We recognize that promoting an affiliate program centered around an auction site is complicated because by necessity it varies from the norm. Unlike a standard e-commerce program, there will be no coupons, no datafeed, no long-term offers and limited opportunities to offer the usual incentives such as FREE SHIPPING.
However, therein lies the opportunity for you. As you know, much of your success as an affiliate depends on cornering a niche market. Auction sites often represent the ultimate niche market because many affiliates are hesitant to tread into unchartered waters. And in this case, he who hesitates missed out.
What it is:
PropertyRoom.com is an auction site with one of the largest collections of unique items and bargains on the Internet. Stolen, seized, recovered, unclaimed and surplus items from law enforcement agencies from coast to coast (and Hawaii) can be found everyday on PropertyRoom.com. Bidders must first register on the site. Browsing, searching and registration are all FREE.
How to Succeed as an Auction Affiliate
Auction websites represent a tremendous opportunity for affiliate marketers, whether you?re an established or new affiliate marketer.
Auction websites drive customers toward a bid rather than a sale. There are a few types of auction sites:
1) The English auction is the most popular type of online auction. In an English auction, one item is put up for auction and bidders outbid each other to win. In this auction, there is one item and one winner.
2) The Yankee auction is also known as a Mega auction. A Yankee auction is a multi-item auction where multiples of the same item are up for auction and bidders may pay different prices. For example: there are three identical watches. Bidder No. 1 bid $25, Bidder No. 2 bid $19, Bidder No. 3 bid $26 and Bidder No. 4 bid $17. The winners are Bidders 1, 2 and 3 all paying their respective amounts, so the watches will sell for $19 - $26.
3) A Fixed Price auction is something we offer in our ?Steal of the Day? category, and it most closely resembles traditional e-commerce because multiples of the same item are offered at the same fixed price (there is no bidding). The bidder pays the amount listed and Buys It Now. There?s no risk of being outbid.
These types of auctions all offer opportunities for affiliates. The key to success is to tap into the spirit of winning with your site visitors. It is not uncommon for bidders to win items up to 90% off the retail price while enjoying the thrill of the chase.
An ever-changing inventory
Auctions sites offer a diverse and constantly changing inventory, which gives you ? the affiliate - the opportunity to promote something new and different to visitors daily. On PropertyRoom.com, for example, we are a police auctions website, and our inventory comes to us from law enforcement agencies nationwide. This means we often get weird, rare and funny items ? all great for developing content to entice visitors. Plus we offer everyday values on the most popular items online like jewelry, watches, laptops, fine art and more.
A new way of measuring success
Another important thing to note is that the success metrics we use in auctions differ from traditional e-commerce. For instance, on an auction site we track Average Winning Bid rather than Average Order Value. Also, since there is no shopping cart in which to put multiple items, your referred bidder could win more than one item at a time, but your per order value may appear low until you combine all orders from that bidder.
Promoting online auctions will give you an interesting differentiator in the marketplace and not many affiliates are promoting auction offers so there is less competition. Plus with so many items closing everyday the amount of ongoing action is incredible.
Here are some new holiday-related promos to help you get started as a Property Room affiliate.
If you are NOT currently a PropertyRoom affiliate, click here to join the program today.
