Some of the big super affiliate comparison sites like MoneySupermarket etc. already charge advertisers a kings ransom to feature at the top of their comparison charts and in other well viewed positions but do us "normal" affiliates capitalise on this sort of revenue stream? To be honest I think there is a lot of opportunity to be had in this area. For example, when I was really active in the Broadband market and generating thousands of customers a month I used to earn 5 figures a month from tenancy and advertising fees alone. This was of course in addition to and CPA's I earned from driving customers. I generated this revenue by simply offering the top 3 positions in my comparison table available as well as a few banner slots. The thing was, that I actually had merchants queueing up to pay me this money and fill these slots. I could have sold them a few times over every month. Don't get me wrong, they only paid because the site received a lot of traffic and generated lots of customers. However I spoke to other affiliates in the same field with high traffic sites and they hadn't considered monetising their sites in this way.
It seems that we as affiliates are so set in our mindset of only getting paid on sales made, i.e. on results that we are becoming blinkered and can't see that we can make money via other ways. There are a lot of affiliate sites out there that totally dominate their niches and their only revenue is from either affiliate deals or AdSense etc. Maybe its time we all examined the market a bit more and asked our merchants if they would be prepared to sponsor your site or pay for additional exposure. I know that some comparison sites may be a bit nervous about potentially losing their independence or neutrality but there is no need to be. A listing fee for say a number 1 position needn't mean that you as an independent site are recommending a certain product/service, it simply means that they appear first in your chart or at the top of your page.
So there you go, that's my thought of the day, just an idea that stemmed from watching Lewis Hamilton put a watch on. Tenancy/sponsorship already takes place a lot on online gaming sites but I haven't seen much of it in other niches. Maybe you could try it on your sites? Let me know your thoughts below.
What I'm listening to right now: T-Pain - "Epiphany"Tenancy fees, listing fees and sponsorships. Other ways to monetise your sites
I've just finished watching the French Grand Prix (well done Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari) and was amused at the backstage camera shots of the 3 podium winners after the race. Basically you saw Kimi Raikkonen (1st), Felipe Massa (2nd) and Lewis Hamilton (3rd) getting ready behind the scenes before they go onto the podium to receive their trophies. First they are given a towel to dry their faces and some bottled water to cool down, then they are all handed their baseball caps which are covered in the logos of their sponsors, then finally Lewis Hamilton is handed a Tag Heuer Formula 1 watch to wear. It was all done very casually, as if putting a new watch on to receive a trophy was the most natural thing in the world, and it got me thinking about the world of sponsorship and the money available from the big and not so big brands.
Some of the big super affiliate comparison sites like MoneySupermarket etc. already charge advertisers a kings ransom to feature at the top of their comparison charts and in other well viewed positions but do us "normal" affiliates capitalise on this sort of revenue stream? To be honest I think there is a lot of opportunity to be had in this area. For example, when I was really active in the Broadband market and generating thousands of customers a month I used to earn 5 figures a month from tenancy and advertising fees alone. This was of course in addition to and CPA's I earned from driving customers. I generated this revenue by simply offering the top 3 positions in my comparison table available as well as a few banner slots. The thing was, that I actually had merchants queueing up to pay me this money and fill these slots. I could have sold them a few times over every month. Don't get me wrong, they only paid because the site received a lot of traffic and generated lots of customers. However I spoke to other affiliates in the same field with high traffic sites and they hadn't considered monetising their sites in this way.
It seems that we as affiliates are so set in our mindset of only getting paid on sales made, i.e. on results that we are becoming blinkered and can't see that we can make money via other ways. There are a lot of affiliate sites out there that totally dominate their niches and their only revenue is from either affiliate deals or AdSense etc. Maybe its time we all examined the market a bit more and asked our merchants if they would be prepared to sponsor your site or pay for additional exposure. I know that some comparison sites may be a bit nervous about potentially losing their independence or neutrality but there is no need to be. A listing fee for say a number 1 position needn't mean that you as an independent site are recommending a certain product/service, it simply means that they appear first in your chart or at the top of your page.
So there you go, that's my thought of the day, just an idea that stemmed from watching Lewis Hamilton put a watch on. Tenancy/sponsorship already takes place a lot on online gaming sites but I haven't seen much of it in other niches. Maybe you could try it on your sites? Let me know your thoughts below.
What I'm listening to right now: T-Pain - "Epiphany"
Some of the big super affiliate comparison sites like MoneySupermarket etc. already charge advertisers a kings ransom to feature at the top of their comparison charts and in other well viewed positions but do us "normal" affiliates capitalise on this sort of revenue stream? To be honest I think there is a lot of opportunity to be had in this area. For example, when I was really active in the Broadband market and generating thousands of customers a month I used to earn 5 figures a month from tenancy and advertising fees alone. This was of course in addition to and CPA's I earned from driving customers. I generated this revenue by simply offering the top 3 positions in my comparison table available as well as a few banner slots. The thing was, that I actually had merchants queueing up to pay me this money and fill these slots. I could have sold them a few times over every month. Don't get me wrong, they only paid because the site received a lot of traffic and generated lots of customers. However I spoke to other affiliates in the same field with high traffic sites and they hadn't considered monetising their sites in this way.
It seems that we as affiliates are so set in our mindset of only getting paid on sales made, i.e. on results that we are becoming blinkered and can't see that we can make money via other ways. There are a lot of affiliate sites out there that totally dominate their niches and their only revenue is from either affiliate deals or AdSense etc. Maybe its time we all examined the market a bit more and asked our merchants if they would be prepared to sponsor your site or pay for additional exposure. I know that some comparison sites may be a bit nervous about potentially losing their independence or neutrality but there is no need to be. A listing fee for say a number 1 position needn't mean that you as an independent site are recommending a certain product/service, it simply means that they appear first in your chart or at the top of your page.
So there you go, that's my thought of the day, just an idea that stemmed from watching Lewis Hamilton put a watch on. Tenancy/sponsorship already takes place a lot on online gaming sites but I haven't seen much of it in other niches. Maybe you could try it on your sites? Let me know your thoughts below.
What I'm listening to right now: T-Pain - "Epiphany"
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6 Responses to Tenancy fees, listing fees and sponsorships. Other ways to monetise your sites
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about me
Welcome to my blog. My name is Kieron Donoghue and I am the founder of ShareMyPlaylists.com, ContentNow.co.uk and some other stuff. I have no idea why I'm blue on this photo though but I like it!
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When my site Befuddle was attracting 125,000 unique visitors a day in late 2003, I had advertisers fighting to have just a text link at the top of my pages.
I charged £250/$500 a day! Great days
Good point, affiliates need to think out of the box and realise there are ways other than CPA to generate money from their websites.
Talking of Formula 1, I had a memorable incidence once. About eight years ago I was staying in a flat in Heidelberg, Germany and guess who should move into the flat above me? One of those girls whose job it was to stand on the podium with the winners. She was stunning. She came to my flat to say ‘hi’ to me and, after we chatted for a while, said she was going out that evening and whether I’d like to go with her. I said “all right”. A few hours later she comes knocking on my door. I open it and she is all dolled up, with a microskirt which is barely 30 centimetres long. And what do I do? I tell her “I’m sorry something’s turned up” and… I go back to my computer! Is that dedication to affiliate marketing or is that dedication to affiliate marketing?
Ha Nadeem, nice story!
Kieron, really interesting points you’ve raised and, as always, a good post. However, when describing your broadband site you used the past tense. Is this because you’re not very active in that market any more or because you’ve stopped charging for those spots?
Also, is there a rough model/guide to follow when deciding a pricing structure for the paid placements?
Ryan, I still have my broadband sites but I don’t drive traffic to them any more via PPC – too expensive. As a rough guide, work out a CPM, i.e. how much you would charge for 1000 ad impressions. Average for generic traffic would be £2 to £5. Then for niche sites maybe go up to £10 and beyond. As usual though this depends on the profitibality of the niche and what sector it is in etc.
Thanks for the reply, Kieron. The CPM model is very logical, thanks.
I guess I’ve been under the impression that you more or less exclusively drove traffic to your sites via PPC, so I understand now it why was the past tense. As much as it’s possible to master anything in this industry, I do feel that I’m very close to that with PPC but sadly my SEO/link-building skills aren’t yet up to scratch. Still, one day eh?
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