The Ultimate Affiliate Package
Affiliate Program Software Characteristics & User Feedback
Web Commerce Today, Issue 46, May 15, 2001
Research for this survey of affiliate program software was conducted in early May 2001. The top part of the form is from material obtained from the software's website. Material at the bottom of the form is based on feedback from our readers who use the software. Their remarks are candid, and are not necessarily the opinion of the editor or publisher. If you have experience with using affiliate program software to manage an affiliate program, I'd appreciate your candid feedback about the program you use at www.wilsonweb.com/survey/affiliate-software.cfm
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URL |
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Company: |
Steve Miles, Groundbreak.com, Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Software Type: |
CGI. Requires Unix., uses Perl and MySQL database. |
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Affiliate/Merchant Web Interface |
Yes. |
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Pricing: |
$200. Installation $100 extra. |
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Commission: |
No |
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Affiliate Marketing & Recruitment: |
No |
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Tracks: |
Clicks, Leads, and Sales |
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Two-Tier: |
Yes. Up to 12 levels of commissions. |
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Customize individual payment rate: |
Yes |
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Carts that support: |
Will work on any Perl shopping cart, or any other cart with a customizable "thank you" page. |
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Payment Systems |
N/A |
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Writes checks to Affiliates: |
No. |
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Data Export: |
Yes, in any format from MySQL. Exports to popular check-writing programs. |
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Affiliate ID generation: |
Yes |
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Banner/graphic management: |
Yes |
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E-mail to affiliate after each order |
Yes |
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Send e-mail to affiliates: |
Yes. |
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Affiliate sign-up: |
Auto and screened. |
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Redirects to particular pages: |
Yes |
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Average Survey Rating: |
8.5 |
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Number of Respondents: |
4 |
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Positives: |
Its stats and layout look great, its admin/management are easy, its MySQL-based for quick response times, it has both IP and cookie-based tracking, and it handles up to12 tiers, custom commissions, and more. It is software that we host -- we could alter the code to our needs. It tracks by IP and cookie and referrer. We can check where the traffic (signups) are coming from. Is way less expensive that a hosted program. Initially very easy to set up, keeps great tracking. Easy to use and install. Compatible with my check printing program to pay affiliates. |
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Negatives: |
Hmm... nothing I've found wrong with it so far. The look is not professional, the customer service is limited (one-man show). The MySQL times out and we get lots of 500 errors on the reporting (not the tracking). Difficult to set up text links, affiliates really have to do it themselves. |
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Purchase Again? |
Yes, because for the $200, it's worth it to have the scripts on MY server, I can edit/customize the UI, no monthly fees, and I installed it myself easily. Totally. Yes. Yes. |
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Other comments: |
We also run a CJ program with 11,000 affiliates, only our top partners are in our own system. We pay out about $30,000/month. I can export data to use in other programs. Steve offers great support for his program. Works using MySQL database, but no database knowledge is necessary to successfully use the program. |
