Re: Is 50% commission to much to offer?

From: Neven Prasnikar <artplus_at_artplus.hr>
Date: Fri 29 Sep 2000 15:16:52 -0500

GEORG BIRGMANN <g.birgmann_at_netway.at> WROTE:
> It's all a matter of explanation: If You simply say
> "You'll get 50% of our sales" other webmasters (like
> myself) maybe become a little cautious and will doubt
> the honesty of Your affiliate tracking methods.

My point exactly. That's why I posted the question in
the first place. I got more answers against the idea of
50/50 split then for it...

It still didn't get me far, because answers that were
in favor of 50/50 split came from some people with good
reputation.

I am puzzled now (again) which advice to follow?
Majority or with pedigree :-)

> However, I do not know what software You sell (will
> look at Your website later today!), but if You can
> afford to pay affiliates 50%, it looks like Your
> profit margin is incredible, and therefor: Don´t You
> think You could do something about Your pricing
> policy? Lowering Your product price may have some
> effect on sales numbers!

Well, we created few software gadgets, some very useful
and some not more useful then a sticker. Both can carry
a promotional message and serve as promotional gift.

The best so far was our PIM that one version was, among
others, customized for ZDNet and distributed from their
Exclusives area as ZDNet's EasyNoter 1.0.

In the meantime, we created another piece of software
that enables us to build custom replicas in a matter of
minutes... So, if we would get paid $10 we could earn
for a living. We could also sell that customization
software (as we will some) end earn for a living that
way too.

However, I am looking it from users perspective.

Advertising specialties are usually sold per item. That
works offline where you buy 100 or 1000 customized mugs
or calendars. You end up paying few hundred up to few
thousand dollars for a limited number of items!

In our case, you get a copy of customized item that is
more useful then a mug or paper calendar. You pay
$30-300 and can distribute it in unlimited number of
copies!

If I look from that perspective, our product not only
isn't expensive but it also dangerously INEXPENSIVE up
to a point when potential users may doubt it's value!

I am not talking about people who get 10 or 50 unique
visitors a day and would hardly be able to distribute
enough gifts to make a difference, but am talking about
sites with significant traffic and companies that
publish their own catalogues or CD's...

They have tens or hundreds thousand dollars budget...
They're hard to reach, but in my case not because the
product is too expensive, but because it's to
INexpensive :-)

Yes, I definitively have to think hard about pricing
structure :-)

Anyway, that's why we'll introduce two basic lines of
products. One in range up to about $300 and the other
starting at $1500.

>Do You provide trial versions of Your software?

We also do sell software to end users, per licence.
Current version is ad-supported freeware with option to
purchase ad-free version. Future releases will be pure
shareware. In any case it's available in trial version.

> If You do all this (trial version, maybe lowering the
> price, giving commissions even after trial) You might
> find enough affiliates, even if You only pay out 30%
> or so.

Actually, for end users licence we will probably use
different structure after all. I think, we will end up
paying $10 per sale of software that costs $29.95...

Thanks Georg!

Your comments were very interesting.

By the way, I noticed you're posting from Austria?
Neighbors? We have recently released German (and Dutch)
version of EasyNoter though it is still not available
for download. It will be introduced by ZDNet Germany
with some exclusivity period. Still, if you'd like to
see it, let me know. I'll send you a "secret" URL for
your personal use.

Best Regards,
Neven Prasnikar
artplus_at_artplus.hr
http://www.artplus.hr





Received on Fri Sep 29 2000 - 15:16:52 CDT