Why don't services have affiliate programs?

26 replies
We all know that many digital products have affiliate programs attached to them. And it makes total sense.

But why don't services do the same? I'm talking about services like content creation, SEO, web design, etc.

I understand commissions for services can't be as high, but I imagine most service providers would be able to pay, say, 30% commissions.

I'm mainly refering to "productized services" that have specific prices. For example: "1 article for $30", "10 articles for $250", etc...

I'd love to be able to get paid for recommending a service to my customers (if the service is top quality).

The closest thing I have seen to this is that some services offer a "white-label" option that allows others to resell those services (and mark them up as they see fit). But that requires several extra steps, like collecting the customer's instructions, etc...

I feel l may be missing something obvious here.

What do you think?
#affiliate #programs #services
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    I'm talking about services like content creation, SEO, web design, etc.

    When you sell an affiliate product, the product is there and ready to go and the price has been set to include 'a commission'.


    I imagine most service providers would be able to pay, say, 30% commissions]

    A service requiring writing or site design is custom work done AFTER the sale...building in 30% commission would price most service providers out of the market.


    What is done offline that might translate to 'online services' is a 'finder's fee' or 'referral fee' which is a set $$ amt when you send a customer to a real estate salesmen or web designer.
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  • Profile picture of the author perneali45
    Thanks, Kay...

    I have edited my original post to mention:

    "I'm mainly refering to "productized services" that have specific prices. For example: "1 article for $30", "10 articles for $250", etc..."

    Even if a service doesn't make money on the first transaction, they could make their profits on the repeat purchases of that buyer.

    Not to mention that some "agencies" markup their services at least 400%.
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  • Profile picture of the author Serene Carmen
    Hi there

    This is really good idea. I don't see that there would be a downside to this. There's an antire section on Impact Affiliates for B2B services with nothing listed.
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  • Profile picture of the author tnob
    Might one issue be scale? If all of a sudden a content writer has 1000 customers from an affiliate link who each want "10 articles for $250", then they would either not be able to keep up, or they would want to adjust their price for supply/demand economics.
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    • Profile picture of the author perneali45
      Originally Posted by tnob View Post

      Might one issue be scale? If all of a sudden a content writer has 1000 customers from an affiliate link who each want "10 articles for $250", then they would either not be able to keep up, or they would want to adjust their price for supply/demand economics.
      That's a fair point.

      But they could also hire some more writers - at least short-term.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    You seem to be changing the argument as people answer.

    Even if a service doesn't make money on the first transaction, they could make their profits on the repeat purchases of that buyer.
    Giving a away profit on a product you have to sell is not the same thing as giving away hours of TIME.

    But they could also hire some more writers - at least short-term.
    So you would totally change the service provider's business to justify your 'commissions'?

    You are describing an arbitrage model. If I am hiring other writers to produce work I have contracted to do - and I can profit by paying those writers less than I charge the client....I don't need an affiliate marketer in the mix for any reason. THAT business model is what replaces 'affiliate commissions' in a service industry job...?

    To me this is one of those questions asked to create an argument rather than get an answer. Can you give an example of how this affiliate model would 'work' from start to finish?


    This is really good idea. I don't see that there would be a downside to this. There's an antire section on Impact Affiliates for B2B services with nothing listed.
    Gee - wonder why nothing is listed???
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    • Profile picture of the author Odahh
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      You seem to be changing the argument as people answer.

      Giving a away profit on a product you have to sell is not the same thing as giving away hours of TIME.

      So you would totally change the service provider's business to justify your 'commissions'?

      You are describing an arbitrage model. If I am hiring other writers to produce work I have contracted to do - and I can profit by paying those writers less than I charge the client....I don't need an affiliate marketer in the mix for any reason. THAT business model is what replaces 'affiliate commissions' in a service industry job...?

      To me this is one of those questions asked to create an argument rather than get an answer. Can you give an example of how this affiliate model would 'work' from start to finish?


      Gee - wonder why nothing is listed???
      the affiliate marketer is a service provide for the product creator ..
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    • Profile picture of the author perneali45
      Thanks for all the answers so far!

      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      Can you give an example of how this affiliate model would 'work' from start to finish?
      Thanks for making this point. I should have done this from the start, to make my point clear. My bad. Ok, here's how this would work:

      1) Business person wants to create a content agency.

      2) They hire people who will do the actual writing. They can hire and fire writers on an as-needed basis.

      3) They figure out how much work the writer(s) can do, and what's the cost. Let's say the average cost is $10 for one 800-word article.

      4) They markup the service 200% (so, 100% + 200% = 300% = triple the price). They create productized services: "One 800-word article for $30". "Ten 800-word articles for $250" (slight discount for bulk orders).

      5) They build a website explaining the offer. The website has order buttons where people can buy the two offers stated above. The ad copy explains why that service is better compared to competing offers.

      6) They create an affiliate program. 30% commissions. So, if an affiliate sends a customer who will buy the offer "Ten 800-word articles for $250", the financial breakdown would be:
      • Customer pays $250.
      • Affiliate gets 30% of that: $75.
      • Writers get paid their fees. In this case, ten articles at $10 per article: $100.
      • Business owner keeps the rest: $75.
      7) Customer is happy with the articles. They buy another ten articles for $250. This time, writers get $100 and the business owner keeps the rest ($150).

      8) Rinse, repeat, scale.

      What do you think?
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      • Originally Posted by perneali45 View Post


        They create an affiliate program. 30% commissions. So, if an affiliate sends a customer who will buy the offer "Ten 800-word articles for $250", the financial breakdown would be:
        • Customer pays $250.
        • Affiliate gets 30% of that: $75.
        • Writers get paid their fees. In this case, ten articles at $10 per article: $100.
        • Business owner keeps the rest: $75.
        Customer is happy with the articles. They buy another ten articles for $250. This time, writers get $100 and the business owner keeps the rest ($150).
        What if most people spend no more than $30? Is the affiliate incentivized? Is the service provider willing to pay $10 to the affiliate and another $10 to the writer... and incur the overhead of vetting, hiring and managing?

        You'd have to know the numbers. They clearly do. And since they aren't all doing it, there's a problem with the model. I don't know exactly what that is, but I'd imagine the consequences are greater than the rewards.
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        • Profile picture of the author perneali45
          Originally Posted by Declan O Flaherty View Post

          What if most people spend no more than $30? Is the affiliate incentivized? Is the service provider willing to pay $10 to the affiliate and another $10 to the writer... and incur the overhead of vetting, hiring and managing?

          You'd have to know the numbers. They clearly do. And since they aren't all doing it, there's a problem with the model. I don't know exactly what that is, but I'd imagine the consequences are greater than the rewards.
          I see your point, Declan.

          Maybe the packages could be different. For example:

          "Ten 800-word articles for $300"

          "Twenty 800-word articles for $550"

          "Fourty 800-word articles for $1000"

          So, even the smallest package would account for the management required.

          As you mentioned, each business would need to know their numbers - and adjust accordingly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    He's asking about being a 'service provider' for a 'service provider' ?
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    • Profile picture of the author Odahh
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      He's asking about being a 'service provider' for a 'service provider' ?
      you read almost every post on this forum and many of the posts that do not make it .

      so what i am saying .. is many product creators .. have already dealt with many different service providers to create the product.. and the affiliate marketer .. is another service provider .. especially if the product is feeding people into a sale funnel ..
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  • Profile picture of the author Serene Carmen
    Hey there

    It looks as though Shareasale.com does exactly what you are describing. They partner with agencies, affiliates and merchants.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    so what i am saying ..
    I was agreeing with what you said in the first place.


    What I see are attempts to justify this idea - isntead of asking 'would it work' -there are reasons for an arbitrage model for 'service providers' instead of 'affiliate commission'.



    ShareASale, Clickbank, JVZoo connect sellers and affiliates...but not the same as I'm reading in the OP. Anyone who wants to try this idea can do it, though. I don't think it would work - as a service provider I would have no interest in it....but that's me.


    It might work for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author visimedia
    services = high labor cost mostly, because we pay for people's services.
    If they have the margin, or spare some margin on this, definitely they'll have aff program inside.
    Or if they don't have enough margin, then they'll prefer not to have the aff program.

    basically considering this, if the business put affiliate marketing as a part of their marketing effort, then they'll adjust the margin.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    markup the service 200% (so, 100% + 200% = 300% = triple the price
    How much have YOU paid for freelancers to write articles? I ask because you seem to believe a $10 article can be tripled in price and easily sold.

    As an example, go to textbroker.com where they advertise writing 'for as little as 1.5 cents per word'... 'competitively priced AT THE QUALITY LEVEL YOU CHOOSE'. That 'service' has been around for several years - they know price is important and that price reflects quality.

    Of course that site has to make money but I would expect the margins are slim and quantity is the goal. If you had a similar business and, using writers as an example - tripled the cost to pay yourself and an affiliate...could you compete with a site like textbroker?

    We approach the idea from different directions...some people trying to find ways to make an idea work. I look for reasons it might NOT work before I jump into it. Different ways to look at it.
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    • Profile picture of the author perneali45
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      How much have YOU paid for freelancers to write articles? I ask because you seem to believe a $10 article can be tripled in price and easily sold.

      As an example, go to textbroker.com where they advertise writing 'for as little as 1.5 cents per word'... 'competitively priced AT THE QUALITY LEVEL YOU CHOOSE'. That 'service' has been around for several years - they know price is important and that price reflects quality.
      Thanks for reminding me of them.

      I looked at their fees and article samples.

      To me, only their top option (5 stars) at 7.2 cents per word is usable for blog content - and even that leaves a lot to be desired - a LOT.

      That's $72 for 1000 words, btw.

      I have hired people who can write at better quality than that, for half the price. And I didn't even look that hard.

      Their 1.5-cents-per-word option produces content that, by their own admission, "could contain spelling, grammatical and punctuation mistakes."

      That option is basically an attention grabber ("Content for 1.5 cents per word"). I could only see that content being used for search engines. Definitely not for people. Not something I'd put my name on.

      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      I look for reasons it might NOT work before I jump into it.
      That's fine. Actually, I'm very much like that too. :-)

      Thanks again for the feedback everyone. I'd love to keep this thread going if possible!
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  • Profile picture of the author DABK
    OP, me, I think you're just not aware of words.


    I run a service business. I pay finder's fees. You're free to call yourself my affiliate. If you ask me politely, I'll call you my affiliate. But in my books, I write 'finder's fee' or 'marketing fee' or 'acquisition fee' next to your payments.


    I do not care that you find me clients via SEO, networking, social media... as long as you do not represent me. Or bid on my company name or my name. Or create a website that looks like it could be mine.
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    • Profile picture of the author perneali45
      Originally Posted by DABK View Post

      I run a service business. I pay finder's fees. You're free to call yourself my affiliate. If you ask me politely, I'll call you my affiliate. But in my books, I write 'finder's fee' or 'marketing fee' or 'acquisition fee' next to your payments.

      I do not care that you find me clients via SEO, networking, social media... as long as you do not represent me. Or bid on my company name or my name. Or create a website that looks like it could be mine.
      Sounds good.

      If I may ask, do you mention your referal program prominently on your site? If not, why?
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      • Profile picture of the author DABK
        No. I do not want to be bothered by people who don't get it.



        I want them to put some effort into it.


        Clears out a lot of people I do not want to deal with.


        Originally Posted by perneali45 View Post

        Sounds good.

        If I may ask, do you mention your referal program prominently on your site? If not, why?
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      • Profile picture of the author Odahh
        Originally Posted by perneali45 View Post

        Sounds good.

        If I may ask, do you mention your referal program prominently on your site? If not, why?
        i got hit with a bout of depression this weeks .. and feel a bit better today ..

        talented professional creators employ people called agents .. so that is as close as you get .. to affiliate marketers ..

        how much have you studied the models being used by service providers ..to sell their services .
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  • Profile picture of the author superowid
    I don't know if it's still available.
    But you can just join Fiverr affiliate program and bring them new customers as much as you want for commission.
    And fiverr is basically all about services.
    But again, I don't know if it's still available or not.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    Good example, did not realize Fiverr had an affiliates program - they offer CPA and revenue share...hard to imagine that would be much of an income but I could be wrong.
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    • Profile picture of the author darepr
      If I remember correctly, it's for their Fiverr Pro services, which are usually priced more than just a normal fiverr gig.
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  • Profile picture of the author darepr
    I know a guy who is trying this method right now - they are doing a marketplace for recruiters to be matched up with businesses looking to hire someone and then the recruiter finds the candidate and the business hires them and it's all a fixed fee less than most recruiting agencies.

    They pay a fixed affiliate price for the service from $200-500, but the affiliate makes money any time the business makes a hire for the next 12 months. So if the affiliate brings in one business and they make 12 hires in a year, they make money for each hire.

    So it sounds like some people are trying this method now (at least some creative ones) for services.
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  • Profile picture of the author mohitensett
    Service affiliate marketing is not feasible. The reason is SIMPLE! This is a complex process to start and execute. I have tried for one of my client, but they give up after initial big investment. However, I am optimitic with SERVICE AFFILIATE MARKETING.
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