Affiliate marketing

[SeoandSensibility]

Greetings, SEOmoz folks!

I have some specific questions regarding affiliate marketing. I am currently working with a client who is in the yacht charter business, and one of the ways I was trying to increase overall sales is affiliate marketing. Even though the client has its own affiliate program (not very effective, though), I was both considering enrolling them with an affiliate network as well as updating and modernizing their own affiliate program. I would appreciate all and any comments, insights and feedback on the following questions.

1. Which affiliate network would you recommend for a yacht charter business that completes most of its sales via e-mail inquiries and telephone calls? I tried to enlist with CJ.com several weeks ago, but I am not getting any replies from them nor can I get them on the phone. I am trying to learn as much as possible about affiliate possibilities from the point of the merchant/advertiser, so any advice is more than welcome, especially tips on regarding which affiliate network to choose for this type of business and how to enroll with their programs.

2.Which affiliate software would you recommend? We were toying with the idea of creating our own software solution, but in the end I think a tested, proven commercial software which will enable us to work directly with publishers is a better, more stable option.

This is it, in a nutshell, as the saying goes. I sincerely welcome all and any suggestions, particularly since this issue (from the merchant, advertiser point of view) isn't covered as nearly as much as there are tips and advice for publishers.

Thank you very much in advance!

[tvinson]

I saw this and wanted to mention that I've worked with ShareASale.com before, and they've been great.

If you decided to go with custom tracking, I would think about having affiliates set up a forwarding phone number and affiliate forwarding email address, so that if an order goes through that avenue, that's how it's tracked.  Of course it's a lot more work for something like this.

[Everett]

Hello,

It sounds like you're looking for an affiliate network that specializes in lead generation. Try CPA Storm (cost per acquisition, which is what you're looking for), T3Leads, or Pepperjam.

This article compares a few of those, but it's a few years old:
http://www.comparethebrands.com/compare/96

A homegrown program is great for many reasons, but the biggest drawback is that you don't have immediate access to hundreds or thousands of affiliates, as you would with a network.