Report on Affiliate Management Software (2005 Edition)

Report on Affiliate Management Software (2005 edition)Do you need to purchase affiliate management software so you can set up an affiliate plan or compensate lead generation referrals? If so, you'll begin to salivate as I describe this book.

There are a lot of software choices in the marketplace these days. I wrote the first book designed to guide online business people in selecting affiliate software in 2001. Since then we've seen a number of changes:

  1. Many companies have entered the market; nearly all the major shopping carts provide an affiliate module. In this book I've summarized the website descriptions of 48 affiliate program systems and 55 shopping carts that contain affiliate modules. But with the plethora of programs out there, I can see why merchants and lead generation businesses can throw up their hands in confusion.
  2. While most companies have maintained the status quo, a few have kept pushing forward with improvements. What was excellent software in 2001 is now only a bit above the average.

I see three generations of affiliate software:

  • The first generation covers the basics only, and is adequate enough for the small merchant without many demands. Most of what is on the market today is in this first generation.
  • The second generation has added much greater flexibility to the commission structure, the ability of the merchant to offer incentives to new or high-performing affiliates, and top notch customer service for its merchant clients. Some in the ASP hosted software group are in this generation.
  • The third generation is found only in the network model, designed to server the larger, more active retailers only . They have focused on flexibility, security, and providing excellent, comprehensive service for their retailer clients. Since these larger merchants are most prone to fraud, third generation software includes a number of security features to keep fraudsters out of the affiliate pool, if possible, and detect them if they slip in.

Web Marketing Today Award of Merit for Excellence in Affiliate Software 2005My goal in this book is to help you understand how affiliate management software works, which features are important, let you know as much as possible about the programs themselves, and then make recommendations to guide you in the selection process. At the end I award four software programs the Web Marketing Today Award of Excellence in Affiliate Management Software. The book was published April 11, 2005.

I trust that you'll find this book the tool you need to decide which affiliate management software to use for your online organization.

Here are the affiliate management software programs detailed in the book:

Ad Server Solutions
Aff_Manager
Affiliate Fuel
Affiliate Network Pro
Affiliate Tracking Network
Affiliate Window
Affiliate Wiz
AffiliateClicks
AffiliateGuerrilla
AffiliateShop
AllAffiliatePro v4.5
AssocTRAC
ClickAffiliate PRO
ClickBank
clickXchange.com
clixGalore
Commission Junction
Decentrix AffTraq
DGM Australia
DGM UK
DH-MLM v3.6.0
DirectTrack
FloppyBank
Friendly Affiliate
FusionQuest
IAHBE Toolbox
iDevAffiliate v4.0
Income Access
Interneka Affiliate v3.0
iSalesForce v2.0
Lead to Sale Tracker
Leadhound Network
LinkShare
Little Salesman
Managed Affiliate Program
My Affiliate Program (MyAP)
MyReferer
PartnersManager.6.0
Performics
Post Affiliate Pro
ProTrack Professional
Referral Software
SalesDoubler
Sharasale
TradeDoubler
Ultimate Affiliate 2.3.0
Your Own Affiliate Program
YOURaff v1.02

Here's the table of contents for this 135-page book:

Preface 2
Table of Contents 4
Chapter 1. Introduction to Affiliate Marketing Software 7
  How Affiliate Management Software Works 7
Chapter 2. Types of Affiliate Management Software Programs 9
  Integrated into Shopping Cart 11
  Custom Programming 11
  Network, Commission Based 12
  ASP Hosted, Monthly Flat Fee 13
  Licensed Software on Merchant's Server, One-Time Fee 14
Chapter 3. Features of Affiliate Management Software 15
  Basic Characteristics 15
  Domain to which the Affiliate Link Points 16
  Categorizing Affiliates into Various Groups 17
  Ad Tracking Capabilities 18
  Check Writing and Mass Payment 19
  Links to Multiple Product and Landing Pages 19
  Tiers of Affiliates 20
  Commission Flexibility 20
  Manual Entry of Commissions 23
  Multiple Sites from Same Software 23
  Banner Display 24
  Administrative Reporting 24
  Replicated Affiliate Pages 24
  Fraud Detection 25
  International and Language Flexibility 25
Chapter 4. Recommendations and Awards of Merit for Excellence in Affiliate Management Software 26
  Network Model 26
  ASP Hosted Model 27
  Licensed Stand-Alone Model 27
  Integrated into Shopping Cart Software 27
Appendix 1. Detailed Descriptions of Dedicated Affiliate Management Software 29
Appendix 2. Detailed descriptions of Affiliate Programs Integrated into Shopping Cart Software 73
Appendix 3: User Feedback on Affiliate Management Software 96
  Stand-Alone Affiliate Programs 97
  Affiliate Programs Integrated into Shopping Carts 119
  Custom Programmed Affiliate Management Software 127
About the Author 133

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"Congratulations, Ralph! Another superb job. Once again, you provide the most thorough analysis of the choices available. Your review is absolutely essential reading for anyone who's planning to start an affiliate program." -- Allan Gardyne, www.AssociatePrograms.com

You can purchase this book either as an e-book or a printed book-- or receive the e-book as a free bonus as part of a special offer. Let me explain....

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You get 14 e-books worth $252.43 for only $49.95! (If you're already a paid subscriber, login now at the top left corner of the main webpage to download your e-books). Subscribe now! Here are the books you get:

  1. How to Develop a Landing Page that Closes the Sale, by Dr. Ralph F. WilsonHow to Develop a Landing Page -- completely revised and written for mid-2008 -- explains in 89 pages how to maximize the effect of your advertising, by pointing to a specific "landing page" that leads the shopper to decide to complete the transaction. This comprehensive guide, now in its third edition, will help you raise your conversion rate and maximize profits. It sells for $29.95 on my website.
  2. How to Write an Ad that ClicksHow to Write an Ad that Clicks published in November 2008 explains in 66 pages the how to write a short Internet ad that gets results. Outlines the basics of copywriting, then gives specific instructions for writing headlines as well as the peculiarities of writing ads for Google AdWords text ads, banner ads, and e-mail ads. It sells for $14.99.
  3. Dr. Wilson's Plain-Spoken Guide to Search Engine Optimization Guide to Search Engine Optimization (2007 Edition) is a 97-page e-book that explains in simple terms what search engine optimization (SEO) is all about. It is not a guide for experts, nor will it make you an expert. But you'll understand how to (1) make your webpages and navigation system search engine friendly, (2) develop an effective link campaign to boost your PageRank, and (3) outsource SEO if you decide not to do it yourself. I sell this for $14.95.
  4. How to Promote Your Site through Article Marketing, by Ralph F. Wilson How to Promote Your Site through Article Marketing. This 25-page report gives an overview of article marketing, that is, offering your articles to be used on other sites and e-zines in exchange for a link to your site. This approach that can be pursued for no money at all. On page 16 Dr. Wilson reveals a secret SEO experts know, but most article marketers don't, a strategy that can significantly raise PageRanks on your website. Sells for $11.95 on my website.
  5. Social Bookmarking and Marketing, by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson My 28-page Social Bookmarking and Marketing helps you get to the bottom of the social bookmarking phenomenon. Explains what social bookmarking is all about, outlines two main marketing strategies -- one that can get you in lots of trouble unless you know how to avoid the potholes -- reviews tools. Sells for $12.95 on my website.
  6. Report on Pay Per Click (PPC) Bid Management Software, by Ralph F. Wilson Report on Pay Per Click (PPC) Bid Management Software. This 52-page report is a "must read" if you're doing PPC advertising using only Google's or Yahoo's native bid management interface. Bid management software can often save you 30% to 50% of your current level of ad purchases by maintaining your desired position, optimizing prices by reducing bid gaps on a frequent basis, and showing your ads only at times when you know your products sell best -- all working on autopilot. Which program should you select? This report outlines the features you should look for, compares 16 different bid management programs, provides user feedback, and makes recommendations. $14.95.
  7. Research Guide to Online Niche-Finding, by Ralph F. Wilson Research Guide to Online Niche-Finding. This 49-page book leads you through the steps necessary to discover a potentially profitable online business niche, consider the competition, and develop a unique approach that will bring traffic and revenue. We examine the 5 principles of research, examine the various formulas used to spot potential winners, consider the strengths and weaknesses of the existing research software, briefly survey 24 keyword, PPC, and niche-finding research software programs, and provide more in-depth reviews of WorldWide Brands Research Wizard, P.I.P.E. and the Online Research Guide to Picking Products that Sell. Price: $14.95.
  8. How to Promote Your Local Business on the Internet How to Promote Your Local Business on the Internet. This 44-page book is designed for local business owners and marketing directors, as well as professionals who serve them -- web designers and marketing consultants. While not repeating all the Internet marketing basics, it focuses on the elements that can make local business marketing a success, localized search engine optimization, Yellow Page ads, awareness of local portals, use of local PPC options and geotargeting at Google AdWords and Yahoo Local, e-mail newsletters, etc. I sell this for $13.95.
  9. The E-Mail Marketing Handbook by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson The E-Mail Marketing Handbook (Second Edition). This 875-page e-book provides a broad look at all aspects of e-mail marketing -- publishing your own company e-mail newsletter, e-mail promotions, e-mail marketing programs, formatting the e-mail, ad tracking systems, autoresponders, getting through spam filters, RSS feeds, and obeying anti-spam laws. The book also includes four appendices with user comments and ratings of various programs, a directory of 250 e-mail marketing programs, and detailed vendor answers to 99 questions about their software. This is by far the most comprehensive book on the market, especially as a buying guide to software that could be used by small to medium businesses. I sell this for $27.00.
  10. The Shopping Cart Report by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson The 766-page Shopping Cart Report, revised in January 2004, is the most comprehensive purchasing guide to e-commerce software ever published. It provides a basic overview of carts and my recommendations of 36 particular carts. There's a shopping guide for 12 different cart applications. I provide a directory to 225 shopping cart programs, with detailed information on 50 of the top vendors. I sell this for $34.95.
  11. Report on Affiliate Management Software My 135-page "Report on Affiliate Management Software 2005, looks at the basic and advance features of affiliate software, looks in detail at 48 stand-alone programs and 55 affiliate modules integrated into shopping carts. Then offers candid feedback from about 200 users and makes recommendations. I sell it for $22.95 on my website.
  12. 10 Steps to E-Business on a Shoestring, by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson My 80-page "10 Steps to E-Business on a Shoestring" helps you see how to envision an e-business, find an unfilled niche, and then develop it a low cost. I tell you where you'll need to spend some money, and where to find low-cost services that can get you started without a high investment. I sell it for $17.95 on my website.

PLUS my recent short reports:

  1. Reciprocal Linking Tools, 23 pages, $8.95
  2. How to Optimize Your Landing Pages Scientifically, 32 pages, $11.99

If you subscribe (or renew your subscription) to Web Marketing Today Premium Edition before the end of November 2008 , you'll get all these e-books. Together they're worth $252.43 -- and if you add in the subscription price of $49.95, the total value is $302.34. But you'll receive the e-books when you pay  the subscription price of $49.95. Don't miss out. Subscribe now!