[Sami B - Uncommon Goods]

Our program has been around for many years, so the number of affiliates would make many of our competitors envious. But, like it's the case with many other programs, a very low percentage of affiliate actually sending clicks and sales.

I want to change that and I know some of the affiliates who are inactive in my program actually successful affiliates promoting other merchants. So, there is a big potential for them and for us in an activated partneship. I tried e-mailing inactive affiliates with offers and links, and also tried offering a bonus program for all affiliates, and I am seeing decent progress.

But, to make my efforts more effective I would like to know the reasons why affiliates are NOT promoting a merchant that they are currently accepted in its program. Also, please feel free to make any additions to this thread for more clarification.

[lstolze]

It's really hard to pick one of those. Each merchant I don't promote brings to mind a different reason. Many I signed up for hoping to get a particular niche site together for - but now I have no time to start the site I had in mind. Others I find lacking in communication and tools, and still others I really do plan on promoting, but just haven't got around to it.

Lisa

Edit to add - Maybe you should have an 'All of the above' choice.

[Ebudae]

I wasn't sure if I Had joined or not, lol. So I went and looked at your site - neat stuff. Went to the join link and it's... Linkshare :-(

Oh, well. maybe you will join SAS sometimes. (even CJ would be better than LS)
Be sure to let us know when you do!

[Trust]

How about a custom coupon to get them activated. And maybe what Ebudae said, tell LS you want to be able to open up options.

[MichaelColey]

I voted for several of them.

I want to promote but I am too busy now/I don't have the time
It's on my "to do" list

These two are the main ones for me. I probably have at least 10 years worth of ideas for sites. I've signed up for any site that I might want to promote in the future. I've found it much easier to sign up now than wait until I need them. Seeing them listed helps keep them in mind, and when I'm ready I don't have to wait to be approved.

I have a backlog of hundreds of merchants to list, and I typically choose when when to start promoting next based on the potential and the ease of promoting them. If you have a good EPC, popular items, great prices, great promotions, a clean program, an activation bonus, are a good match for a site I already have up, and provide everything I need, you have a much better chance to be listed than if you have a low EPC, unknown products, high prices, no promotions, parasites, no activation bonus, a niche that I don't work in yet, and it's hard to get all the links/info I need.

Merchant is not proving links/tools that I need/want

This is probably the next most common reason for me. Usually, it's an accurate, useable datafeed and/or deep linking that the merchant doesn't provide. I usually can't tell until after I've signed up.

Merchant made changes to their program which I don't like
I am no longer interested in promoting this particular merchant

These two aren't as common for me, but it's the case for some merchants.

[Rexanne]

I recently signed up to promote a merchant I know I can make money with IF I can deep link. I've sent three emails to the AM, begging for info on deep linking/product linking but never heard back. I now would not trust them to promote anymore. No clue if there is even someone manning the ship!

But mostly, I start a site or get an idea and then have no time to finish it or I move on to another idea or site update which takes my attention and time way from the new site.

[Sami B - Uncommon Goods]

Sorry to all for making votes public, but I wasn't aware until it was to late to edit, though, the answers do not contain anything revealing.

And thank you for all the responses, please keep them coming.

Ebudae & TrustNo1,
I don't like Linkshare's exclusivity clause either, but they have it, I can only tell them I don't like it at this point. And, right now, we are not able change any networks as holiday season is very near. I am aware of some of the affiliates' concerns and complaints regarding Linkshare, but I want to use the network as starting point for affiliation to start, then use it as a tool. I want to provide as much info and tools I can do so, and try to make up for what the network is lacking by communicating to the affiliates.

TrustNo1,
We did offer an exclusive coupon, which worked out very well in increasing the sales and getting inactives activated, but the management is not very big on the coupons. So I have limited ability to issue coupons. But, e-mail me your info at samib@uncommongoods.com and I will send you one for October.

Micheal,
Thank you for the detailed answers. Great help. I think though, it's time for you to start hiring employees, if you haven't done so, to implement some of your ideas. While working on your 10 years worth of ideas, you will accumulate another 80 years worth, and you will never catch up!


I believe in our company, we have a unique line of quality products, very helppful customer service, and a reputable name. Most of our products are not available elsewhere online or offline. But, the affiliate program was not managed properly; it was another duty of someone who had many other things to do. Since I came on board, it's really picking up. I know that it has much more potential to realize and that's what I am working on.

[my2cents]

I have the same problems as has been mentioned... specially the the problems MC has...
too many ideas and not enough time in the day... and yes I do have one part time employee... I need a couple more employies but my income wont support them and myself right now.....

ONe thing that will be very helpful would, is a datafeed outside of LS... if you offered that with exclusive coupons... I know I'd add ya to my mainsite...

JOe

[bwc]

I think what Michael said is the number one reason, but that's mainly for places like Linkshare, where you can't see the linking options until AFTER the signup. Why a merchant doesn't allow an affiliate the linking capabilities is beyond me. They ***** about non-promoting affiliates or non-productivity, or whatever . . . and yet a manager/merchant does little to nothing for the affiliate, in what WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO DO.

Oh yeah . . . here's what I was agreeing with Michael about:

'' Merchant is not proving links/tools that I need/want

This is probably the next most common reason for me. Usually, it's an accurate, useable datafeed and/or deep linking that the merchant doesn't provide. I usually can't tell until after I've signed up.''

[Kip]

I agree with most of the comments above. Another thing is that a lot of times I'm ready to promote a company so I go to sign up but have to wait around to get "approved" - sometimes for a day or two, sometimes for months. If I don't get approved immediately I usually move on. I may or may not get back around to that particular merchant later on. Even if a merchant emails me the next day saying I'm approved I'm probably on to doing something else and/or promoting a competitor instead.

I'm at a loss as to why am's don't just approve everyone and then go back and check the sites. If the affiliate wants to promote your site, let them. If they are bad apples, then it's okay to bounce them after they have signed up. If you don't get them when they're interested you just get stuck on their "to-do" list which you may or may not ever make it off of. If I want to promote a program, I want to promote it right then, not later in the week or even months later.

[Lectrickitty]

It's hard to pick from the list because there are a few of those reasons and some others. Sometimes I apply to a merchant and they have the products I want to promote, but they won't allow me to promote them the way I want. I like to have a picture of the product and write my own content to link from. I don't promote merchants that require me to use the links they pre-write or the banners they provide. If I can't link to a product and use their photo on my site, then I move on to a merchant who allows that type of promotion. (I don't ALWAYS use the pics, but it's nice to have a few sprinkled around the site)

When I'm writing a page and need a product to place, I follow this pattern...

1. find the product I need
2. apply to the merchant (if I'm not already a member)
3. place the link

If the merchant doesn't approve me immediately, I will do one of 2 things. Either go find the product somewhere else or put the page on hold.

If I put the page on hold, it might be days, weeks, or months, before I get back to working on it again. Sometimes it gets forgotten forever.

I know merchants need to have controls to keep out the parasites. It makes it hard to keep on task when the task is set aside waiting on approval.

[Billy Kay]

Sometimes you can't prieview specifis until after you join - so sometimes I join, see what the merchant has - and forget to UNjoin

and sometimes it's a Network problem.

Sometimes we say I've had it with CJ! or I've had it with Linkshare!

If you're on the network we've currently "had it with" - you get bounced for awhile

[simcat]

I agree with kip. Sometimes I will have an idea for a site built around a specific merchant. If I dont get approved until weeks or months later, I've already forgotton about that merchant and moved on.
Plus, I'm not going to register a domain name and set up hosting just 'hoping' to get accepted...

[womanht]

While waiting for the merchant to approve my application, I move on to something else and tend to forget about the merchant until I receive a newsletter or email or something that reminds me of their existence. By then, I might be too busy to promote that merchant again for the next few months (or years?)

Ok, so I've got a terrible memory.

[Rhea]

I'm not promoting UG at this time because when I tried to use the link creator the links it generated didn't work. I moved on to other projects. I may get back to UG at some point.

[Rainebrooke]

Originally Posted by MichaelColey

I voted for several of them.

I want to promote but I am too busy now/I don't have the time
It's on my "to do" list

These two are the main ones for me. I probably have at least 10 years worth of ideas for sites. I've signed up for any site that I might want to promote in the future. I've found it much easier to sign up now than wait until I need them. Seeing them listed helps keep them in mind, and when I'm ready I don't have to wait to be approved.

I have a backlog of hundreds of merchants to list, and I typically choose when when to start promoting next based on the potential and the ease of promoting them. If you have a good EPC, popular items, great prices, great promotions, a clean program, an activation bonus, are a good match for a site I already have up, and provide everything I need, you have a much better chance to be listed than if you have a low EPC, unknown products, high prices, no promotions, parasites, no activation bonus, a niche that I don't work in yet, and it's hard to get all the links/info I need.

MichaelColey & Others,
Since time is definitely an issue that everyone can relate to and MichaelColey mentioned a bonus; exactly what type or amount of bonus would motivate everyone to make more time in their schedule to promote a merchant whose program you’re already accepted in?

Thanks,
Steve
Rainebrooke.com

[Haiko de Poel, Jr.]

"Took the merchant to long to approve" - can be an applicable answer. Be it auto approve, or a delay in responding it all affects linking habits - it's step 1.

Maybe not in the "cases" brought up but as an every day reason, heck yea.

[newaff]

For me, when I started, I signed up with many merchants but actually have got around to promote only a few yet - I've got many ideas but am not signing up with more new merchants till I can do justice to the ones I am already signed up with.

[Cursal]

It's on my "to do" list
I want to promote but I am too busy now/I don't have the time

I make a note and bookmark it in a folder labeled Merchants-to-Add

When the time comes I give a quick review of the terms and if they changed (seem to that alot at cj) then get to adding them.

Gezz, I do this for networks sometime too.

[erninator]

Adding more reasons to the list:

All of the Above

Sometimes I just get carried away and join more merchants than I can handle at the time.

I save the approval emails, find some quality time and go through the to-do list. Lately I've been getting so much merchant spam and automated link requests that I use up my time before I get to the saved emails. Once or twice a year I actually get to the bottom of the list and have all merchant's promoted. Many of which I could do a lot better job promoting.

Sometimes I spend valuable time just removing links for merchants who have partnered with parasites, have closed their program or have moved to another network.

I have over 500 merchants to keep up with and I only do this part time (2-3 hrs/day). That's a problem I created and need to deal with it. My bad.