PublisherSpot

Updated - 05/09/2010

Go to www.t3leads.com

Most affiliate networks give publishers the ability to search through a number of different offers from a number of different advertisers. The publisher can then acquire the appropriate code or content needed for email marketing, placing ad banners, and other promotional methods. T3leads.com takes a slightly different approach to this market.

Instead of naming specific advertisers with set payout levels, this affiliate network provides the publisher with the ability to choose from several different ad categories. Further still, there are no set payout levels, since the revenue is determined through an auction system. The advertisers bid for the leads and T3leads turns around to pay the publisher for sending the referral.

This affiliate network operates exclusively with the pay-per-lead system. This means that the publisher does not need to refer a sale nor will the publisher get paid for simply generating a click. The only way that a publisher makes money is to refer a visitor who completely fills out the appropriate form and the lead is then validated.

The categories offered by T3leads are largely in the financial and insurance realms. These categories include payday loans, auto warranties, loan modification, cancer insurance, annuity insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and renters insurance. Each category does not have a specific advertiser since, as mentioned above, advertisers bid for the leads generated.

T3leads does not offer the traditional array of text links and ad banners like other CPA networks either. Instead, publishers are provided with three main options for promoting the different lead-generating offers: JavaScript forms, personal web sites and public web sites.

JavaScript forms are mostly for experienced webmasters, since the forms can be inserted into just about any website. The forms are then filled out by visitors and the publisher is paid for sending a qualifying and valid lead. It is up to the publisher to design an appropriate landing page to use these forms.

Public web sites are on existing domains and are already populated with a category-specific design and form. Publishers make money by referring visitors to these sites with unique referral URLs, assuming that said visitors fill out the forms and qualify as a valid lead.

Private web sites include everything that publishers would need to create their own unique websites with unique domains. Included in the package is a specialized content management system, a number of optimized website templates, and instructions on how to use the system. As before, income is generated by sending qualifying and valid leads. The pre-built website templates for T3leads’s lead vertical are updated monthly and tested for performance.

Now in its third-generation, T3leads has a completely redesigned user control panel. Also known as the admin panel, this area is broken down into six sections, plus the “exit” button. The layout appears to be reasonably straightforward and hovering over any of the six section names along the top navigational toolbar reveals the sub-sections available.

[•] My Account: This area allows the publisher to check for messages, edit personal settings, change the password, change the e-mail address on file, get information related to the referral program, and get information related to the EPassporte Card.

[•] Reports: Five main reports and three performance reports are available in this area. They are the summary report, leads details, traffic, returns, and bonuses, plus the subaccounts performance, states performance, and cities performance reports.

[•] Channels: Publishers come here to get the required information and downloads for promoting the various T3leads verticals. These include the JavaScript forms, personal websites, and public websites. This section of the control panel also contains tracking information and other tools.

[•] Payments: Payments history and payments settings can be accessed here.

[•] T3Leads v.1: Publishers can choose to go here to revert back to the earlier version of the T3leads affiliate network interface.

[•] Help: While this section looks like it would be a good place to contact T3leads for publisher support, it is instead a series of screenshots and other information about form setup. The link also provides access to the forum discussion boards.

The T3leads control panel does an adequate job at providing the necessary information for a publisher to promote the different affiliate verticals. It would have been helpful if the “Help” section was more comprehensive with FAQ and other information, though, as well as an easy contact form. The naming of the “Channels” section can be confusing for some publishers too, since it is not immediately obvious that this is where they can find the necessary data and code to promote the verticals.

Signing up for the CPA affiliate network is a two-step process. First, there is an online form that must be completed. The single page form asks for the publisher’s name, username, password, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, and website URL. Optionally, publishers can also provide ICQ, AIM and Skype information. The terms and conditions agreement must also be accepted.

Second, T3leads sends a personal identification number (PIN) to the applicant. This can be a voice call or a text message. The PIN must then be entered back into the system to verify the account.

In addition to the help section available through the admin panel, T3leads offers a full suite of support options for publishers. A contact form is available on the main site, as well as a toll-free phone number, fax number, multiple e-mail addresses, and a regular mailing address. Customer service is available 24 hours a day.

Payments are sent twice a month, in US dollars, so long as the publisher reaches the minimum payout threshold of $100. This is on a 15-day delay, so the payment sent on the second of the month is for commissions earned between the 1st and the 15th of the previous month. Publishers who are able to earn over $1,000 in weekly commissions may request a more frequent payment schedule.

In addition to the main commissions and revenue generated through the referral program (detailed below), T3leads also offers performance-based bonuses, depending on such factors as the offers being promoted and the quality of traffic.

US-based publishers can request to be paid via wire transfer, check, PayPal, ePassporte, or ACH. International publishers can get paid via wire transfer, WebMoney, PayPal, or ePassporte,

The T3leads referral program rewards publishers who refer other webmasters with additional income. The referring publisher earns 3% from the profit all referred webmasters generate and it appears that this is a lifetime commission for the two parties involved.

Several banners of different sizes are provided by T3leads for promoting the affiliate network. These include both image files and Flash-based advertising of various sizes, ranging from 125 x 125 ad boxes to 468 x 60 ad banners.

While it may appear to be fundamentally the same as so many other affiliate networks on the Internet, T3leads is actually decidedly different in its approach. There are no set payout levels, forcing advertisers to bid for the generated leads in each category vertical. There are no ad banners or email creatives to be used, for the most part, as publishers are encouraged to use the public and private websites instead. The twice-monthly payment schedule also departs from the norm.

However, the lack of precision in relation to the commission levels can be a deterrent for many publishers, as is the lack of an ability to choose a specific advertiser. These unknowns are monumental in an industry that feeds off knowledge, data, and information. At the same time, the provided CMS for generating custom private websites to promote each category is a powerful utility.

Bids on the different categories can range considerably, so it’s really hard to say whether T3leads is a monumental waste of time (relative to promoting offers on other networks) or an incredibly lucrative proposition. That unpredictability is ultimately the network’s biggest pitfall.

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