Dear Publisher,
Thank you for participating in the AzoogleAds Publisher Referral Program, and for connecting us to your friends, family, and acquaintances.

Starting February 1, 2008, we are introducing some changes to our current Referral Program which may affect you:

• Referral commission will continue to be 2% of referred publishers’ revenue but will now expire after 6 months.
• Start date is the day first penny is earned, and expiration date is 6 months after first penny is earned.
• You must maintain a minimum revenue level of $1,000 in your primary account on a monthly basis in order to receive any referral payouts for that month.
• If you earn less than $1,000 in any given month, you will not qualify for a referral payment that month. However, you will be eligible for any month thereafter, up to the 6 month cutoff date.
• $1,000 threshold must be for revenues that you have earned from regular offer promotion, not referred sales.
• You may not refer another account belonging to you.
• When the 6 month expiration date has ended, you cannot refer the same publisher again.
• Referral payments will be on net 60 terms
• Referral payments will be paid out to parent accounts, not children accounts
These conditions will be listed under our FAQ section starting February 1st 2008. 

Thanks again for your support and  keep spreading the good word about AzoogleAds!

As always, we’d love to hear any questions or comments that you have; please send us your thoughts at AZreferral@AzoogleAds.com.
Sincerely,
Mitchell Richler
Vice President of Network Distribution

Also i don’t know if there were many people out there doing this but literally promoting the network only for referral income. Well you can’t do that anymore unless you make 1,000 a month with them. To me this discourages you from refering people… but maybe they feel they get enough signups they don’t need it. While i won’t stop using them it does make there referral program less appealing.

What do you think?

1. How many offers does your network have?

We usually try to maintain a minimum of 300 offers on the network spread along various verticals and areas of interest – we also have private offers not public on the network that we reveal to specific publishers depending on the requests of our advertisers. 

2. What is the Average Payout of all your offers?

It ranges too much based on the offer type (ie email only vs. incentivizable CPA’s) our offers typically range from $1 – $50

3. What is your highest Paying offer and how much?

Discover card pays out to affiliates $64

4. How much a month does your average affiliate earn?

The average affiliate earns $10k / month – but its variable there are many reasons for mini fluctuations 

5.Do you have a rewards program (If Yes What Rewards do affiliates receive?)?

We have our own loyalty program its probably one of the best in the
industry. We have different tiers based on earnings where publishers canselect their own prizes from prize list that we provide online. We keep them quite current as well the points accumulate yearly so everyone has a chance to get the top tier prizes

6. Do you offer second tier/referral commission (If Yes what payout or percent and for how long?)?

Yes we pay 2% for ever merchant/affiliate you refer.
7.What are your payment terms?

We pay biweekly net 10

8.Do you offer Special terms for big earners?

Definitely we can pay out weekly or even daily depending on volume

9.What does it take to get weekly payments (if you offer it)?

10k min / week. Conditions may apply.

10. What makes your CPA network stand out from the rest?

We have a great team – everyone knows what they need to do and what it takes to get there.  It wasn’t that long ago that we were a smaller network – where we could give publishers more time and attention, you don’t usually get that from the bigger networks. But now that we have become one of the largest affiliate networks we still strive to maintain that level of detail with our publishers
11. To be in the Top 10 Affiliates of your network how much Revenue would you have to bring in a month?

150k / month and you will be in the top 10-15 range

12. What was your hottest offer across your network for 2007?

True.com -email and Xerox – for web and search

13.   What will be hot in your network for 2008?

Yet to be determined what looks good during Q1 may be get dwarfed by the happenings in Q4 We had no idea True.com would be the winner for the network

14.   What conferences do you usually have a booth at?

Adtech’s – Aff summits – Ecom Expo – we had one a pub con this year as well

15.   Give one reason why EVERY Affiliate out there should join and be a part of your network?

We have a ton of offers and talented staff – We know our stuff and we can get you the answers, we hands down have the best reward program and without a doubt will help you get what you need. EPC’s not backing out we can give you options weather it’s our own in-house creative team etc.

I have been an affiliate for years with Incentaclick. They recently changed names to CX Digital and i started using them more. Due to the fact with the change over I received a new account manager that is more proactive than my previous AM. I would suggest you give CX Digital a try especially if you are promoting dating offers.

The creation of Pepperjam Network represents over eight years of research and development and the combined ideas, feedback, and intelligence of hundreds of affiliate marketers and advertisers.

Here is a list of some Highlights of Pepperjam Network:
 
- Pepperjam Network addresses two of the most significant shortcomings found on other existing affiliate networks: (1) poor, unreliable communication tools and (2) lack of affiliate transparency.
- With Pepperjam Network, affiliates and advertisers can communicate in real-time via Pepperjam Chat™, thereby providing a reliable communication system to build stronger, more profitable partnerships.
- Pepperjam Network provides advertisers with an unprecedented measure of affiliate transparency, which helps to establish trust, protect brand integrity, and lays the groundwork for open, long-term, profitable relationships.
- Pepperjam Network uses Web 2.0 technology to provide affiliates and advertisers with an easy-to-use, clean interface.
- Pepperjam Network offers industry leading SID-level tracking and reporting (great for sophisticated search marketing affiliates)
- Pepperjam Network introduces pepperjamADS™, which is a first-ever affiliate marketing widget that affiliates can use to serve customized contextual ads from multiple Pepperjam Network advertisers at the same time.
- Pepperjam Network contains a knowledge vault, which is exclusive to Pepperjam affiliates.  The vault contains exclusive access to a list of tools and educational resources used by Super Affiliates.
- Pepperjam Network represents over eight years of research and development and the combined ideas, feedback, and intelligence of hundreds of affiliate marketers and advertisers.
- Pepperjam Network launched with over 100 merchants and growing quickly, including Blockbuster, Jelly Belly, AeroGrow, Oscar de la Renta, BabyPhat, Rocawear, Ben Sherman, FlyCell, SinglesNet, SEOmoz Premium, and many more.
- Pepperjam Network has its own affiliate program that pays out up to $7 per approved publisher application
- Check out the Pepperjam Network Blog for videos, commentary and updates on Pepperjam Network and the broader affiliate marketing community
- Pepperjam Network is FREE to join.

I suggest that every affiliate give Pepperjam Network a try, otherwise you could be leaving money on the table.

1. How many offers does your network have?

- MaxBounty currently has about 200 campaigns that are live on the network.

2. What is the Average Payout of all your offers?

- To be honest, I’m not quite sure what the correct answer for this would be. Since we have many different types of campaigns (such as 1 field submits, full survey signups, per-lead offers, trial-with-credit card offers, etc.), with many different payout ranges, an average doesn’t really mean anything as it doesn’t give an accurate picture of how much we pay per campaign.

3. What is your highest Paying offer and how much?

- Our highest paying offer right now is the Tickle IQ Test campaign, which pays out $56.00 when the surfer purchases the IQ Test results.

4. How much a month does your average affiliate earn?

- Again, this is a question that doesn’t have a great answer. The amount an affiliate earns is dependant on the amount of work they put into promoting our campaigns. There are several other factors which would be included in an average number which does not give an accurate picture as to how much an average affiliate could earn with us (such as dormant affiliates, and the 90/10 rule). The Average Active Affiliate Earns 1K a month, some earn less but some earn much more.

5. Do you have a rewards program (If Yes What Rewards do affiliates receive?)?

- No, we do not offer a rewards program. We prefer to offer better rates to affiliates. They can then use their higher commission cheques to obtain their own rewards.

6. Do you offer second tier/referral commission (If Yes what payout or percent and for how long?)?

- Yes, we pay 5% of a referred affiliate’s earnings to the referring affiliate for a period of one year from the time the referred affiliate joins the network.

7. What are your payment terms?

- We pay on a monthly net15 basis. We pay via Check in the affiliate’s local currency, direct deposit, or PayPal.

8. Do you offer Special terms for big earners?

- Yes, we offer special terms to big earners. These are negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

9. What does it take to get weekly payments (if you offer it)?

- We are willing to make weekly payments to affiliates if they earn at least $5K on a week-in-week-out basis.

10. What makes your CPA network stand out from the rest?

- We firmly believe that our attentiveness to the needs of our affiliates is the best in the business. Our AM’s are available through IM, phone, e-mail and respond to any requests in a timely manner. In addition, the owners of the network are also available to speak with affiliates should they find themselves in a situation where they need to escalate an issue.

11. To be in the Top 10 Affiliates of your network how much Revenue
would you have to bring in a month?

- Our top affiliates are earning $20K and over per month. I hesitate to give the exact top 10 “cutoff” as this could discourage affiliates. I’d rather give a target that an affiliate who works hard (and well) could realistically achieve.

12. What was your hottest offer across your network for 2007?

- Due to the constantly changing environment we work in, there was no single named “hot offer”. Categorically speaking, survey sites and ringtones were the hottest campaigns for us.

13. What will be hot in your network for 2008?

- I expect survey sites to remain hot and also expect dating/social networking campaigns to get very hot this year.

14. What conferences do you usually have a booth at?

- We usually have a booth at Affiliate Summit West and Ad-Tech New York

15. Give one reason why EVERY Affiliate out there should join and be a part of your network?

- Because we have direct relationships with just about all of the merchants who actually own the campaigns, we are not stuck in a position where we have to rebroker the campaigns of other networks. This allows us to *honestly* say that we can offer some of the best payouts in the industry.
Unfortunately, all networks claim to offer the best rates, so EVERY affiliate should join MaxBounty so they can see for themselves that our rates are indeed the best.

I want to thank Steven Sauve of Maxbounty for taking the time to answer my questions. They are one of the first CPA networks I joined several years ago. I actively use Maxbounty and I am pleased with their service and offers. If you aren’t signed up with Maxbounty you should check them out.

Do you use Maxbounty? What are your thoughts or experiences with Maxbounty?

1. How many offers does your network have?
2. What is the Average Payout of all your offers?
3. What is your highest Paying offer and how much?
4. How much a month does your average affiliate earn?
5. Do you have a rewards program (If Yes What Rewards do affiliates receive?)?
6. Do you offer second tier/referral commission (If Yes what payout or percent and for how long?)?
7. What are your payment terms?
8. Do you offer Special terms for big earners?
9. What does it take to get weekly payments (if you offer it)?
10. What makes your CPA network stand out from the rest?
11. To be in the Top 10 Affiliates of your network how much Revenue would you have to bring in a month?
12. What was your hottest offer across your network for 2007?
13. What will be hot in your network for 2008?
14. What conferences do you usually have a booth at?
15. Give one reason why EVERY Affiliate out there should join and be a part of your network?

So take a basic email submit offer, from the direct source you could get anywhere from 1.00 to 2.00 depending on the offer. So lets say it starts at Network A at 2.00, they share it with Network B which can offer 1.50, they share with Network C which can offer 1.20, then to Network D which can offer 1.00 and so on… So as you can see margins continue to get cut. This honestly isnt really the issue though. The big issue is Network E that is only paying out .75 can easily lose their affiliates as soon as they find out that they join Network A,B,C, or D and will get a much higher payout. So what happens is the affiliate jumps ship and lower networks are struggling.

What are CPA Networks to do? Get direct and unique offers. This is critical because if they can get direct and unique offers they can offer better payouts than anyone else. Which will draw in affiliates.  This is why i always say signup with several networks as the more you are signed up with the more “window” shopping you can do for a payout of an offer.

Best CPA Networks:

1. Neverblue Ads 

2. CX Digital (Incentaclick)

3. Maxbounty

4. HydraNetwork

5. Azoogle
 If you have not signed up for any of the networks listed above you should click the banners and signup as you are missing out on extra money you could be earning from these CPA networks.

1. Was the offer very profitable?

a. If Yes move on to question 2.
b. If No why didn’t I stop running it sooner or it was on coast and you were just waiting for it to die so one less offer to look after. (Back to researching new offers etc…)

2. Is it worth my time to find an alternate offer or another network running it?

a. If Yes move on to question 3.
b. If No then it’s not a big deal that was pulled as I was only earning a couple hundred a month from it. (You may need to look deeper into your EPC and ROI to ensure it’s not worth your time and if not (Back to researching new offers etc…) )

3. Have I seen other networks running this offer?

a. Yes move on to number 4.
b. Unsure, check out your competition see if they are still running the offer. Many people don’t cloak links so link at the root part of the url and see if it’s a different network. Contact that network even if you aren’t a member, then move on to number 4.
c. No move on to number 5.

4. See if the other Network is still running the offer?

a. Yes, well start running it with them. Many times advertisers will pull from some networks but not all.
b. No, I don’t see it in their list of offers.  Move on to number 5.

5. Ask an account manager or a network rep if the offer is a private offer.

a. Yes, Many Networks will have some of the same offers but sometimes they are private and you will never know unless you ask. Start running the offer.
b. No, move on to number 6.

6. Find another offer that would appeal to the same audience and try promoting it in the same manner. This may mean a new site/landing page or may just mean changing an image or two and the links.

7. Once changes are made, either new offer or another network. You must still monitor the information, just because it converted as a great EPC/ROI on one network doesn’t guarantee it on another because many use different tracking software methods etc… So monitor it.

So that is it, those are my questions and steps I go through when an offer is pulled from an affiliate network. I go through similar steps when there is a drastic decrease in payout on a network. If you have any advice, tips or questions feel free to leave a comment.

Testing a New CPA Network:
1. Search forums and Google to see what other people have to say about the network. (don’t let one bad comment keep you from trying but several negatives you may want to proceed with caution)
2. Contact the Network and ask for a list of offers and base payout. (you never know they may have an offer you are currently running but with higher payout)
3. Talk to the CPA network about payments. (are the payment periods flexible, can they do net 15 or bimonthly or even weekly.) (Note* prove yourself first then ask for quicker payments, off the bat asking for bimonth or weekly payments usually throws up a red flag)
4. Signup and check out the offers make sure the payouts match what they sent or are higher.
5. Start off slow. Usually in the first month i will only send enough traffic to atleast get paid out. (this ensures they do pay)
6. After first month and i receive payment and offers are performing well I will start sending more traffic. (Ask Your AM for reports or whats performing good etc.) (don’t go over board, I usually keep the 2nd month to a few K unless I am just overly confident i will get paid as for every dime i make i am usually spending money)
7. Now in your second month you should by now be working with your account manager asking for higher payouts, even setting goals for payouts etc. (this will not only help them out, it helps them to help you)
8. Into your third month and you received your payment for a few K from the second month. I would say you can rest assured they will pay you moving forward so you don’t have to hold back.
9. If at any point it is unprofittable or offers just arent converting, don’t be afraid to stop using the network. If they keep bugging you (via emails phone calls etc.) tell them to buzz off and/or delete your account and stop contacting you.

This is the method i use for testing. As a side note if a newtowk has offers i am already running and it is at the same payout I am currently at I will ask the new network off the bat if they can give me higher payout. Usually they will give something, then i will split test the offer. Each network tracks a little bit differently and sometimes the same offer on one network may convert poorly on another due to system or slow page loads etc..

So now on to Neverblue Ads. I have been testing them for the past few months and so far i am pleased. My account manager is Victoria Hansen. I will say this she may not know all the ins and outs of affiliate marketing (she is somewhat new as an AM), but she is up front and provides what information you need. I used the methods above to test out Neverblue Ads, and I can say they do payout and on time. They do have higher thresholds to be able to get bimonthly payouts than other networks, but they do offer it. They have exclusive offers, but do rerun some other networks offers. They are willing to work with you on payouts and even landing pages. I have made requests for some offers, some they had created or changed, some I am still waiting. The most important thing with the Neverblue Ads network, they were quick to respond, quick to get me information, and willing to work with me on payouts. Plus to my surprise I got a package in the mail from my account manager. It was a Neverblue Ads Dress Shirt, Coffee Mug, and a gift certificate to Salt Grass steakhouse (one of my favorite places to eat.) See the picture below.

So try out new networks you never know which ones will work for you and which ones won’t. BUT if you never try you may be leaving money on the table. *NOTE… Just because a network hasn’t worked for me or other people doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it. Only times i stay away from network is if there are tons of posts and articles about non payment.

1. IF i signup for your network and i tell you how i promote my offers don’t keep asking me to try other things. Now I don’t mind the heads up; hey this offer is running hot on our network. But here is an Example. Lets say the offers you are running with the company are search only. Why would the Affiliate Manager contact me with information to push offers that arent even available for search? Or an area that you have told them you have no interest in promoting. This happens often!!!

2.Do Your Homework on the offers your Network Promotes. Example: (lets say i am a person that only promotes via existing websites, No search or email) I HATE getting an email saying, hey this offer is going great you should try it. Then i go into there system get ready to pull the offer then notice that the offer is for EMAIL ONLY!!!  or even better yet they didn’t email me but they hit me up on Instant messenger give me the offer speal then of course i am like great what banners sizers are available… then the AM comes back and says sorry it is only available for Email only….  Come on DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

3.You OVER EMAIL ME.  Don’t get me wrong, I like to be contacted every once in a while from my AM. Especially if they are coming with info on a new hot offer, or they get an offer i asked for etc…  But Geeze some of these networks seem to send you an email every 3 days then on top of that you have your AM emailing me every two days… So STOP OVER EMAILING ME!

Okay I got my rant out… feel free to leave your comments or Complaints about Affiliate Managers.