Yesterday Linda Bustos published an excerpt from my newest book. It came out of the section on coupons, and reminded me of a question that one of my newer affiliate program management clients has recently asked.
A few days back she wrote to me:
We have always had an issue with offering discounts, especially percentage off discounts, to our affiliates because then we end up paying the affiliate a commission, discounting the costume to the customer, paying the affiliate network and you the commission and nothing is left for us to even cover our costs.
Do you have any other suggestions of promotions that would put us in a better financial position than what I described above?
I do.
Offering a coupon (or discount) shouldn’t translate into losing your shirt. Here are a few types of deals that online merchants may offer through affiliates without stepping on their own toes:
- Buy one, get one X% off or Buy two, get one free (motivate to purchase more items)
- X% off $Y or more (stimulate larger order amount)
- $X off orders of $Y on a select product line/type (highlight different products this way)
- Free Shipping deals with minimum order value of $X
- Discount Shipping deals with a min order value
If I have missed a deal type that works especially well for you, please share it in the “Comments” area under this post.
Because we sell recurring subscriptions on a recurring payment model and we can’t afford to be stuck offering the reduced rate on an ongoing basis we offer the main product at the standard price but offer another free but highly valued product as a purchase incentive. So buy this subscription and get a free X, Y, Z. Works well for reucurring payment products. Great blog – thank you for your advice.