Affiliate Website vs. Online Store

[smallville]

Many of the products I want to market are not in affiliate programs, but the merchants, seminar speakers, regularly partner with groups to split profits when they are doing seminars.

There current norm for competing websites is they have an online store where people purchase the products on THEIR website, rather than being transferred to the merchant website via an affiliate link.

I would like to know if anyone has challenged this norm in their industry with an affiliate website?

[Rosalind Gardner]

Hi smallville,

Good question. I haven't personally tried anything like that - sounds like work - but perhaps someone else on the forum has teamed up with a merchant or group in this way?

Ros

[smallville]

Ros:

Thanks for the response. Upon further inspection, a couple of the competitors "appear" to have their own store, but a closer look at the links shows what looks like affiliate links thru 1automationwiz, 1shoppingcart, and e-junkie.

When I visited 1automation and 1shoppingcart, their sites tend to cater toward merchants. Their "affiliate" nav buttons are about becoming affiliates for "their" products (which is fine) but I guess I'll have to contact them directly when I'm ready to set up my affiliate links.

FYI... I'm a total newbie who recently bought your "other" book from my local B&N which has started me on this whole adventure. You give very high quality content, just like you teach us to do, and I appreciate it.

You may as well have had it printed on yellow paper, because I was tempted to highlight everything Thanks, Ros!

[Rosalind Gardner]

Hi smallville

Thanks much for the kind words about my 'other' book.

Yes, 1automation and 1shoppingcart are services for merchants with their own merchant accounts. They also offer a built-in affiliate program component for those merchants.

Affiliates can promote 1shoppingcart to merchants such as I do in the article,Merchant Account Options.

Best,
Ros