Affiliate Program Survey Results, Part I (continued, part 2)
The most profitable site polled was the 1 site that responded that
they had integrated the affiliate program directly into the content
of their site. The program: One
and Only Internet Personals, which also happened to be the only
one they promoted. Their site is a prime example of how creating
a branded version of an affiliate program can be a successful strategy.
Of course, this type of setup also requires the most work on your
part, but the rewards can be excellent if it is well done.
Another interesting trend, looking at the sites that mainly promoted pay-per-sale and pay-per-lead, there was almost a direct correlation between the programs that promoted using text links, testimonials and email newsletters as being more profitable than those that mainly used banner ads. Of course, several of the sites that mainly promoted pay-per-click programs were doing quite well earning more than the average pay-per-sale site using exclusively banner ads.
Another interesting tidbit: the one site that responded that they were promoting 10 or more programs (actually I think they were promoting 14), was indeed one of the sites that reported less than $50 in monthly income. Although this is somewhat anecdotal given the small scale of this survey, I think a larger poll would show similar results, that a large number of affiliate partnerships often decreases their overall effectiveness. It can even potentially drive visitors away from your site if it is loaded down with graphical links.
So, what can we learn from this? There didn't seem to be a definite winner between pay-per-click, pay-per-lead and pay-per-sale. There were sites that performed well, and performed poorly for all three. So, the results you see from these different types of programs will be determined by your web site and the number and type of visitors you receive.
We can also learn that banners are generally not the most effective means to promote pay-per-sale or pay-per-lead programs. And, signing up for every program you can, and filling your site with links and ads, is not the most effective route. Carefully planning which programs to join, and then integrating them strategically into your web site will result in much greater dividends.
Stayed tuned for the next article where I will share the second half of the survey results.
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