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In order for affiliates to effectively
promote your software applications, you will need
to provide them with promotional collateral for
those products. Do not skimp on quality when setting
up affiliate collateral. It is not something you
should cut corners on, because a motivated affiliate
can generate significant revenue. But in order
to do so, they will need quality promotional materials.
A professional affiliate that is spending money
to promote your application is not going to want
sub-standard graphics and promotional materials.
Software Affiliate Collateral
The following should be considered as "must
haves" in order for an affiliate to take
your company seriously...
Box Shot
Provide affiliates with a professional-quality
"box shot" for the product. Even if the product
is electronic only, it is important to show it
as something tangible. A high-quality box shot
can really make your product stand out. The box
shot should be a minimum of 300 pixels wide --
affiliates can re-size the image down if they
require a smaller size, but it is difficult to
increase the size of a too-small image without
damaging the quality.
Software to create box shots:
3-D
Box Shot Maker
Box
Shot 3D
Mini Description
Provide a mini description that affiliates can
use in their promotional tag-line as a portfolio.
Keep it short and succinct. Start with a headline
of 25 words or less, which provides a quick overview
of the product.
Short Description
Provide affiliates with a detailed short description
that summarizes the product and benefits, but
does not exceed 250 characters.
Long Description
Provide affiliates a more-detailed long description
as well. The long description should be no longer
than 2000 characters in length, and should detail
the benefits of using the software. Be sure to
include any operating system requirements and
any other special requirements for the software
to function properly. It is important to include
details regarding how the software will "benefit"
the customer, rather than promoting the "features"
of the product.
Trial Link
That Has Tracking Providing evaluation versions
of the products will help increase software sales.
Provide affiliates with an evaluation version
that contains built-in affiliate tracking codes.
That way, if the affiliate promotes the evaluation
version, they will be properly credited for any
sales that result.
Buy Link
Be sure to provide affiliates with a "buy" link
that contains their affiliate ID. Many consumers
purchase on impulse, so it is important to provide
a buy option along with a try/evaluate option.
The following things should be considered as
"nice to have" for affiliates...
Screen Shots
Provide affiliates with a wide array of product
screen shots, in a variety of sizes. It is important
that some of the screen shots be large, with a
minimum width of 700 pixels -- as with the box
shot, it is much easier for affiliates to downsize
larger graphics than it is to increase smaller
ones.
PAD File
Many publishers send out PAD files when they release
a new version. It is recommended that PAD file
submissions to download sites be performed only
by the software publisher/developer, and not by
the affiliate. And while PAD file submissions
should not be performed by the affiliate, the
affiliate may benefit from having access to the
information contained in the PAD file. Tools and
information for creating and using PAD files can
be found on the ASP's PAD website at http://www.asp-shareware.org/pad/
.
Banners And Graphics
Affiliates can also benefit from having access
to quality standard-sized web banners and promotional
graphics, which they can use to promote specific
products. The most commonly-requested image sizes
for promotional graphics and banners are: 468x60,
728X90, 160x600, or 300x250.
Remember: the more collateral you provide
to an affiliate, the better they can promote your
product. And if you don't or can't provide graphics
that suit the needs of an affiliate, a competitor
might! The more that you can provide, the better.
Also keep in mind that both RegNow and eSellerate
have email systems that allow publishers to communicate
with their affiliates, which helps keep affiliates
informed about product updates and new collateral...
and that will endear you to them.
oneNetworkDirect
oneNetworkDirect contains over 70,000 affiliates
from around the globe.
http://www.onenetworkdirect.com
RegNow
Huge network of top software titles where
affiliates can earn up to 75%.
http://www.regnow.com
eSellerate
http://www.esellerate.net/affiliates_retailers.asp
ShareIt
http://www.shareit.com/affiliateintro.html
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