Affiliates and free trials

[bizcorp]

Hi everyone,

I was look around for an affiliate program to promote today and i came across one which said i make money when someone signs up for the free trial (they were offering a free trial). How is it possible to make money? As the vendor is not making any money from the free trial, how will affiliates earn any money?

 

[BrainPower]

Many time, companies give away the free trial (and pay for it) in order to have the customer's contact information. As additional emails get sent to them in the future, chances are a percentage will turn into buyers.

A good example is my energy shot company.
Lets say I paid .50 per sign up to each affiliate.
If i got 1000 signups, that would cost me (the site/company owner) $500.
For $500, I would have 1000 people that are interested in energy drinks / energy shots.

Hope the info helps.

 

[bizcorp]

Thanks for your reply. Yes that info does help :D

 

[LilBlackDress]

Unfortunately some free trials are set to scam consumers. For example, a company may charge a consumer $3.95 for shipping and offer the free trial. The trial starts the minute the consumer places the order, hardly enough time for the consumer to try it out.
Then the consumer, realizes that the price is pretty high, or doesn't like it and wants to return it.
So he/she calls the 1-800 no. only to find it's been delisted or is constantly busy.
The consumers credit card is charged, usually several hundred dollars and they have a credit card headache.

When I decided to sell Acai Berry and make a website for it (I have alot of websites), I realized that many of the companies offering it were scam companies. Happily I found a great company with a great product. The pay is not as good as the scam companies but so what. I can't imagine ripping people off just to make a buck. I treat others like I want to be treated.

My suggestion to you, is to carefully check the ad. I called the company to make sure I got a live person, did background checks etc.

So that is one reason companies give trial offers and it is not a good one.

 

[.Andy]

Unfortunately some free trials are set to scam consumers. For example, a company may charge a consumer $3.95 for shipping and offer the free trial. The trial starts the minute the consumer places the order, hardly enough time for the consumer to try it out.
Then the consumer, realizes that the price is pretty high, or doesn't like it and wants to return it.
So he/she calls the 1-800 no. only to find it's been delisted or is constantly busy.
The consumers credit card is charged, usually several hundred dollars and they have a credit card headache.

When I decided to sell acai berry, I realized that many of the companies were scam companies. Happily I found a great company with a great product. The pay is not as good as the scam companies but so what. I can't imagine ripping people off just to make a buck. I treat others like I want to be treated.

My suggestion to you, is to carefully check the ad. I called the company to make sure I got a live person, did background checks etc.

So that is one reason companies give trial offers and it is not a good one.

I agree and its a shame that it goes to this but always do your research.

 

[BrainPower]

to add to the above post.. if you're going the free trial route, go through one of the main affiliate networks... cj.com/shareasale/pepperjam....etc

By doing so, you severly minimize any sort of nonpayment.
If its a major company, or you have built a relationship with a site owner, then I'd say go direct (normally will give you a better payout, also a quicker payout too!)