As affiliates, how much should we charge for top positions / better exposure ads?

[CatalinAMG]

The reason I am asking this is because we got in touch with a casino representative interested in advertising with us. I have made it clear from the beginning that our website is new (3-4 months since it went online) but that it looks promising enough in terms of potential organic traffic. This person seemed to like our project well enough to ask about an advertising deal between our ends. Being new in this industry, I'm afraid I have no idea how much I should charge for such an agreement.

I am well aware I cannot be greedy since our traffic is nowhere near what other affiliates are pulling. Still, what would be a "reasonable" number if you were in my shoes? Thank you in advance.

[johan_s]

I think the amount can vary a lot.
Everything from $50 to $20,000.

[wolfie]

A very good question. I would look at it from this perspective:

Try and go for a win-win deal and be honest. Find out if you can trust your potential partner. Do not oversell your site (which you have clearly not done, good).

It could be that the partner sees potential and wants to get a good position before the site takes off. Do you expect to be able to deliver good value players and if so, how many?

Also, if the site does take off, would you be willing to keep promoting this brand? How long have they been around and how do other affiliates feel about the brand?

Personally if the site has potential and the partner is trustworthy but you can't promise any big numbers, go for a reasonable amount of a fixed fee for a few hundred per month, maybe with an option that if you deliver an x number of ftd's, you can get and extra bonus.

I would not do a deal for more than 2 or 3 months, you can always renegotiate if things go well (or not). And if you are new to this business, maybe you don't know if a party is reputable or not. You won't be the first new affiliate to be falsely impressed by big promises and good deals, only to be burnt by a casino that does not pay or goes bankrupt before they can pay you.

[Strider1973]

I'd say it's unusual to pay a fixed price for a listing on a new site with unknown traffic. Certainly a revenue share deal would suit both parties in the long run.

But as you are a new affiliate, and maybe are happy to get some cash upfront, it think that sounds like a good deal for you.

Just ask for a price that you are happy with. Ask for prepayment for the full time period. For example, if $500 for 3 months or 900$ for 6 months sounds like a good deal for you, then that's what you should ask for!

[Triple7]

That depends on the website and what the website is delivering. I think for a website of 3-4 months old, reasonably you can't charge any fixed fee in advance for a listing.

[nwalker]

An alternative would be to charge a listing fee. That way you can pick and choose the affiliate programs who want to be on you site and understand that it takes time & effort to do research and write reviews and content about brands.

The brands that are in it for the long term will see this as an opportunity to build a relationship with you.

The others that dismiss this out of hand are only in it for what they can get immediately and are normally worthless as long term partners.

[Sherlock]

The others that dismiss this out of hand are only in it for what they can get immediately and are normally worthless as long term partners.

Or they are not a complete thieves and invested into paying a revenue share.

I have a question for everyone: did bet365 pay anyone some upfront fee ever?

[nwalker]

Or they are not a complete thieves and invested into paying a revenue share.

I wasn't suggesting they are thieves. I am suggesting that they don't have the foresight to negotiate a deal that doesn't have an immediate payback for them. Rev Share is fair, if you have traffic.

If you don't have traffic then Rev Share and CPA is useless to the affiliate.

For someone that is struggling to get going, the odd up front payment can make a huge difference. I had that and the brands that helped me 6 years ago are now reaping the benefits.

Position fees create their own problems in the long term. It is very difficult to change a brand who has been paying you for years. You end up having a large base of players with them. You can't just swap them out for some new brand that will pay you a bit more per month, as you put your player base in jeopardy. This only works if you're a massive affiliate that can boss the brands. If you're a small affiliate you need to be cute with the deals you cut and always plan for the worst.

[Sherlock]

My question stands: does bet365 (or any other top RS brands pay upfront)?

I wonder how vital is a business that is sponsoring future micro-affiliates with websites that do not have traffic. Nowadays! When the core affiliate business is based on screwing affiliates with a lot of traffic.

[mickyfu]

With little traffic I would not sell my top spots. I would use my top spots to test out new offers and see what preforms the best, rather than dedicate it to some program. Have sold off top spots in the past and got sick of it very quickly. Especially with moronic affiliate managers who start to believe they own your positions.

[nwalker]

I wonder how vital is a business that is sponsoring future micro-affiliates with websites that do not have traffic. Nowadays! When the core affiliate business is based on screwing affiliates with a lot of traffic.

For the affiliate programs that can't break into the top affiliates, which is very difficult for them unless they have very deep pockets, it's vital. A lot of the affiliate programs i deal with, in another role, are looking at up and coming affiliates on pages 3/4/5 of google. They are interested in getting on their sites early. They are playing the long game.

Any decent, experienced affiliate manager knows this. The less experienced don't understand this, especially when they are being incentivised by numbers of FTD's, rather than value - which is quite understandable.

My advice for the new affiliate is to hunt out the aff progs that do understand.

[Aidan Howe]

Find a time frame and amount that you are comfortable with firstly. Like others have said, you don't want to oversell yourself and you want to build a good relationship with the rep who you are in touch with. You are a new website, so they are also taking a gamble (no pun intended) on you. The thing is the amount can vary a lot, so maybe try and feel out what websites in a similar position to you are charging?

Sorry if that is a it vague, but with limited information it is tough to give a perfect figure! Good luck!

[FintanCostello]

For the affiliate programs that can't break into the top affiliates, which is very difficult for them unless they have very deep pockets, it's vital. A lot of the affiliate programs i deal with, in another role, are looking at up and coming affiliates on pages 3/4/5 of google. They are interested in getting on their sites early. They are playing the long game.

Any decent, experienced affiliate manager knows this. The less experienced don't understand this, especially when they are being incentivised by numbers of FTD's, rather than value - which is quite understandable.

My advice for the new affiliate is to hunt out the aff progs that do understand.

This is exactly the right approach, build the relationship, trust and track record

[PaulEchere]

You can try to figure out what results can you deliver to your potential advertiser. For seo link ppacement you can have a fixed fee, but for an advertisment like the one you are referring to you might want to be more flexible. Especially if you want to have a lasting partnership. Try to think what traffic volumes can you potentially bring and quote your initial price based on that, you might also want to have it reviewed on a monthly basis to be flexible.

[CatalinAMG]

Thanks to everyone taking their time to respond. Your opinions helped a lot!

[magnusbrand]

OR you can build a newsletter from your traffic (by giving them something for free usually a digital download) and allow promotional newsletter from your sponsors.