the commission levels offered by the merchant too.

I know DGM are actively seeking representation on the Affiliate Merchant Directory website, and hope the remaining networks such TD, CJ, Paid on Results and Affiliate Future are quick to follow. This could prove to be an invaluable resource if all networks contribute.

Take a look at http://www.affiliatemerchants.org.uk

And now for some good news!

Posted on 5 Mar 2008 in Merchants | 1 comment

Just a quick thankyou!

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their support regarding my last post. It really does show that this industry has now changed, where anyone who grumbles, gripe or groans are rightly afraid to do so in public. It’s understandable having seen the response I have received from Next!

I also appreciate all the MSN’s from other networks, agencies and merchants who have told me that they fully support my post, but are in a position where they are unable to back or comment on my post. Again this sums up the industry where people are afraid of the consequences of speaking out, even when its for the good of the industry and when they whole heartedly agree. Lets hope this changes – and quickly in order to have our ‘open and transparent’ industry back again!

Now the good news…. Hotel Chocolate

As we all know, March is the time to push Easter Eggs and Hotel Chocolate (CJ Network) have come up trumps! Not only are they running a daily competition over 2 weeks where you can win a range of chocolate goodies, but… wait for it… against the run of play, they are almost doubling their commissions too!

Easter Eggs sell themselves at this time of year as we all know, and it could have been so easy for Hotel Chocolate to reduce commissions or simply leave them at their current levels. However, Hotel Chocolate are showing that they really value their affiliates and the business that the affiliates drive to them, and out of respect have increased standard commission to a massive 12%!

It really is nice to see a merchant NOT taking advantage of affiliates by reducing commissions during different seasons. To reward their affiliates further, is a real turn up for the books and a very positive move. Now I just wish I had got round to developing my Easter themed domain in time in order to enter the competition. Maybe next year!