Challenges of Running Your Own Affiliate Network

[Disciple67]

Hey,

My thread at http://affiliate-marketing-forums.5...0-starting-own-affiliate-network-service.html isn't attracting any attention for some reason so maybe I should ask here:

What are the challenges in running your own affiliate network?

Software exists that allow you to run your own network ("Post Affiliate Network" -- though I haven't been able to find any reviews and can only find one competing product!!) and while someone like John Chow seems to (using HasOffers' platform, according to an old blog post of his, though the company doesn't seem to offer such functionality anymore) I don't find much talk about it anywhere, even on these forums.

Your thoughts, please!!

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi there,

One reason you didn't get any replies to other thread is that you posted in the Newbie Affiliate Forum and newbie affiliates don't know about how to start a network, they are on the other side of the game and just learning the game to boot. This post was in the affiliate forum too, so move both to Merchant & Affiliate Manager Discussions.

The other thing is you were asking about "Post Affiliate Network" which I've never heard of so doubt affiliates would know about it.

But in general to answer this Q "Challenges of Running Your Own Affiliate Network".

I tried to help another company launch a network once. They were BIG, they were well known, they had some VERY savvy leaders on board and we couldn?t pull it off.

One of the big problems is a MAJOR catch 22. You can't get affiliates to join until you have lots of good merchants with a wide variety of good offers. HOWEVER, you can't get merchants and advertisers to sign up to a new unknown network unless you can prove you have lots of good affiliates. BUT you can't get affiliates til you get offers and can't get offers til you get affiliates. It's a crazy catch 22 and very difficult to break through it.

How to do it? I don't know.

But I will tell you that even though I'm one of the most experience people in the industry, if someone came to me and said here's $1 million (or even 3 million) to go start an affiliate network. I would not even blink. I would just say no. You could not pay me enough. It's a tough business I would not touch for any amount of money.

Sorry to rain on your parade. That likely was not the answer you were hoping for. But hopefully my little reality check saves you some time, money, hair pulling by possibly going down the wrong path.

 

[Disciple67]

Thanks for the insights, Linda!

But it seems to me that the Catch-22 only applies if one's either very impatient for results, haven't sufficient advertising funds, wants only super-affiliates and high-paying merchants, or some combination of all those reasons.

Me, I'm just one person who wants to do this on the side and have no money for any kind of promotion whatsoever -- but I do have time and patience, not to mention some ideas. So what are the other obstacles you'd mentioned, please?

Don't get me wrong: I realize I'm not a genius and surely others have looked into all this before...what I'm trying to get at is what it is, exactly, that's preventing more people from setting up their own affiliate networks. I mean, how did Brian Littleton get started, then?? "If I can conceive it, then I can achieve it"...so what's missing from my understanding of what's involved with affiliate networks??

I have no programming know-how and no funds to hire anyone but like I said, "Post Affiliate Network" (made by the same folks who created "Post Affiliate Pro" -- Quality Unit, which has participated in these forums before) is available promising to let folks run their own affiliate network so I'm like, hmmm, how come no one else seems interested in running their own????

 

[mlogan09]

good luck if you decide to run your own!

 

[Disciple67]

good luck if you decide to run your own!

If you mean to say that it's really hard work, well, that's just what I'm trying to find out here...what's so hard that's preventing more folks from getting involved?? Apparently the software's available so I'm curious why webpreneurs aren't talking about this the way you see talk about starting up a blog and so forth....