Best Physical Products Network: ShareASale, Webgains or clixGalore?

[Alex Maxim]

Hey there guys,
I hope that this post finds you all in excellent spirits, and that you are having a fine weekend.

I have been doing some research on behalf of a small education company which is looking to join at least one affiliate network to sell a physical product (DVD+Book course). They want to sell this product primarily in the US market, at least to begin with.

From reading AM Navigator, it seems that ShareASale have by far the largest number of US affiliate programs of any affiliate network.

My question is this: in your experience, is the quantity of affiliate programs offered by a particular network a good guide to the quality of affiliates on that same network? Accordingly, would ShareASale be a logical choice of affiliate network for this reason?

Or am I missing something?

Any guidance is – as ever – sincerely appreciated.

With very best wishes,

Alex Maxim

 

[Alex Maxim]

Hey there guys,
I hope that this post finds you all in excellent spirits, and having a great week.

Does anyone have any ideas on the best affiliate network for physical products like the educational course described above?

Any guidance is sincerely appreciated.

With very best wishes,

Alex Maxim

 

[T J Tutor]

It is best to find an affiliate network that is already successful with promoting similar products with their affiliates.

The alternative is to create their own affiliate program in house.

 

[Alex Maxim]

Dear Mr Tutor,
We greatly appreciate your kind response, and please accept our apologies for the delay in replying to you.

From what we have read, the best affiliate network for selling physical products of this type is ShareASale, but if anyone else has a different perspective, it would be great to hear it.

Re: creating an affiliate program in house, our main concern with this is the amount of manpower resources it would take up. Do affiliates typically require a lot of managing once they are given their creatives?

With very best wishes,

Alex Maxim

 

[Graybeard]

that already is already successful with promoting similar products with their affiliates.

That makes a lot of common sense
How to measure that *success* is another issue -- but it is an indicator. Gotta start with something.
I would tap a few chosen networks then spend my efforts on the best performing.

 

[Alex Maxim]

That makes a lot of common sense
How to measure that *success* is another issue -- but it is an indicator. Gotta start with something.
I would tap a few chosen networks then spend my efforts on the best performing.

Dear Mr Graybeard,
Is there an optimal number of networks you would start off with before focusing on the best one?

With very best wishes,

Alex Maxim

 

[Alex Maxim]

Dear Mr Graybeard,
We were thinking exactly the same number!

With very best wishes,

Alex Maxim

 

[Graybeard]

How many can you monitor well at once?
I would select 2

 

[T J Tutor]

Re: creating an affiliate program in house, our main concern with this is the amount of manpower resources it would take up. Do affiliates typically require a lot of managing once they are given their creatives?

Affiliates do require monitoring. Just as any sub-contractor would. If you can find it, Ken Spano has a great eBook from a few years back that is a great guide to finding the affiliates you want and maintaining a relationship with them.

 

[Alex Maxim]

Affiliates do require monitoring. Just as any sub-contractor would. If you can find it, Ken Spano has a great eBook from a few years back that is a great guide to finding the affiliates you want and maintaining a relationship with them.

Dear Mr Tutor,
Thank you very much indeed for this kind recommendation. We are now actively searching for Spano's classic tome.

Are there any ways to spot an affiliate scammer? Conversely, are there any hallmarks of a great and ethically sound affiliate?

With very best wishes,

Alex Maxim