Pitfalls of working with multiple affiliate networks

These days there are so many affiliate networks on the internet it is difficult to choose only one to work with. Each of them has their strengths — higher commissions, fast and frequent on-demand payouts, top-notch tracking and analytical tools paired with comprehensive reports. But do you really have to pick only one network?

Well, you don’t. You can just create an account on each network. At Admitad Affiliate, it will barely take 5 minutes. (see for yourself).

So that you know: according to a survey done by Forrester on behalf of Rakuten, 94% of publishers work with two or more affiliate networks. It allows them to increase financial gains and gives access to a wider range of products. About 39% of publishers work with three networks, and 20% enroll with five or more!

But what about the pitfalls?

Unsurprisingly, with many affiliate networks comes immense additional workload. So if you are ready for it and willing to boost your income, be aware of the hidden hazards that might be waiting for you on your way to success with multiple networks.

1. “The more — the merrier”
   

   After you get your first affiliate income, you might want to take all of it, creating dozens of accounts across each and every affiliate network, so that no advertiser goes under your radar. This is a certain way to waste a lot of time on registration and proving your identity over and over again.
   It would be wise to do a small research beforehand. At least check what countries the network covers and whether it has programs in a segment that is appealing to your audience. And for your own sake, don’t go for too many, otherwise, you risk getting stuck with managing your accounts while not doing any actual work.
   Also, don’t forget, some companies have the same programs on several networks. Instead of going for 50 networks with a single deal on each, take your time and check whether your current affiliate network has the advertiser you seek.

2. Rules and looks are never the same
   

   Be ready for the real challenge of getting used to switching from one dashboard interface to another and managing the differences between them. Also, you would have to remember the rules of each network, such as what kinds of traffic are allowed or how often you can withdraw funds. Pay attention to tools and features provided by networks.

3. Track your metrics!
   

   There’s nothing new in saying that it is a BIG mistake not to track the results of your marketing campaigns. Luckily, most affiliate networks provide you with a full range of affiliate data for analysis.
   For example, at Admitad Affiliate you can easily get the information about clicks on banners and affiliate links, as well as users’ target actions — leads, sales, and more. With this data you can analyze the efficiency of your advertising, track the status of actions and run compelling retargeting campaigns.

4. The Ballad Of 100 Tabs
   

   Considering what we’ve said above, you must be ready for handling dozens of browser tabs. You’ll have to log into all each affiliate network at least once a day to check the progress of your campaigns. After that, you would download the data, put it into your Excel spreadsheets to compare it with the previous day/week/month, and analyze how well your campaign is performing across multiple networks.
   The more affiliate networks you work with, the more time-consuming, boring and ineffective it becomes. But luckily, the danger of drowning in routine actions can be easily obviated by using specialized tools and affiliate dashboards that collect information from different networks in one place.
   A good example of such an instrument is Strackr. Not only does it deliver you statistics on transactions, revenue, clicks, and payments, but also provides access to a huge database of programs from 125 affiliate networks. On their website, you can find more information about many other features they provide and get your free 30-day trial version.

Now that you have been warned of the challenges coming your way, you are ready to boost your profits in affiliate marketing and monetize your traffic to its fullest.

Stay safe and updated!