Since we're currently working on three new launches, I'm bumping this to see if there are any other members who would be so kind as to leave comments on what they look for in a clickbank vendor?
As in said in my original post, I'd really appreciate it if you could spare a few minutes of your time to let me pick your brains (and I believe this would benefit not just me but all vendors on this forum, and in turn, better vendors = better products = more money for you affiliates
Basically, what I'm asking is: how important are the following to you in deciding whether or not to promote a particular vendor's products?
1. Affiliate tools? and which are the most important to you - banners, ecovers, ppc keywords, articles, rebrandable reports, emails, anything else?
My business has greatly expanded in the past 6 or so months, so my answers are a bit different - I'll reanswer this.
Emails that are based on tested copy are now something I appreciate more because if I'm trying to sell a product to my list but I don't know much about the actual product itself and I'm too lazy to look at a review copy (honestly... I'm usually too lazy to look at review copies) then I'll use swipes to help me write my own.
Rebrandable reports would be a nice bonus I see almost nowhere, I could add them to my autoresponder if the merchants I promoted actually made these. They'd have to be genuinely good/provide my subscribers with genuinely good value though. I've had a huge shift in these past 6 months and focus even more on quality when it comes to giving out content. Cheap, flimpsy content will water down my list... no thank you!
2. Bonuses for making your first sales (eg $50 bonus after the first 3 sales; what do you consider an 'attractive' new affiliate bonus?)
This isn't particularly relevant to me, haha
3. Affiliate contests (prizes to who makes the most sales in a specific time period; and any specific prizes you prefer - cash, objects eg laptops, holidays?)
This is one of the biggest changes to me because it's now much more relevant. I think that for me, prizes are still irrelevant because launches are by design top-heavy, and I still won't win-win for quite some time yet. So I guess cash is nice. Anything below #3 usually starts to have pretty crappy prizes as-per how much money you make by just promoting the product (if you're making 10k in commissions why do you care about a $500 cash prize vs. a $300 cash prize?) But what is more nice is using it as a nice networking opportunity to meet others in my niche... So if anything, I care more about the JV manager sending out regular emails with the leaderboard in it.
4. Special commission rates (above 75%) to who can generate good sales number
Yes yes yes yes a million times yes haha! I like to promote products long-term if possible so a higher commission rate rewards me far more than a stretch bonus. Haha, I'm always super motivated by money!
5. Vendor support and response time (and what is a good response time for you - 12 hours, 24 hours, 2 business days, etc?)
This is something I care about WAY MORE than I did 6 months ago! It doesn't need to be fast... I understand from personal experience, we all have lives. But if the first reply is within 3 days, that is totally fine (later replies I expect can take much longer, though anything more than a week is kind of rude) but truthfully... the sooner someone replies, the better, because usually I'm excited about an offer when I first reach out to a merchant with a potential promotional plan, so the sooner they reply the more likely they are to capture and kindle my inspiration! It matters less to me with ClickBank merchants though because I know I'll always be paid. When I'm promoting offers on a merchant's own private platform, the trust between me/them is a lot lower until I get my first payment...
6. Regular updates and improvements on the website
I won't promote rubbish... so regular improvements to the site is nice just from the perspective that it shows you care about your customers which are ultimately my subscribers.
7. Whether or not a video sales page is used (vs text sales pages) - do you automatically like one more than the other, or you reserve judgement until you see the conversion rates?
Conversion rates matter the most to me. VSL vs. sales letter doesn't bother me at all... and I'm not afraid to skip the sales page and make my own based on my promotional method/subscribers anyway. The offers I promote are currently all sales letters, though that is more common in my niche. In your niche I can imagine I'd be pretty skeptical of something that wasn't a VSL, just because it's pretty unusual for a sales letter to convert better... but if you mentioned you'd tested different versions on your JV page then that would qualm my fears.
Anything else other than the above?
Not really. I think that if you have a high converting offer that provides genuine value to customers, it is hard to go wrong.
