SHOPiMAR Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the best affiliate marketing forum to interact with merchants and affiliates.
We have been an active member of abestweb.com since 2003. See abestweb.com
Q. What are the top performance networks?
There are currently 5 Top Networks in the US. See top performance networks
Q. Can we have a program running on two separate networks at the same time?
Most often yes, but depending on how well managed your program is ( see next question below) and policed on both networks that you should have two programs running at same time. Also there are a few networks that do not allow dual running programs on other competing networks and usually require exclusive contracts.
Q. Is it true that there could be duplicate sales when running multiple networks?
Yes. This is often very true and most tricky part when running dual programs on two networks. Often when they are an in-house run program with own customized tracking software against a network software tracked program we have seen less problems with duplicate sales but they do still happen. It is usually a tracking pixel issue or a last cookie in, so if you understand cookies, tracking and shopping carts or have a good programmer then you may be safe.
Q. What are Standard Banners Sizes and Styles
The most popular banners are 468×60, 120×60, 120×90 or 125×125. New suggestions as of this writing 2012, are 300×250 and 160×600 see iab.net/guidelines and google.com/adsense
Q. How do I know if an affiliate program is right for my product or service?
Whether you have a product or service it’s really about how you create targeted traffic through the search engines and working daily on SEO and conversions and your own sales. There are many tools today that help you as a merchant make your store and site standout from the rest such as having proper product images and a good search, and you must use every available resource than you can and tools that will help you not only sell to your customers your products or service but also keep selling and motivating your customers to come in and shop. An affiliate program with affiliates on your side works hand in hand with the selling of your products or service, they will pre-sell your items for you daily with constant pre-sales content and promoting through their sites, blogs, email campaigns and ofcourse PPC (Pay Per Click), but ultimately when the customer lands on your site, they should be ready to buy.
Q. How can I start and manage my own affiliate program?
You can start your own program either in-house with software that calculates and tracks all affiliate links, banners and traffic and then generates commissions for you based on total sales or you can start on a network that does everything for your program keeping your accounting and developing costs low. The key is to not only start the program and always be recruiting affiliates in ways such as offering tools and bonus incentives, but you must daily, weekly and monthly talk to, manage, supervise and train affiliates to work and learn your products and service with you and help you sell your products or service to customers searching for your items online. An affiliate program never works on auto pilot or having the network just recruit, and you can either manage a program in-house or through a network, but you must always have someone work and help affiliates full time.
Q. How long would it take to start earning money from the affiliate program?
We have seen programs do well within six months and we have seen programs take years to develop a successful affiliate program. Affiliates will join your program constantly and see what you are offering as far as tools, incentives, bonuses and other customer focused promotions. But it’s never about what affiliates are doing, it’s about what you are doing on your own end and then communicate that to affiliates to help you sell it and find your program. If customers or online buyers are searching for ‘red apples from California’ it’s having that product on your store so that when affiliates pre-sell it they will find you.
Q. Ho can I become an affiliate. Where do I start?
There are many networks and many programs you can join usually for free as an affiliate. There are networks such as sharesale.com, cj.com, linkshare.com and performics.com that process your commissions, track the sales you make from those merchants and you as an affiliate for programs and stores such as walmart.com, target.com, cell.com, shoes.com, homedepot.com, zappos.com and so many others. You have to look first at where your abilities are and you strengths.
You can create one or two page domains that pre-sell one item or five and you can be successful and you can create whole search engines and customer focused coupon stores but it’s not just how good at building a site such as coupon site or datafeed site or shopping search engine is, but your skills such as with programming with PHP, ASP and others tools or do you like communicating through blogs, can you create simple html pages that copy insert code and links and banners. Look first at your strength and what is easy for you and what you want to build to keep customers coming back to you with a well organized site and start from there.
