high end adult toy maker thinking of using affiliates

[ToyMaker]

Hello all,

I'm a US based sex toy manufacturer (Not a reseller) and I have a new product coming out in the next 3-6 months that I would like to market on it's own through an affiliate program. This will be a unique product with a rather large price tag of about $600.00 usd and if possible I'd really like to pick your brains over a few issues.

1. Most programs seem to be tied in with billing companies that want to charge me 15% of each sale on top of whatever percentage my affiliates get. I'm all about paying my affiliates, but I'll be damned if I'm giving a payment processor 15%. I've been using paypal for years without a problem and plan to continue doing so. My question is if webmasters have a stand alone affiliate program that they prefer to use and if so, why?

2. While doing research I noticed that very few adult toys are marketed through affiliates. Fleshlight does it, but that seems to be about it. Am I completely missing the toy related banners or is there a reason that webmasters prefer to stay away from adult toy affiliates?

3. Obviously all of you would like to make as much as possible, but what is the "standard" percentage given to affiliates? Also, and I know this number will vary for different reasons, but how much do you feel you need to make in order to stick with an affiliate?

I know these questions are very broad spectrum and probably some what stupid, but I'm genuinely interested in learning about what it takes to maintain affiliates. Affiliates are essentially a customer base so I'm really very interest to hear all of your opinions even if I'm not entirely hip to all the tech lingo. :cool2:

 

[Scattered]

2) Let me google that for you

3) 8%-20% depending on the ticket value of the item and what other comparable programs are offering. Some offer up to 35%, see link above.

I do not have an answer to number one, rather a theory in which I could be wrong.
The goal of the affiliate program is to maximize sales while minimizing cost and resources. Running a program in-house can get quite resource intensive with tracking/reporting/resolution/fraud monitoring, etc. 15% CPS does seem high, but then again, so does snoop dogg and he is pretty successful.

Edit: And for $600 it had better be 2 completely dead hookers in full rigamortis with no angry pimps or trail of evidence.

 

[JohnJohnson]

Hi, Toymaker.

Not an expert here, but from what I've read in similar posts, the best affiliates come with about 25 - 35%.

I don't know if you currently visit, but I believe that GFY Webmaster Board would also be filled with people who are more likely to be familiar with your niche.

 

[ToyMaker]

Thanks for the info so far. I can create just about anything, but tech just isn't my field.

Scattered - I saw that toy affiliate programs are out there, but I haven't seen many people promoting them. Everyone seems to be working with the adult dating sites. I'm assuming there is more money to be made with adult dating since toy market is heavily saturated and not really offering anything surprisingly new these days.

I would like the affiliate software to be managed and monitored to some degree, but I don't want them to process my payments. I'll be handling that differently and have an accountant that will manage paying the affiliates... if possible.

$600 is more affordable than you think. I sell some products for much more than that and they sell on an average of 1:1000.

JohnJohnson - Thank you for that! I'll go register there as well. I do hope to hear from more people on this forum though.

Edit: Just for the record, I have a friend who will be testing out the affiliate model for me so I'll have a better idea of what the conversion rate will be when I start actively seeking affiliates.