How do you pick your sponsors?

[zman]

I try to find the sponsors which are not promoted by too many webmasters. I check if PPS is available, how much are they paying per sign-up and if they have epassporte as a payment processor. Then I take a look at their tours and if I like those I give them a try for about a month or so. If their sites do not convert well I just drop them and find another one.

[jayeff]

I guess we all live in hope of finding that "magic" sponsor, but one of the problems facing new sponsors or really any who want to expand, is that webmasters who have been around a while - ie the generally better traffic sources - mostly realize that exceptional sponsors don't exist.

In other words, if you have had a few years to build up a solid sponsor list, there is only rarely much point in trying new ones. I would go further and say that applies even to new sites.

For years I have had a promo spot in which I let my ad script display new sites for a while. I add every new site which looks like it might have half a chance and then watch the stats for anything which performs above average. It's quite productive with brand new sites, but interest in the vast majority tails off very quickly and those which were "beta tested" for months on high-traffic sites (ie we gave the cream to our friends) often don't do much at all.

The only real exceptions I can recall are when someone has introduced a completely new concept (free ezines for example). When something like that gets the formula right, you can get a really good run for a year or two.

[Simon IA Cash]

Originally Posted by zman

I try to find the sponsors which are not promoted by too many webmasters.

I was waiting for someone to say that. As much as it makes sense to go off recommendations or try out sponsors whose affiliates claim great ratios, the fact of the matter is you're taking a relatively small slice of an admittedly large and delicious pie. Personally, I'd prefer to eat half of the pie that no one even bothered to try. I guess it would be good to diversify a portfolio with various sponsors, with some blue chips and some new tries (pies?). Mmm, chips and pie.

[tickler]

Originally Posted by Simon IA Cash

I was waiting for someone to say that. As much as it makes sense to go off recommendations or try out sponsors whose affiliates claim great ratios, the fact of the matter is you're taking a relatively small slice of an admittedly large and delicious pie. Personally, I'd prefer to eat half of the pie that no one even bothered to try. I guess it would be good to diversify a portfolio with various sponsors, with some blue chips and some new tries (pies?).

These are some nice sponsors out there that have no WM referral program. So the chances of me splitting up that pie with no gain for me are basically nill!

Originally Posted by Simon IA Cash

Mmm, chips and pie.

Sounds like that geico commercial.