Just not competitive enough

Jul28

Just not competitive enough

Have just read some posts on the A4U forum regarding the launch of Orange mobile and am very concerned about the number of new programs launched with commission rates vastly below the market average.

Orange is a case in point. £20 per SALE. I know of many mobile phone programs paying £30 to £40 and then some per APPLICATION. So why should a seasoned affiliate advertise Orange on their site at such low levels? In my view they quite simply shouldn’t.

A similar instance occurred when Tesco broadband launched the other week with an opening CPA of £20 rising to £25. I know this area well and personally won’t touch anything less than £30 as a CPA. This is not down to arrogance but merely down to the huge amount of money I spend on ppc advertising. I genuinely can’t afford to promote anyone for less than £30 CPA. And that will only get you a low level listing. If you pay more you will get better results, simple as that. Some advertisers pay me a fixed monthly tenancy fee as well as CPA’s rising to £70. The thing is they still make a very good return from it so they are happy. The sad fact is that I won’t promote Tesco BB and I know of another very good affiliate site who won’t for the very same reason. They are quite literally missing out on thousands of sales per month.

I’m also beginning to wonder if the problem is really that the merchants simply aren’t aware of the market. If not, then why don’t the networks educate them? Well maybe they are just in a hurry to sign then up and will do at any cost? Who knows? Just speculating.

Or maybe the problem is that there are so many layers for the commission to be divvied up that by the time the affiliate gets is, it’s about 30% of the real value of the customer? Just think with an agency on board, and an affiliate network, is there that much left for the affiliate? Now I know that sometimes agencies aren’t paid a percentage of CPA but rather a monthly/yearly fee or whatever. But whatever way you look at it, the customer acquisition budget that the merchant has to be split 3 ways. Just something to consider I guess.

I have to say in all honesty that this in why in maybe 90% of occassions I will work direct with the merchant if at all possible. I have a few direct relationships on the go and each and every time I get paid a significant amount more than the public programs on the networks. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not network bashing as a couple of the networks and their respective staff are fantastic and I would do whatever I can to help them out. On the other hand some networks offer me no added value whatsoever.

Same applies for agencies, some are great but disappointingly I have come across a *lot* of poor ones. Case in point the other week. I got an email from an agency asking me if I would like to promote a certain merchant through a certain network and work closely with them. All well and good until I rang them and told them that I already promote that said merchant on that said network for over 2 years. Whats more, I am their top affiliate and am on a private tier etc etc. Doesn’t bode well does it? And as I say, this is not the first time this has happened.

What I’m listening to right now: Nivea - “Nivea”