Affiliate network overview – MySavings Media
February 17, 2010 in Latest Posts, Making Money by Kimmy 10 Comments » 2,803 views
There are a lot of affiliate networks out there on the web giving you a wide choice and variety of options and advertisers to promote and hopefully earn money from. But it takes a lot of time and energy to go around signing up for all of them only to find out they don’t have any advertisers you are interested in.
So I thought I would take the time, sign up for them and let you know what kind of offers and advertisers they have available so you can decide if it is something that is relevant for you. Part of helping you monetize includes preventing you from wasting time and energy on something that isn’t worth it.
The first affiliate network I am looking at is MySavings Media, for no reason other than I happened to have it open on my screen when I started writing this.
MySavings Media is a great little network for mom bloggers, especially those who post deals and coupons. They have quick and easy free sign ups such as newsletters and a couple of paid survey offers that are legit and hosted by trusted companies. They have some free sample offers, and occasionally coupon offers for respected companies. They don’t have a ton of offers at any given time but it does seem like they are selective for a reason. They don’t appear to put up junk or spam. You don’t want it, your readers don’t want it, and I like a network that doesn’t make you have to sort through 500 opportunities to find the few that are quality offers.
When it comes to putting up free sample or paid survey offers for your readers you need to be careful. I would say the majority of them are spam, or at best, so hard to do correctly that they might as well be spam. Don’t put up banners that promise a free computer or $500 or whatever, with the completion of a survey. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And putting those kinds of offers up, even with such an appealing payout on the affiliate end will likely just damage your realationship with your readers or make it impossible to establish new ones.
What I see at MySavings Media doesn’t have huge payouts for the most part, but I think you can feel comfortable sharing their offers with your readers. Affiliates really do perform differently on different blogs, and providing tips and suggestions for affiliate placements is a completely different post, but I will tell you that if something doesn’t work, MOVE IT AROUND. And if you have Wordpress, look into a plugin called PostPost that allows you to place things before and after your posts and feed quickly and easily. Test the banners and see where they perform best!
Also, MySavings Media has their own affiliate program so once you are a member, you can refer other members and earn when they do.
Feel free to let me know in the comments if there is a specific affiliate network you were wondering about and I’ll give you the run-down on them. Or if you have experience with MySavings Media (good or bad) feel free to share it here as well.
~Kim
Thanks for the info, Kim. I, as the other bloggers, love to have a starting point. I’d love to hear more about Juice Box Jungle as well. I know that A LOT of blogs have their ad network on their site, but I can’t even seem to get them to answer my emails!
Thanks for the information Kim, I am really looking for a way to help out our family and I have been inspired by the speakers at the Disney conference.
Now I have a starting point… Here I go, I’m a nervous wreck…. AAGGHHH!!!
Thanks for this information…especially on th WP plugin Postpost…that was something I was wanting to add!
I do use My Savings Media and really like it.
Since the beginning I’ve always been careful not to promote something I haven’t signed up for and tried out myself. I think that’s the key with many offers from affiliate programs. Stick with what you know and can personally vouch for……that way your readers be confident when you provide them a great link/banner.
I’ve used MySavings Media for sometime. I have nothing bad to say about them, true payouts are low but their ads usually tie into my blog.
I have to say that Logical Media is one on of my all time favorites. I would say Commision Junction is up there too but I have one issue with them. If someone has high security on their computer and block cookies… hard to get credit if they shop your ads from them. I havent had such an issue with Logical Media. Hope I helped!
I am new on their site but they had a link exchange program and I loved that about them too! They have “partners” listed on their site which equals traffic for your blog if you participate in it. I was randomly approached the other day.
I will have to look into this more and see how it can fit into my blog topics, as I haven’t done much since I signed up with them!
I haven’t had much success with affiliate programs. Or when I have earned money, I’ve had my pay out too high and the periods in between earnings too long that I have actually lost what I earned.
How sad is that? So now I am generally hesitant about affiliates.
I do still have a couple links to companies that I respect and like their products on one of my websites, but have not earned anything from them. Makes me wonder why I bother keeping them there.
Hi Kim,
I am so glad you are doing this. I’ve been wanting to find some legitimate affiliate companies so I can start making some money but I just haven’t had the time to investigate the different companies. I can’t wait to hear about other affiliate networks you find
Many Thanks
LizAnn
http://www.forgirlsanddolls.com
I have been using Shareasale and they seem to be okay but I have yet to see a pay out. The threshold is for $50 and I have been at $47 for awhile. I have heard great things about Commission Junction but never tried it. I would be interested in finding out if that one is well worth it or not.
They do pay on time, just low pay outs. You may find other affiliates who pay higher. They are new and take a bigger cut for themselves. Just what I’ve seen. I started with them right after they opened.