Why dont more online tee stores use affiliate programs?
Hey guys,
Just wondering why more online tee stores do not utilize affiliate programs. Tee companies are always looking for an edge to get their news posted on blogs, and i think this is a great edge.
I really think that you might have a better shot at a blog posting about your company if the blog owner has something to gain from it. Not to say thats what all blogs are looking for money, because there are a lot more reasons people spend countless hours on content and developing their sites (i know first hand ), but lets face it, money talks. I know if i had limited posts/time to make, and had a post that was an affiliate or a non affiliate (everything else held equal) i would tend to post the one that might make me some money.
There are great programs out there such as shareasale.com
What are your guys thoughts? i would love to hear, some pros and cons!
Re: Why dont more online tee stores use affiliate programs?
My thoughts:
Blogs are looking for advertisers, not affiliates.
The tee business is pretty cut throat and many sites are operating on razor thin margins. They can't afford to give away 20% of a sale.
Quote:
if i had limited posts/time to make, and had a post that was an affiliate or a non affiliate (everything else held equal) i would tend to post the one that might make me some money.
I think there is a new law coming where bloggers will have to divulge any income they are receiving from companies they are writing about. Not a deal breaker, just an FYI
Re: Why dont more online tee stores use affiliate programs?
For sure, i can completely see that. I would say 99% of posts I personally make are non affiliate posts. Just seems that even a 5% affiliate, would be a motivating aspect for bloggers. And im talking about Blogs that take the time to write insightful reviews do interviews and promote brands not just blogs that are posting any information to try and make money. And yes you are definitely correct, bloggers are usually after advertisers, but other than advertising there are very few avenues to make money to keep a blog running.
Re: Why dont more online tee stores use affiliate programs?
Maintaining a profitable affiliate program is a lot of work and it takes a lot of time. You have to create tons of banners in different sizes so that your affiliates have a lot to choose from and you have to communicate with your affiliates on a regular basis. You can't just start an affiliate program and expect it to bring you tons of new customers without constantly working at it.
Also, t-shirts are often pretty cheap, so if you pay an affiliate 10%, which is the standard rate, they will have to have lots of visitors turned into buyers to make it worth their time.
Re: Why dont more online tee stores use affiliate programs?
hey, good question. i was always under the impression that you could make tons of money dealing w/affiliates and other companies advertising on your site/blog page, etc.
Re: Why dont more online tee stores use affiliate programs?
Quote:
Just wondering why more online tee stores do not utilize affiliate programs.
I think it's the setup costs and monthly costs. Places like CJ.com want thousands of dollars, which many of the independent online tee stores may not want to shell out.
There's ShareASale, but that also takes money and some effort getting it all integrated into your own shopping cart.
You could do it with an "in house" affiliate software, but some of the "power" affiliates who can send lots of sales don't trust smaller merchants who run their own program (afraid of non-tracked sales, etc)
Then as teesforchange mentioned, there's the maintenance aspect. Getting banners, cutting checks, maintaining a balance in the affiliate account. Working with affiliates to keep them active.
Plus there's the "inertia" factor. They may not know how to get an affiliate program started and don't feel like the time spent researching it/implementing it would pay off enough to make it worth it.
That said, I do think more online t-shirt stores could benefit from an affiliate program
This is a discussion about Why dont more online tee stores use affiliate programs? that was posted in the General T-Shirt Selling Discussion section of the forums.
Why dont more online tee stores use affiliate programs? 
), but lets face it, money talks. I know if i had limited posts/time to make, and had a post that was an affiliate or a non affiliate (everything else held equal) i would tend to post the one that might make me some money.
