Web Affiliate Marketing Blog

I’m one of those people who 9 times out of 10 doesn’t adapt to change. It’s not that I am afraid of change, it’s more a case of suffering bouts of serious CBA syndrome.

Recently I’ve been tempted to take another look at a few networks that I don’t make much use of, usually just adding a link here and there and not logging in for a further 3 months. This happened with LinkShare, however when I logged in the other week I was pleasantly surprised by not only the number of UK merchants they have, but also the names now on their books.

ABOUT LINKSHARE

LinkShare is the world’s largest affiliate network with over a decade of affliate marketing experience. LinkShare‘s client service is unique to the UK market and our UK partners are able to benefit from our global affiliate relationships, leading advertiser and publisher tools and the international experience the UK team offers.

Launched in August 2006, the LinkShare UK Network is partnered with a number of established UK retailers such as luxury online fashion retailer Net-A-Porter, global fashion and home furnishing brand Laura Ashley, luxury lingerie companies Figleaves and Myla, the iconic global fashion brand Kurt Geiger and popular fashion retailers Boden and Kew. Also recognizing the strength and opportunity offered by LinkShare UK are travel advertisers British Airways, Radisson Edwardian and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

I knew LinkShare had merchants such as Lego, House Of Fraser and UniQlo which as far as I’m aware, are exclusive to them, but upon further inspection I also noticed other merchants whom I already affiliate with via different networks such as FigLeaves, Avon and British Airways. This now means I have an option of which network I choose to send my links, for merchants I thought I previously had no other choice but one network.

Great news for all affiliates! :)

MERCHANTS
I’ve already mentioned some big named merchants above, but a quick look reveals other names available on the LinkShare network that I wasn’t aware of and you may not be aware of, include Cath Kidston, Elemis, Fleurop, French Connection, Goldsmiths, Koodos, Kurt Geiger, Laura Ashley, Links of London, Radisson and Starblu.

In total LinkShare manage 75 merchants of which 60 are open for application to all affiliates, the remainding 15 programmes are private and the account managers would contact affiliates to join. Rumour has it that there are quite a few more new programmes being added over the next few weeks, which is encouraging.

PAYMENT
LinkShare pay weekly based on a limit of commissions reached. The threshold isn’t £100 nor £50 but is set by the affiliate themselves! It is however worth noting that LinkShare only pay affiliates once the invoices have been settled with the merchants.

CONTACT
I deal with LinkShare mainly via email, but I’m glad to report that they are contactable on MSN for direct or urgent issues. Email’s originate from the account managers email address should you need to discuss communication further – none of this no-reply@…. rubbish!

You can speak to LinkShare at the forthcioming A4U Expo. Visit LinkShare at Stand 29 and tell them Frostie sent you ;)

Merchant pays Network late = Network pays Affiliate late = :(

We’ve all been there and we know this is the business model adopted by some of the larger networks, the ones who can afford not to adopt this model surprisingly. But what options are available to us affiliates who month in, month out, get let down?

Incase you hadn’t guessed, I am grumbling about TradeDoubler. For starters they pay monthly despite saying for a very long time, that they will be introducing bi-monthly payments and improving their payment process. I appreciate TradeDoubler aren’t only UK based, and any changes to payment processes may affect other countries and regions and therefore take time. However, since TradeDoubler have been saying they are improving their payment process (over 2 years to me), we have seen other networks introduce bi-monthly or even weekly payments, some of which operate in more than one country, so that excuse no longer stands.

What about the merchant? Should the merchants who constantly pay invoices late be penalised? To them it makes sense to keep hold of the money as long as possible, and if TradeDoubler don’t implement any penalties then what incentives is there for a merchant to pay on time?

There is no denying it that when it comes to linking to a merchant, payment does influence my decision. Wherever possible I move links to a network who pays bi-monthly, visibly and successfuly chases payment and pays affiliates whether or not the merchant has paid. However this isn’t always possible as some merchants are with a single network and therefore you have to sit and wait to be paid.

What can we do? Can we start charging interest on invoices that are outstanding where we should have received the monies owed? I don’t mind if it’s £10 here or there, but when you are talking over £1500, to a sole trader like myself, this is quite a sum of money that could have been heading off for re-investment in time for Christmas.

Would appreciate comments from those in the know, as to which networks offer what;

• Network Name
  (i.e. GoodNetwork)
• Payment
  (i.e. Bi-Monthly £50 minimum threshold)
• Invoicing
  (i.e. Payment not dependant on merchant paying invoices)