Electronic Cigarette Feedback

12 replies
Hello everyone,

I have a client who has been in the ecig space for a few years, manufacturing, trial offers, etc. They know the ecig space inside and out. They are now getting ready to launch a site where you can buy starter kits, accessories, etc.

Has anyone had any good or bad experience with ecig companies either as their affiliate or user of the product?

I'd like to know what we could do better to help support affiliates and those who may run traffic to the site.
#cigarette #electronic #feedback
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    • Profile picture of the author affiliateagle
      Well, we could run through CPA or stand alone on our end. Do you have a preference or do you think an affiliate would prefer a certain channel over another?
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  • Profile picture of the author TonyNorton
    Joye tech are the best on the market, I've tried them all. They'll do re-branding too I think.

    Get ahold of me if you want to kick some ideas back and forth.

    Tony
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    • Profile picture of the author affiliateagle
      Thanks Tony, will do. I've seen a few reviews and updates for Joye Tech and they seem to have a real solid product. Sometime tomorrow I'll send you an email and maybe you can share some advice. Appreciate the help.
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      • Profile picture of the author StingGB
        I think Ecigs will be one of the biggest growth areas in eCommerce over the next few years. There's millions to be made. It's still bandit country out there with both suppliers and retailers. I went from 40 smokes a day for 35 years on to ecigs. If I can do it, anyone can, and tens of millions of other smokers will follow too. There's fortunes to be made for those that get in now and make the right decisions. Don't be an affiliate though, become a market leader. I'd do it myself if I wasn't so close to retirement.
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  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    This is something I'm also getting into. I'm in the process of starting my own (offline) e-cig company.

    I think your best best is to follow normal affiliate practices. You will likely want to invest in an inhouse affiliate program of some sort. Maybe something like infusionsoft. I will be using FusionHQ to run my site/affiliate program.

    Good luck.

    Cheers,
    Coby
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    • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
      Actually, if you market them right, you can still make a good bit of cash as an affiliate. I was just accepted as an affiliate with the company of the only ecigs I'll use. One of the partners called today and we were on the phone for a while. I'd already done a video review of the brand a few months ago because I was so impressed, and he was impressed with the video.

      I'm pretty excited about it! Theirs is a brand new affiliate program and I'm ecstatic about being accepted!

      I'm putting together some content and more videos to launch a new blog all about ecigs, quitting smoking, etc.

      After 2 pks a day for 35 years, I finally quit about 5 years ago using Chantix (I didn't know about ecigs then!). But as a lot of quitters do, I was on the verge of starting up again.

      I decided to give ecigs a try to help reduce some stress. I tried a few brands but when I tried these, I was so impressed with the quality, I got two starter kits and an extra 5-pk of cartridges.

      So now I can stay smoke-free and make some money at the same time, which will go a long way in paying for my own stuff.
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  • Profile picture of the author drr
    I agree that ecigs have a huge potential. I've never been a smoker myself but I have two friends who are now using ecigs regularly. There's something seriously odd about seeing a cig being "recharged" on an Apple Mac USB port. Probably just me rapidly and worryingly heading towards middle age but I cant help feel it's technology gone mad!
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  • Profile picture of the author jgant
    I promoted ecigs for some time a while ago when I was into SEO. It's fairly competitive for SEO. The main paid traffic options (Adwords, Bing and maybe Facebook) aren't available hence ecig companies love affiliates.

    The key is offering high recurring commissions to affiliates. Users buy refills from the same brand and often stick with the brand of starter kit they use. Get customer loyalty data and if customer loyalty is high let affiliates know that customers who buy kits are likely to buy refills. The more data you can provide, the better (i.e. average amount spent from customers over the course of a year).

    The quality of the kits and flavor varies quite a bit across brands. When I promoted them I ordered 5 kits for testing and quality/flavor varied a ton. As long as your friend's brand is a quality product with loyal customers and is willing to pay very good commission, they'll attract affiliates.

    After determining my favorite brand I asked if they would bump my commission if I rated them #1 on my site. They agreed to a very good commission (75% for kits and 35% recurring).

    Also, offering excellent discount codes for affiliates helps - it's a great selling tool. Most brands do this.

    Most ecig sites are review sites so it's straight-up SEO. Most ecig sites will write the review, but the key is not getting rated poorly by the high-ranking sites. Find the top-ranking ecig sites and offer to send the owner a free kit and a multi-flavor pack so they can test it. Bend over backwards for affiliates and as long as the product is high quality, some sites will give a high rating.

    Some affiliates make a killing. I did okay for a while, but with SEO fluctuating so much it was a hassle ... but there are still plenty of gung-ho affiliates in the space. The top ranking sites fluctuate like crazy in the SERPs.

    If possible, sell a product that offers something unique. Some brands claim their juice is healthier, either by not using certain ingredients or by touting the vapor includes vitamins or is fortified in some way. The brand needs to have converting USP to give affiliates something to rave about and to distinguish the brand in a marketplace already crowded with some well-known brands.

    It's definitely a growing market, but also risky because of unknown future regulatory issues.
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    • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
      jgant - that's some great information there!!

      And yes, there are a lot of talking heads out in space that are trying to get this new industry regulated by the government, as if we need more stuff regulated by the government, but that's another topic that I'm at times a little too passionate about so I won't hijack this thread about that.

      I personally feel that a lot of what's behind the doctors and other "experts" is the tobacco companies and their lobbyists. The more popular ecigs become, the harder the tobacco companies will push for some added regulations because they're going to start losing money eventually.

      Anytime something "alternative" comes onto the market that adversely affects Big Companies and Big Pharma, they go into attack mode.

      At the same time, it's government regulations that have kicked smokers to the curb - literally - with all their No Smoking here and No Smoking there. And then when someone comes up with an alternative that literally pleases everyone - smokers can now "smoke" anywhere without breaking any laws or subjecting anyone to secondhand smoke, OMG, we can't have that, now, can we?!

      Nooo... more people are switching to ecigarettes. Instead of 'friends don't let friends drive drunk,' it's 'friends don't let friends keep smoking.' 'Here, try this!' handing their pal an electronic smoke.

      So now the government regime sees a new way to infringe on its subjects' rights and freedoms. [Sh*t - I said I wasn't going to go there :rolleyes:]

      But the reason I decided to go with just this one company/brand to promote is because I'm very passionate about this. When I quit smoking, I didn't do it because I "wanted" to do it. I was forced to quit due to medical reasons. So even though my breathing got better, with the added expense of two asthma inhalers and other medical issues, I've never been quite able to get past the increased stress factor of not being able to smoke. e-cigarettes have been a godsend to me!

      So I figure since I'm already promoting them and telling friends and family members about them, encouraging others to switch, I may as well make a few bucks in the process that will help pay for them too.

      Since I'm only going to be promoting just this one brand - for now - I know I'm not going to "make a killing" from one blog and one product. But then again, I'm not a distributor or an e-commerce store. My blog will have AdSense ads and maybe eventually I'll accept paid ads on the site, but primarily I'll just be promoting this one brand only - by choice - because this is the brand I use and recommend.
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      • Profile picture of the author jgant
        Originally Posted by ksmusselman View Post

        jgant - that's some great information there!!

        Since I'm only going to be promoting just this one brand - for now - I know I'm not going to "make a killing" from one blog and one product. But then again, I'm not a distributor or an e-commerce store. My blog will have AdSense ads and maybe eventually I'll accept paid ads on the site, but primarily I'll just be promoting this one brand only - by choice - because this is the brand I use and recommend.
        Thanks ksmusselman. I wouldn't sell your 1 brand strategy short. When I was into ecigs I had my favorite brand and made it clear on my blog that I preferred one brand and promoted it extensively and that resulted in very good conversions.

        I think the one brand approach is the best because your recommendation is sincere. If you've tried other brands say so (I did - I explained how I tested several brands). Visitors will appreciate the sincerity of your recommendation. There are good keywords other than "X brand review".

        No matter how you approach the niche, it's largely an SEO game, which while working is fantastic. I never tried PPV traffic or second tier PPC networks ... but that might work.

        One angle you could take is offer a step-by-step report on how you quit smoking. The obvious conclusion is that ecigs make it possible.
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        • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
          jgant - thank you for those suggestions!

          I still need to get my blog set up; need to come up with a catchy but not overrated domain name too. Meanwhile, I already have four SEO optimized YouTube videos in play with my Pretty Link affiliate links.

          I shared them all across the major social media channels when I was finished with them.

          Once I get the blog set up - want to grab some graphics from the product's site and some of their cool banners - then I can embed the videos into the site.

          And I think I'm DEFINITELY going to set up an opt-in form and use my How I Quit report as the incentive. I can use the mailing list to promote other affiliate products such as e-liquids and accessories, other tips as I find them, etc.

          I can also promote this lightly on my wedding info blog because ... wait for it... isn't it horrible to see a brand new bride in a white dress standing outside at in a smoker's corner getting all smelly???

          Personally, it would be much more polite and becoming to see her delicately holding a sleek, classy e-cig that doesn't create a billow of stinky stuff around her head whilst mingling with her guests in a beautiful dress.

          And god forbid she burn a hole in that $1000 white wedding gown! Oh, the horrors!

          (I have to copy that into a notepad for a new blog post. :rolleyes: )

          Hmmm... now for some big sales from the brides and grooms and all of their smoking attendants.. hell yeah!!

          Wow - these could be the new fad in wedding favors! ROFLMAO

          Can you tell I really feel good about this venture! I think it's because I really AM passionate about this!
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