The following is what Jonathan Miller of Team Affiliate had to say in response the the question, What is wrong with affiliate marketing and how can it be improved?
Merchant’s perceptions that an affiliate program is a quick fix. This is due in part to promises made by us as an industry.
I’ve seen material from various networks, software platforms and consultants that promise ROI by month 3.
Now, I don’t know if I’m behind on the curve here or if we’re just managing difficult clients 🙂 but after analyzing the more the 85 programs we’ve managed and consulted to in the last 4 years I’ve found that only 12% of programs reach ROI before the end of the 4th month of Trading.
Around 70% of programs take 7 months to mature and generate significant revenues.
Another major obstacle to affiliate marketing is that some programs declare themselves spyware and adware free – then simply allow their media buyers to negotiate paid campaigns (often on the same terms as the affiliate programs) to drive traffic.
All this does is cannibalize affiliate traffic and make it so much more difficult for the affiliate manager to run a successful program!
What’s right with affiliate marketing? You get to meet some of the most successful, brilliant and entrepreneurial people on the internet and forge close relationships with them in many of the programs we work with!
How would you answer the question, What is wrong with affiliate marketing and how can it be improved? There are no right or wrong answers – just opinions that can help improve the industry.
The author of any response that is published at affiliatetip.com or affiliatesummit.com will receive a limited edition “It’s an affiliate thing, you wouldn’t understand.” t-shirt.
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