From the category archives:

Good Merchant Practices

You Really Expect Me to Read THAT Terms of Service!

One important step for any Affiliate looking to join a program is to read the Affiliate-Merchant Terms of Service Agreement. Essentially, a Terms of Service Agreement, often abbreviated TOS, should lay out the terms for an Affiliate. It may (should) include all aspects of the relationship for the Affiliate and merchant in regards to promoting [...]

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The Truth About Relationships

One of the most common pieces of advice given  to affiliates is for them to develop relationships with merchants and program managers. New merchants and program managers are told to foster relationships with their affiliates. The main reason for this is that many believe that a strong relationship will result in preferential treatment, additional perks, extra [...]

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Recruiting Affiliates Via Email

Many affiliate program managers will recruit Affiliates via email. Whether the email is sent  direct to an Affiliate through the Affiliate’s website contact information or it is sent via a Network’s mail system  there are a few simple guidelines that will improve effectiveness.
Over the past couple of weeks I have received in my email, nineteen invitations to join [...]

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Coffee, Cookies and Newsletters

Over the past two weeks I have been looking into two separate issues involving two different merchants and their newsletters. In one case, I was contacted by the merchant and in the other I was contacted by an Affiliate.
In the first case, the Affiliate manager for the merchant emailed me with a question regarding their [...]

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Terminations Handled the Right Way

Earlier today, at NY Affiliate Voice, I wrote about the Crayola Store terminating Affiliates in New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island.  In that post, titled No More Crayons, I mentioned that the reason for termination was the “recent Internet sales tax laws” that were passed in NY, NC and RI. I understand their reason but am a bit surprised [...]

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What Will Guide You

Over the past two years I have tried not to criticize any company’s business decisions. Although I may not have agreed with the decision to terminate a certain group of Affiliates over nexus issues, I have always respected the right for a company to make the decision that is right for them. I only asked [...]

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Choosing Pennies Over Customers and Affiliates

The title says it all; you are choosing pennies over affiliates and customers. 
A couple of months ago I did a review of a merchant program. Overall it was a good program; a proactive affiliate manager, good commission rate, generous cookie length and other positives. One problem I did notice as I dug through the website was [...]

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Merchant Communication

This post marks the first in a series of a discussion of what makes a good affiliate program. Every week I receive emails from merchants and affiliates. Merchants want to know how to improve their program or make it more appealing to affiliates. Affiliates want to know how to find a better program and how [...]

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