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Add You - Affiliate Profit: Are You Losing Money?
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations. The sin is limitations. As soon as you once come up to a man’s limitations, it is all over with him.EmersonGiven the assault on traditional values, are we headed in the right direction with ethical leaders? This is a valid question to ask given the current circumstances of my organizations in America. The recent collage of scandals and unethical dealings by both government and business leaders has made everyone skeptical about today’s leaders.There is a trust factor that has been lost between leaders and followers due to economic factors, such as technology advances and outsourcing. Some critics point to these factors as natural occurrences. Americans have seen similar issues in the past. What can be done to change this negative trend in ethics?Organizations in the 21st century need to reevaluate their moral foundation in order to change. Why should organizations want to change their ethics? After the September 11th terrorist attacks in America, it was obvious that American
What is the refund rate of your top affiliate program?
There are two ways to find the refund rate of an affiliate program:
1) Look at the stats supplied by your affiliate program
Do your math as following: Refunds / Sales = Refund Rate
Let say you make 1000 sales per month, you get a $23.50 commission per sale and about 160 customers request their money back every month. Your refund rate is 160 / 1000 = 16%. In that case it means that you should have earned $23,500 for your sales but you will get only $19,740 because of the refunds. You lost here 16% of your profit or $3,760!
You can ask yourself: Is it only I or all affiliates for th
Active business networking gets results. But when you are new to networking, either as a start-up business or as a responsibility in your new job, it can be very scary going to a meeting of business people. Here are 9 tips for networking newbies…Make the meeting as easy as possible for yourself:1) Contact the host or organiser, explain you are new to this and would like some help. Ask if you can have a copy of the attendee list BEFORE the meeting.2) When you get the list, check if there is anyone on the list you know; or a business that your company deals with.3) Then check who you would like to make contact with; who you would like to meet.4) Arrange to be introduced: If you find someone (or a company) you know on the list, give him/her a call and ask if he knows the people you want to meet. If he does, ask if he would mind introducing you at the meeting. You now have someone you can talk to immediately you arrive (the person you've just called) and you have a goal to meet someone
I have bad news for you: You are probably losing money and you didn't pay attention to it! Let me explain...
When you joined affiliate programs you probably considered the following factors:
- The commission
- The conversion rate
The profit formula looks like a child play: Commission x Conversion Rate = Your Profit
In fact there are three big pitfalls here and if you don't manage them properly, your profit is at risk. Let consider them:
- Price: A high price means a higher affiliate commission for every sale but it may result also in a lower conversion rate… If the product is too expensive, nobody will buy. You shouldn't be blinded by the promise of a very high commission. You should keep in mind that the best price is not the one that gives you the highest commission but the one that makes the highest profit. An optimized pricing that makes satisfied customers and satisfied affiliates is what you should look for.
- Refund Rate: Refunds can kill your marketing efforts! What are worth the sales you see in your account if customers request their money back? A lot of sales mean nothing unless you keep the money! This is the whole responsibility of the merchant to keep refunds as low as possible. A site that sells well is good. A site that also keeps refunds very low is much better! There is only one way to keep refunds very low: To deliver very high quality services meeting customers' expectations or going beyond what they could expect!
- Product Quality: Quality is king! Quality makes superior conversion rates! Quality enables higher prices and better commissions! Quality keeps refunds as low as possible! In a word: Quality should be your compass. Don't associate your business with low quality products or services. On the top of your list, promote only the very best. It will also keep your profit on top.
How much money are you losing today?
The money you earn and lose is significantly determined by the quality of the affiliate program you have selected as your top pick.
The question is: How do you measure what is more qualitative and what is less?
There is an objective criterion to use for answering this question and for optimizing your profit: The refund rate of your top affiliate program!
A high refund rate express clearly that lots of customers are not satisfied with what they get and that affiliates lose money on their sales. On the contrary, a low refund rates indicates a high level of satisfaction among customers and safe earning for affiliates.
If you get many refunds with your top affiliate program, you should understand that the quality of this program isn't sufficient for keeping these customers satisfied and it doesn't do the necessary job for securing your profit… You are losing money!
What are good, medium and poor refund rates?
Refunds can't be totally avoided. There will always be customers that are not satisfied even for the most qualitative product or service. So, expecting a zero refund rate on the long run is not realistic. You should wish a refund rate as low as possible in your industry. It's important to consider that there can be significant variations from one industry to another but as a rule of thumb you can use the following scale:
2% or less: Excellent
3% - 5%: Good
6% - 10%: Medium
11% - 15%: Poor
16% - 20%: Very Poor
21% or higher: Run away!
With a 5% or less refund rate you can be happy. Your affiliate program is reliable and your profit is secured. With a 6%-10% refund rate, you should monitor closely your merchant performance to ensure it doesn't get worst. It would be advised to scan the market for a better alternative if you can find one. With an 11%-20% (or higher) refund rate you should be very concerned with your profit. Whatever your industry is, you are bleeding and there is probably a better affiliate program to promote.
What is the refund rate of your top affiliate program?
There are two ways to find the refund rate of an affiliate program:
1) Look at the stats supplied by your affiliate program
Do your math as following: Refunds / Sales = Refund Rate
Let say you make 1000 sales per month, you get a $23.50 commission per sale and about 160 customers request their money back every month. Your refund rate is 160 / 1000 = 16%. In that case it means that you should have earned $23,500 for your sales but you will get only $19,740 because of the refunds. You lost here 16% of your profit or $3,760!
You can ask yourself: Is it only I or all affiliates for thi
You would probably ask, is it possible to achieve career success with 5Ds? Yes, it is possible. These 5Ds I am referring to stands for Dependability, Determination, Delight, Detailed and Devoted. Not only will they increase your chances of achieving career success, they will also increase your motivation at work.Throughout my working experience, I have had the chance of observing bosses, colleagues and staff members perform their tasks. And I noticed a pattern that exists with people who achieve career success in the level relevant to them. They carried with these 5 traits when tackling their work.1. Dependability Dependability means taking first person responsibility when you are given a job to do. You never blame someone for your work that is not done right. It means you take the initiative to see the job is done to the best of your ability. You take great pride in the work assigned to you.When you are dependable, you become a competitive advantage for your organization. You are seen as someone worthy of more important assig
- Refund Rate: Refunds can kill your marketing efforts! What are worth the sales you see in your account if customers request their money back? A lot of sales mean nothing unless you keep the money! This is the whole responsibility of the merchant to keep refunds as low as possible. A site that sells well is good. A site that also keeps refunds very low is much better! There is only one way to keep refunds very low: To deliver very high quality services meeting customers' expectations or going beyond what they could expect!
- Product Quality: Quality is king! Quality makes superior conversion rates! Quality enables higher prices and better commissions! Quality keeps refunds as low as possible! In a word: Quality should be your compass. Don't associate your business with low quality products or services. On the top of your list, promote only the very best. It will also keep your profit on top.
How much money are you losing today?
The money you earn and lose is significantly determined by the quality of the affiliate program you have selected as your top pick.
The question is: How do you measure what is more qualitative and what is less?
There is an objective criterion to use for answering this question and for optimizing your profit: The refund rate of your top affiliate program!
A high refund rate express clearly that lots of customers are not satisfied with what they get and that affiliates lose money on their sales. On the contrary, a low refund rates indicates a high level of satisfaction among customers and safe earning for affiliates.
If you get many refunds with your top affiliate program, you should understand that the quality of this program isn't sufficient for keeping these customers satisfied and it doesn't do the necessary job for securing your profit… You are losing money!
What are good, medium and poor refund rates?
Refunds can't be totally avoided. There will always be customers that are not satisfied even for the most qualitative product or service. So, expecting a zero refund rate on the long run is not realistic. You should wish a refund rate as low as possible in your industry. It's important to consider that there can be significant variations from one industry to another but as a rule of thumb you can use the following scale:
2% or less: Excellent
3% - 5%: Good
6% - 10%: Medium
11% - 15%: Poor
16% - 20%: Very Poor
21% or higher: Run away!
With a 5% or less refund rate you can be happy. Your affiliate program is reliable and your profit is secured. With a 6%-10% refund rate, you should monitor closely your merchant performance to ensure it doesn't get worst. It would be advised to scan the market for a better alternative if you can find one. With an 11%-20% (or higher) refund rate you should be very concerned with your profit. Whatever your industry is, you are bleeding and there is probably a better affiliate program to promote.
What is the refund rate of your top affiliate program?
There are two ways to find the refund rate of an affiliate program:
1) Look at the stats supplied by your affiliate program
Do your math as following: Refunds / Sales = Refund Rate
Let say you make 1000 sales per month, you get a $23.50 commission per sale and about 160 customers request their money back every month. Your refund rate is 160 / 1000 = 16%. In that case it means that you should have earned $23,500 for your sales but you will get only $19,740 because of the refunds. You lost here 16% of your profit or $3,760!
You can ask yourself: Is it only I or all affiliates for th
One of the reasons small businesses write off a great deal of loss is that they don't realize how easy and affordably it can be to hire collection agencies to recover bad debt. Developing a success-driven mindset and taking action like your larger competitors is the first step to growing your business. Many of today's collection agencies are small business friendly and can improve your company's bottom line drastically with smart solutions for collecting bad debt.Look for collection agencies that offer several collection tier levels Small businesses often don't utilize collection agencies like their larger competitors because they feel the debt owed may be insignificant to large collection agencies. Small businesses should look for collection agencies that offer different collection amount tiers. Debts as low as $1000, regardless of the size of the contacting business can be easily recovered by collection agencies.Verify that the collection agency uses legal collection methods The days of collection agencies harassing friends and family and calling la
How much money are you losing today?
The money you earn and lose is significantly determined by the quality of the affiliate program you have selected as your top pick.
The question is: How do you measure what is more qualitative and what is less?
There is an objective criterion to use for answering this question and for optimizing your profit: The refund rate of your top affiliate program!
A high refund rate express clearly that lots of customers are not satisfied with what they get and that affiliates lose money on their sales. On the contrary, a low refund rates indicates a high level of satisfaction among customers and safe earning for affiliates.
If you get many refunds with your top affiliate program, you should understand that the quality of this program isn't sufficient for keeping these customers satisfied and it doesn't do the necessary job for securing your profit… You are losing money!
What are good, medium and poor refund rates?
Refunds can't be totally avoided. There will always be customers that are not satisfied even for the most qualitative product or service. So, expecting a zero refund rate on the long run is not realistic. You should wish a refund rate as low as possible in your industry. It's important to consider that there can be significant variations from one industry to another but as a rule of thumb you can use the following scale:
2% or less: Excellent
3% - 5%: Good
6% - 10%: Medium
11% - 15%: Poor
16% - 20%: Very Poor
21% or higher: Run away!
With a 5% or less refund rate you can be happy. Your affiliate program is reliable and your profit is secured. With a 6%-10% refund rate, you should monitor closely your merchant performance to ensure it doesn't get worst. It would be advised to scan the market for a better alternative if you can find one. With an 11%-20% (or higher) refund rate you should be very concerned with your profit. Whatever your industry is, you are bleeding and there is probably a better affiliate program to promote.
What is the refund rate of your top affiliate program?
There are two ways to find the refund rate of an affiliate program:
1) Look at the stats supplied by your affiliate program
Do your math as following: Refunds / Sales = Refund Rate
Let say you make 1000 sales per month, you get a $23.50 commission per sale and about 160 customers request their money back every month. Your refund rate is 160 / 1000 = 16%. In that case it means that you should have earned $23,500 for your sales but you will get only $19,740 because of the refunds. You lost here 16% of your profit or $3,760!
You can ask yourself: Is it only I or all affiliates for th
If you have been in business long you know that the bulk of your sales will come from the months leading up to and going through the holiday season. The time to start your marketing for this season is July or even earlier!Online sales are expected to reach 12 billion dollars this year so be sure you get a piece of that huge pie! This is a 1.5 to 2 times increase over 1999 as more people adjust to online shopping.Here are some ideas that could help you get a slice of that holiday shopping pie:1. You could offer a free holiday gift with every order over $25 or any set amount.2. Offer free or discounted shipping with every order.3. Send Christmas cards to your mailing list offering them a special discount or deal.4. Offer a gift wrapping service for your customers. Make their shopping as easy and hassle free as possible.5. If you do home parties, have a Christmas shopping party to split the shipping costs and/or wrapping costs. Have a holiday themed party with gift certificates and free samples.6. Start a gift
What are good, medium and poor refund rates?
Refunds can't be totally avoided. There will always be customers that are not satisfied even for the most qualitative product or service. So, expecting a zero refund rate on the long run is not realistic. You should wish a refund rate as low as possible in your industry. It's important to consider that there can be significant variations from one industry to another but as a rule of thumb you can use the following scale:
2% or less: Excellent
3% - 5%: Good
6% - 10%: Medium
11% - 15%: Poor
16% - 20%: Very Poor
21% or higher: Run away!
With a 5% or less refund rate you can be happy. Your affiliate program is reliable and your profit is secured. With a 6%-10% refund rate, you should monitor closely your merchant performance to ensure it doesn't get worst. It would be advised to scan the market for a better alternative if you can find one. With an 11%-20% (or higher) refund rate you should be very concerned with your profit. Whatever your industry is, you are bleeding and there is probably a better affiliate program to promote.
What is the refund rate of your top affiliate program?
There are two ways to find the refund rate of an affiliate program:
1) Look at the stats supplied by your affiliate program
Do your math as following: Refunds / Sales = Refund Rate
Let say you make 1000 sales per month, you get a $23.50 commission per sale and about 160 customers request their money back every month. Your refund rate is 160 / 1000 = 16%. In that case it means that you should have earned $23,500 for your sales but you will get only $19,740 because of the refunds. You lost here 16% of your profit or $3,760!
You can ask yourself: Is it only I or all affiliates for th
The postscript or PS is a vital part of any direct mail on online sales letter. If it's worded properly the PS will inflame your prospect's desire for your product or service right before they sign on the dotted line or type in their credit card number. If you want to build a PS that really reaches your prospect, you must create it with passion. You must return to the original promise that brought your prospect into the copy and stir the emotions that are burning inside of them.Here are 6 ways you can do that.1. Restate Benefits. The easiest way to evoke emotions is to remind your prospect of all the things your product or service will do for them. I’m talking about restating the benefits you mentioned earlier in your copy.2. Make another promise/introduce a surprise benefit. Hold back one or two strong benefits or promises from your letter and introduce them here.3. Provide more creditability. Give your prospect an extra dose of credibility…an ironclad reason to believe that your product or service is the real thing. You can do this by
What is the refund rate of your top affiliate program?
There are two ways to find the refund rate of an affiliate program:
1) Look at the stats supplied by your affiliate program
Do your math as following: Refunds / Sales = Refund Rate
Let say you make 1000 sales per month, you get a $23.50 commission per sale and about 160 customers request their money back every month. Your refund rate is 160 / 1000 = 16%. In that case it means that you should have earned $23,500 for your sales but you will get only $19,740 because of the refunds. You lost here 16% of your profit or $3,760!
You can ask yourself: Is it only I or all affiliates for this program get similar numbers? If you use Clickbank to promote affiliate programs, you can get the big picture about the whole community of affiliates that promote an affiliate program.
2) Using Clickbank payout stats to calculate the average refund rate of an affiliate program
In its marketplace, Clickbank publishes payout stats for affiliate programs. The $Earned/Sale factor gives us exactly what we need to calculate the average refund rate of a program.
The $Earned/Sale is the average net amount earned per affiliate per referred sale. This number is mainly impacted by refunds and it reveals the real commission earned by affiliates. With this number, you can have an inner look at the real performance of affiliates programs.
The average refund rate of an affiliate program is: (Commission - $Earned)/Commission = Average Refund Rate
What is the refund rate of popular affiliate programs at Clickbank?
As an example, we have looked at three affiliate programs selling paid surveys databases. We have found their refund rates very high! You will be surprised at discovering how much money affiliates can lose when promoting these programs:
- SurveyScout: 16.2% refund rate!
- Survey Platinum: 20.9% refund rate!
- My Consumer Survey: 35.2% refund rate!
To get into the details, on November 29th 2005 figures were as following:
SurveyScout
Affiliate Commission: $23.50
Average $Earned/Sale: $19.69
Refund Rate: (23.50 - 19.69) / 23.50 = 16.2%
Example: For 100 referred sales you should earn $2,350. In fact you will get only $1,969 because 16 customers out of 100 have requested their money back!
Survey Platinum
Affiliate Commission: $23.50
Average $Earned/Sale: $18.58
Refund Rate: (23.50 - 18.58) / 23.50 = 20.9%
Example: For 100 referred sales you should earn $2,350. In fact you will get only $1,858 because 21 customers out of 100 have requested their money back!
My Consumer Survey
Affiliate Commission: $40.84
Average $Earned/Sale: $26.43
Refund Rate: (40.84 - 26.43) / 40.84 = 35.2%
Example: For 100 referred sales you should earn $4,084. In fact you will get only $2,643 because 35 customers out of 100 have requested their money back!
Remark: My Consumer Survey has a poorly designed site and a high price for buyers. We estimate its conversion rate to be significantly lower than other paid surveys programs. Despite its high commission, affiliates will lose the most money with this program.
We learn three lessons about these paid surveys affiliate programs:
- A lot of customers are dissatisfied.
- Affiliates lose big money.
- The quality of these programs is very questionable.
What should you do to stop the bleeding?
You have no influence on the quality of the affiliate programs you promote. Your only real influence is on the quality of your recommendation!
Giving your top recommendation to a very professional affiliate program that delivers the utmost quality services to customers will keep your profit as high and as safe as possible.
How to identify quality in affiliate programs?
Defining quality is a difficult job. In general, people can't define clearly what quality is but they recognize it when they see it. So what should you look at in affiliate programs?
The most qualitative affiliate programs find the right balance between the value they offer to customers and the value they generate to affiliates:
1. Value to customers – It includes:
- Rich content
- Good looking website
- State-of-the-art organization
- Friendly functionality
- Affordable Price f
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