Review of ShareASale
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Updated - 11/05/2008
Go to www.shareasale.com
Signing up for ShareASale grants publishers access to a wide range of advertising merchants, each of which has a specific affiliate program in place. However, just because publishers have access to these programs does not mean that they are all immediately available to them. Instead, there is an added application process for each individual affiliate program.
This does not mean that a complete application form has to be filled out for each program. The ShareASale internal system pulls the information from the existing account and applies to each successive affiliate program registration. The individual advertiser can then approve the account and the affiliate program is made available to the publisher. The turnaround for this second application will vary from advertiser to advertiser.
ShareASale affiliate programs come in three styles: pay-per-sale, pay-per-lead, and pay-per-click. The first two are CPA (cost-per-action), whereas the last is CPC (cost-per-click). Of the over 2,000 merchants, the vast majority utilize the pay-per-sale system. It should also be noted that when publishers first sign up with ShareASale, they are not eligible to apply for any of the pay-per-click programs. This is because all new publishers are assigned the status of “limited” and they only gain full status after receiving their first commission payment.
The ShareASale control panel can appear to be a little daunting for novice publishers, because they are bombarded with a wealth of information. Navigating through the control panel is done through the section links near the top of the page. This menu is collapsible, meaning that just the headings can be displayed or, when expanded, all of the sub-options can be displayed as well.
The control panel is broken down into six core sections: Reports/Stats, Find/Join Merchants, Get Links, Account Settings, Tools, and Extras.
The Reports/Stats section is where publishers can access activity details, today’s stats, a reversal report, monthly summary and more. The reports can be generated dynamically according to the publisher’s specifications.
When using the Find/Join Merchants section, publishers are encouraged to prepare for upcoming holidays.
Links to upcoming holidays are displayed near the top of the page, each of which direct the publisher to related affiliate programs. Alternatively, publishers can search based on the type of program (pay-per-sale, pay-per-lead, or pay-per-click) and then sort the results based on EPC, alphabetical order, or commission amount.
After being approved for an affiliate program, the ad creatives can be retrieved from the Get Links section. The remaining three sections – Account Settings, Tools, and Extras – are reasonably straightforward as well.
Each merchant offering an affiliate program through ShareASale provides its own set of ad creatives. These typically involved an array of colorful banners, as well as text links and brief pre-sell paragraphs. These creatives can be previewed before applying for each individual program.
Examples of affiliate programs available on ShareASale include:
- Stonecrest Furniture: Leading internet retailer of PolyWood recycled plastic patio and outdoor furniture. Publishers earn a 7% commission on all sales. The average invoice is $500, resulting in an average commission of $35.
- Tanga Fine Lingerie: Sells exclusive high fashion European designer lingerie. Publishers earn 7.5% of every sale. Average commission is $15.80.
- Interspire: Developers of “truly remarkable web-based PHP software for Internet professionals.” The commission is 30% per sale with an average sale of between $300 and $400.
- Mediaspike: Allows users to request free information from over 40 different online and campus-based universities. Pays $20 per lead.
- Mystic Monk Coffee: Sells freshly roasted bags of coffee from a hidden, cloistered monastery. Offers 18% affiliate commission for every sale with a monthly bonus of $200 for every publisher who generates 400 sales of 3 bags of coffee or more. Also pays $0.05 per lead.
In previewing each affiliate program, publishers are provided with all the basic information regarding the program. This includes the commission rate, the length of the cookie, average earnings per click, average sale, and average commission.
The registration form for ShareASale is comprised of five steps:
1. Username, password, country of residence
2. Main website (ads can be used on additional websites too)
3. Email address – Express application if email uses same domain as step 2
4. Contact information, site description and information, domain ownership
5. Tax information and payment details
ShareASale says that applicants can expect a reply within one business day. This promise held true.
ShareASale operates as an aggregator of sorts, collecting payments from all the merchants in their network and then sending these payments out to the publishers. In this way, it is not necessary to achieve a certain payment threshold for each individual affiliate program; it is only necessary to achieve the payment threshold for all campaigns combined.
The minimum payout level is $50. If a publisher’s balance is less than this, then their balance carries over to the next month. Payment is sent out on or around the 20th day of the month for commissions from the previous month. Publishers can choose to be paid via direct deposit, check via FedEx ($20 surcharge), or check via US Postal Mail. There is no option for PayPal at this time.
The referral program at ShareASale is two-fold and it can be found among the rest of the affiliate programs in their database. For every new merchant who signs up through a publisher’s affiliate link, the publisher earns a commission of $150. For every qualified publisher who signs up through a provided link, the referring publisher earns a commission of $1. To be eligible for this second commission, the referral must generate at least one click before the $1 is issued.
Near the top-right corner of the ShareASale control panel is a link that reads “Need Help: Click Here.” Upon clicking on this link, publishers are directed to the ShareASale Help Center. Before submitting a support ticket to the ShareASale support staff, publishers are encouraged to browse through the existing knowledge base (a categorized listing of all common frequently asked questions) and the downloads section (where they have access to all necessary manuals and software).
The dialog to submit a support ticket is comprised of four main fields. The first allows publishers to set a priority level, though “normal” appears to be the only setting available. The other three fields are the subject, the body, and an area to upload up to two files. A response is said to be dispatched “soon” and in real world practice, a response was received within two business days.
ShareASale offers publishers access to over 2,000 merchant affiliate programs. The registration process for ShareASale takes several steps, but approval is received within one business day. After this, publishers will need to browse through the marketplace and apply for individual affiliate programs. These are largely one-click applications, because the information is being pulled from the original application. 
The variety of affiliate programs available through ShareASale is formidable and each program comes with a wide range of ad creatives. The commission levels are generally quite generous with some programs offering as much as 30% of each sale, or several dollars for each lead. The cost-per-click campaigns are only available to publishers with “full” status and this is granted after the first commission check.
For publishers looking for another advertising network that largely focuses on CPA-based payment, it is very reasonable to consider applying for ShareASale. The fast net-20 payment model is particularly attractive.
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