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Lessons Learned w/ Coupon and Deal sites

August 21, 2013 by ShareASale Author 6 Comments

That is one of the most common questions Merchants ask themselves when it comes to having an Affiliate Program.

  • What type of value will it provide our program?
  • What type of coupon/deal/promotions should we allow? 
  • Are there any ‘quality’ coupon sites out there that will drive incremental revenue? 
  • How can I avoid sites advertising promotions I didn’t give them?

All great questions, and one’s you SHOULD be asking when creating your Affiliate Program. Because there are so many ways for affiliates to participate in coupon advertising, you need to ask all of those questions to come to the best possible solution for your program. The actions you decide to take is totally up to you, but it’s good to know all of your options.

First and foremost, a common inquiry from most new merchants who receive many applications upon launching is addressed in a previous post HERE, where Sarah outlines common reasons why coupon affiliates are the first to apply to your program.

The Coupon Application Tidal Wave | ShareASale Blog

The Coupon Application Tidal Wave | ShareASale Blog

One of the most common questions I hear from new Merchants during their first few weeks of going live is, “Why are so many of my affiliate applications coming from coupon sites?”
via: blog.shareasale.com

This leads me to my next point…

All coupon sites are bad!

Multiple Sources

A misconception that I hear regularly from Merchants. That’s like saying ‘All carbs are bad’! Not necessarily and some can provide great benefits! The keys are:

  • Knowing which will provide positive results for your program
  • Putting in the time to learn about the benefits they provide
  • Monitoring 
  • Creating the right promotions
  • Using them to reach out to a market you wouldn’t have otherwise

Contrary to popular belief, Coupon and Deal sites can drive new customers to your site. Due to coupon-driven consumer behavior, many consumers are loyal shoppers to their favorite coupon sites and will always be a place these people shop. In stating that, there is a way to keep these coupon sites in your program and reward them for sending you new customers that provide incremental value.

We have the option in our Personalized Commission Rules (My Account >> Edit Settings >> Manage Advanced Commission Structures) to set this very rule up!

Another point to make are all of the different types of promotional options you have available to you. You can post:

  • coupons (with or without codes)
  • site wide sales
  • product specific deals/sales

If you decide to participate in these types of promotional methods, you can list those in the Coupons & Deals section within the interface (My Creatives >> Post Coupons & Deals). Here you can list the exact terms for that promotion you’re offering.

So what to do regarding coupon affiliate participation in your program? The action you decide to take is totally up to you! I would say though, the “best practice” for ALL Merchants who decide to work with coupon & promotional sites would be to establish a program agreement policy for what kind of coupon affiliate action you would like restricted so it is clear to all affiliates exactly what you will and will not allow.

Filed Under: Merchants Tagged With: #LessonsLearned

ShareASale Author

ShareASale Author

Comments

  1. Dianna at Savings in Seconds says

    August 28, 2013 at 6:40 pm

    I was especially interested to read this because my site is often mistaken for a coupon site. I share tips for saving both time and money—not usually coupons unless there’s a great deal that I plan to take advantage of. Thanks for a great post!

    Reply
  2. Chris says

    October 12, 2013 at 7:34 am

    Hey Kristen,
    We get a lot of sales from Coupon type sites, but I am trying to figure out if the customers see “discount code” on our site then go and search out these coupons. They then see a site with our coupons and come back to us and use it. So we are giving the site a commission without them doing anything. There seems to be a ton of “coupon sites” that arent signed up for our affiliate program, so would it be wise to discontinue any affiliate who is a coupon site?

    Reply
  3. Liam Jacob says

    February 28, 2014 at 1:18 pm

    Great points Kristen.
    Merchants must realize which publisher to work with unless they are ok with being not so picky. Not all coupons sites are scams. We, for example, evaluate travel insurance companies and review their services for a better insight for travelers. We make them save money and choose the best for them. Besides that, we offer them discount coupons for holidays, flights, cruises etc. as a bonus service. We provide the end user what merchants do not offer, an objective insight for what they are looking for. So Merchants should look for legitimate publishers to work with, so that both sides can win.
    Thanks,
    Liam Jacob
    http://www.itravela.com

    Reply
  4. Amandeep Singh says

    July 29, 2014 at 5:52 am

    Having a coupon site promoting your business can drive huge online traffic to your business.

    In my view, as long as a business sets some underlying guidelines for who can and cannot sign up to your campaigns, coupon/cashback sites are important for any online business.

    Reply
  5. Santanu says

    August 9, 2015 at 10:41 am

    Coupon sites are really on high demand and this sector is high demand as well. India is getting huge demand for such websites and recently many such websites are launching.

    Reply
  6. Nellie Heaton says

    May 3, 2017 at 7:35 am

    Great Blog! The demand for discount coupons in the world is getting more and more day by day. Now you can see thousands of coupon websites. I also always get discount coupons when online shopping.

    Reply

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