What publisher program organizers should know
Often times we talk about what bloggers should do to be qualified for certain publisher programs. And what techniques they should use to maximize their profits.
However we never really talk about the other side of the spectrum. That is, what features publisher programs should offer? Features that are valued the most by most of the bloggers. In this post I will address some of the things that bloggers want the most in a publisher program.
Please do comment with your suggestions and I will update the post. Updated post can serve the publisher program organizers (Google AdSense, TribalFusion, LinkWorth..etc) as a guide on what features to offer in order to be a successful publisher program, program that suits the bloggers’ interests best.
1. Walk the talk - Program should generate real money
There are hundreds of publisher programs that boast in their advertisements, that you can earn a lot if you just sign up and use their system. However when you do sign up and try it out, it will turn out to be a huge disappointment.
Believe me, nobody wants to stick with the program that makes no money. So if you want bloggers to stick with your program, pay them good. If your program is struggling to generate money or if it is a startup, you might want to reduce your own share of revenue and give more to the publisher. Because it’s better to retain publishers and earn minimal revenue in the beginning, than to loose them forever and make no money. And consequently get bankrupt.
From my own experience, up to now I have not used back the programs that didn’t work for me in the past. So, first impression counts, it’s a one time bid-to-win for the publisher programs.
2. Pay Immediately - No Net30 or Net60 policy
Most of the publisher programs do have a Net30 policy. That means you can get your first payment only after you have waited for 30 days. While it’s widely accepted policy, nobody wants to get paid late. So paying the same month (or beginning of next month) makes the publisher program more competitive compared to others.
For example TribalFusion has a Net45 policy, on the other hand LinkWorth has done a great job in paying the publishers immediately, you get paid in the beginning of every month for the past month earnings.
3. Offer more withdrawal options - Not just check and paypal
Check and paypal seems to be the standard for sending out payments for publisher programs. And for some like Google AdSense, checks are the only option for international members. Checks usually reach 10-15 days (with USPS) after the checks are sent out, and it takes another 30 days to clear. So that’s a huge drawback.
And as you already know not all international users can withdraw from their paypal accounts. When you do find the way to withdraw, often your paypal account gets frozen.
Therefore adding more payment channels will only help the publisher program to gain more ground, especially from international users. Some of the payment options to be considered besides checks and paypal are:
- Wire Transfer
- MoneyBookers
- Western Union
- Direct Deposit
4. Give publisher some control over ad prices
Some publisher programs like TribalFusion allow you to set minimum CPM prices (price per thousand banner impressions). Setting your own CPM will automatically block some advertisers, and only show those advertisers’ banners, who have allocated budget that is more than your CPM price.
Not everybody wants to show those smiley or flashing (you win! you win! click!) banners. So setting your own CPM gives you some control over what to show and what to block based on price.
5. Let them use other publisher programs together with yours
Unless your publisher program is so good and pays really well, do not include a sentence in the program policy that says: “…you cannot use other similar publisher programs on your site besides OurGreatOne“. Because bloggers want to make money from different sources, nobody wants to place all their eggs in one basket.
Conclusion
These are most important elements in any publisher program, based on my own experience. If you think publisher programs should other important features that are not included here, please write them in the comments and I will include them to the list.
Note to publisher program organizers: You might want to keep track of this post for future updates. It’s optional but vital for your survival.
Related Posts
- Yahoo! Publisher Network Beta
- ContextWeb introduces new publisher program ADSDAQ
- Yahoo adds RSS Advertising
- Interview with CEO of Vizu Answers - new publisher program
- ADSDAQ beta is open to all web publishers
