Join the LinkShare Network!

WHY JOIN :: PLATINUM PUBLISHERS :: PAYOUTS :: CONTEXTUAL LINKS ::
TRAINING :: MANAGING ACCOUNT

Why Join LinkShare

You can make money from your Web site traffic by earning commissions from some of the world’s best known and fastest growing brands. You’ll be joining a trusted industry leader that has helped thousands of publishers earn millions of dollars. You earn commissions by simply linking to products and services that your audience is likely to purchase.

 

LinkShare Publisher Benefits

• Access to industry leading tools and technologies
• Technical Support and strategic help from our Network Development support team
• Training, best practice information, and educational tools

Start earning money from your Web site traffic and join the LinkShare Affiliate Marketing and Lead Generation Networks today.

Best of all there is no fee to join the LinkShare Affiliate Marketing or Lead Generation Networks!!

Fast and Accurate Payments

LinkShare is committed to paying publishers fast and accurately. Currently four publisher payments are issued each month. With consolidated payments, LinkShare includes all advertiser payments received and cleared as of the day the payment file is authorized. This includes advertiser payments received via wire transfer as of the prior business day.

Our standard payment terms require LinkShare’s advertisers to pay by the end of the calendar month once the invoice is posted. For example, commissions earned during the month of October (which are invoiced in early November) would be paid by most of our advertisers by November 30th and processed and paid, in turn, by LinkShare as part of the first December payment batch.

Payment Reports
LinkShare payment reports are designed to help LinkShare publishers quickly understand the details about their commissions.

• Publisher Payment Summary Report: This provides the detail for each consolidated payment issued by LinkShare. By drilling down into each month and specific payment batch, you can see which advertisers, invoice periods and dollar amounts are included in each payment. You can select the check number to see the advertiser detail behind each payment.
• Advertiser Payment History Report: This report reflects if and when LinkShare has received payment from an advertiser for a specific invoice period, beginning with the March 2005 invoice period. "Received" means the advertiser’s payment was received and the funds have cleared. LinkShare waits until the funds clear so we can be assured of distributing funds to Publishers.

Minimum Payment Thresholds
With the introduction of consolidated payments, publishers receive one check or direct deposit from LinkShare for each payment batch, with a $1 dollar payment threshold. However, advertisers have the option of creating a customized payment threshold for each of their channels.

Direct Deposit
Want to get your commission payments even faster? LinkShare offers publishers the convenience of Direct Deposit*, so you have no checks to cash and no waiting on the mail.

* Note: Only publishers in the following countries can sign up for Direct Deposit: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

There is no fee to join the LinkShare Affiliate Marketing Network.

Join the LinkShare Network!
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Platinum Publishers

We’ll Let the World Know You’re the Best

The LinkShare Platinum Publisher Program is designed to identify and reward those Publishers that consistently drive results month after month. The Platinum Publisher mark also lets advertisers know that you work ethically within the LinkShare Network and follow all advertiser program guidelines and brand compliance rules.

Publishers that reach Platinum status will also qualify for other benefits such as advanced Publisher Support, guidance from our LinkShare Network Development Team, and early access to our newest technologies.

• LinkShare publishers can apply for Platinum Publisher status after achieving $10,000 in commissions for 3 consecutive months
• Candidates for Platinum Publisher status must currently adhere to overall LinkShare Network quality standards

Join the LinkShare Network today and be on your path to Platinum level status.

There is no fee to join the LinkShare Network.

A Commitment to Training and Education

At LinkShare we have a passion for online marketing. In sharing that passion with our publishers we understand that training and education is an important part of a growing, profitable relationship.

When you join the LinkShare Network you’ll have access to a highly experienced team of Network Development experts who can provide guidance on how to get the most from LinkShare tools and technology as well as tips on how to improve your conversion rates. Plus you’ll receive regular communications that include the latest information on new advertiser programs and publisher incentives plus ideas and suggestions that will help you fine-tune your business model and your Web site.

LinkShare has helped thousands of publishers grow their business by delivering best practice information, tutorials, newsletters, and step-by-step guides.

Join the LinkShare Network!
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Payout$

Fast and Accurate Payments

LinkShare is committed to paying publishers fast and accurately. Currently four publisher payments are issued each month. With consolidated payments, LinkShare includes all advertiser payments received and cleared as of the day the payment file is authorized. This includes advertiser payments received via wire transfer as of the prior business day.

Our standard payment terms require LinkShare’s advertisers to pay by the end of the calendar month once the invoice is posted. For example, commissions earned during the month of October (which are invoiced in early November) would be paid by most of our advertisers by November 30th and processed and paid, in turn, by LinkShare as part of the first December payment batch.

Payment Reports
LinkShare payment reports are designed to help LinkShare publishers quickly understand the details about their commissions.

• Publisher Payment Summary Report: This provides the detail for each consolidated payment issued by LinkShare. By drilling down into each month and specific payment batch, you can see which advertisers, invoice periods and dollar amounts are included in each payment. You can select the check number to see the advertiser detail behind each payment.
• Advertiser Payment History Report: This report reflects if and when LinkShare has received payment from an advertiser for a specific invoice period, beginning with the March 2005 invoice period. "Received" means the advertiser’s payment was received and the funds have cleared. LinkShare waits until the funds clear so we can be assured of distributing funds to Publishers.

Minimum Payment Thresholds
With the introduction of consolidated payments, publishers receive one check or direct deposit from LinkShare for each payment batch, with a $1 dollar payment threshold. However, advertisers have the option of creating a customized payment threshold for each of their channels.

Direct Deposit
Want to get your commission payments even faster? LinkShare offers publishers the convenience of Direct Deposit*, so you have no checks to cash and no waiting on the mail.

* Note: Only publishers in the following countries can sign up for Direct Deposit: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

Join the LinkShare Network!
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Contextual Links

 

As data feeds and product information widgets become increasingly adopted among advertisers another challenge that comes into focus for publishers is the ability to serve up the right products at the right time to make the shopping experience more relevant for your customers. Ultimately this will lead to higher conversion rates and higher commissions.

To help accomplish this goal LinkShare now offers Easy Links, contextual product ads using intelligent link technology.

How Easy Links Works

Benefits Summary

• A “set it and forget it" solution that delivers context sensitive product links to your target audience
• No coding is required - just copy and paste the link onto their site just like any other link
• Select from standard IAB banner sizes and easily customize the color scheme of Easy Links to match your site
• The products most likely to convert to sale will be displayed allowing shoppers to find relevant products easier

Find out how Easy Links can help make your site more profitable and more dynamic then ever before possible. If you are already in the LinkShare Network you can start using Easy Links today! You can find them in the "Getting Links" section of the Publisher Dashboard for those advertisers that have Easy Links implemented.

Not in the LinkShare Network? Join today - there is no fee to join the LinkShare Affiliate and Lead Generation Networks.

Join the LinkShare Network!
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Training for Affiliates

A Commitment to Training and Education

At LinkShare we have a passion for online marketing. In sharing that passion with our publishers we understand that training and education is an important part of a growing, profitable relationship.

When you join the LinkShare Network you’ll have access to a highly experienced team of Network Development experts who can provide guidance on how to get the most from LinkShare tools and technology as well as tips on how to improve your conversion rates. Plus you’ll receive regular communications that include the latest information on new advertiser programs and publisher incentives plus ideas and suggestions that will help you fine-tune your business model and your Web site.

LinkShare has helped thousands of publishers grow their business by delivering best practice information, tutorials, newsletters, and step-by-step guides.

.EDU for Publishers

Whether you are just getting started or you have been in the industry for several years, ongoing education about the latest and greatest technologies is critical to maintaining high levels of traffic to your site(s).

In this area of the LinkShare Web site we’ll be posting helpful information and strategies for publishers that will help you fine-tune your performance marketing business. We will be posting best practices guides, tips for improving your site(s) and information about how LinkShare technologies can help you drive more sales.

Join the LinkShare Network!
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Managing Your Account

LinkShare Linkbuilder

Linkbuilder is a tool that allows you to easily create a LinkShare tracking link to any page or product on an advertiser’s Web site.

This is a popular tool among publishers in the LinkShare Network because it allows Publishers to select the links that are most relevant to their site. It also makes it easier for you to promote niche products while giving you the flexibility to zero in on just what you need.

Linkbuilder also makes it easier for you to match the content of your site with the right products, and can be helpful in promoting the “long tail" of a product line. Ultimately this could lead to higher sales and more commissions.

Best of all. there is no fee associated with using LinkShare LinkBuilder or any other LinkShare tools for publishers.

Flex Links

Publishers are always on the lookout for new ways to stand out among the crowd and that’s why we developed Flex Links. Publishers can work together with advertisers using Flex Links to create rich, interactive links containing video, Flash, and Javascript. Using Flex Links you can deploy more interactive and dynamic content leading to higher rates of interaction and conversion to sale.

LinkShare Flex Links enables advertisers and publishers to track revenue through any type of rich content that can be placed on a publisher site. Advertisers and Publishers in the LinkShare Network are now using Flex Links to create product information Widgets using video and Flash. When an advertiser makes Flex Links available as a link type within their program, publishers can copy and paste them onto their site just like any other link.

LinkShare Dynamic Rich Media (DRM)

When you have thousands of links to choose from it can be challenging for publishers to keep all their links up to date with the latest and greatest products and offers. In fact, publishers could spend all their time updating links every week to ensure they are not broken or expired.

LinkShare offers a variety of technology options that help publishers keep links updated automatically with fresh content. LinkShare’s Dynamic Rich Media links allow publishers to create more direct connections to an advertiser’s database of products. These links will automatically be updated when the advertiser changes their featured products and promotions.

Traditional links (banner, text, and product) require you to change linking code every time an advertiser makes an update. This happens because changing a banner or the text in a link generally causes a change in the linking code.

Benefits of DRM include:

• Automatically updated promotions from advertisers for higher conversion rates
• Fewer dead links to products or pages that don’t exist
• Less time spent updating links - copy and paste code once
• Advanced tools unavailable through traditional links that add value for consumers

If you think your site would benefit from LinkShare Dynamic Rich Media links join the LinkShare Network to get started.

Mobile Links

Increasingly, consumers are shopping using a wide variety of mobile devices from phones to PDAs. Overall global m-commerce revenue is estimated to have soared to more than than $55 Billion dollars in 2007 from $24 Billion in 2006. As handsets capable of web browsing grow in number in the US, this trend is expected to continue. To take advantage of this opportunity publishers are now designing Web sites for use with mobile devices.

Advertisers and publishers need a mobile distribution network to reach these shoppers. So to help publishers stay on the cutting edge of shopping trends

LinkShare now offers Mobile Links. Designed for those publishers that want to work with certain advertisers to create tracking links for mobile devices, LinkShare Mobile Links provides an easy to use technology framework for distributing and maintaining m-commerce links. LinkShare’s m-commerce tracking technology enables advertisers and publishers to reach and accurately measure the buying behavior of mobile consumers.

If you are a publisher that’s interested in building a site that is designed for mobile commerce and would benefit from LinkShare Mobile Links join the LinkShare Network to get started and share your plans with the LinkShare Network Development team.

 

LinkShare Merchandiser Data Feeds

The Merchandiser program is designed for publishers that can support a database of product links that are updated on a daily basis. Examples of Publisher sites well-suited for LinkShare merchandiser include:

• Shopping comparison sites
• Price comparison sites
• Product search engine sites

LinkShare Merchandiser facilitates the distribution and updating of individual product links for publishers that require access to a complete and dynamic inventory of a merchant’s products. Merchandiser allows you to integrate individual product links on your website without having to create links manually for each product that is carried by a merchant.

LinkShare Web Services

Web Services is another widely used technology used by businesses to exchange information between two computers. By using LinkShare Web Services technology publishers can automatically keep their products links up to date. LinkShare Web Services is often a preferred technology choice for the following reasons:

• Web Services are able to function irrespective of the language that they are developed in and hence provides real time interoperability solution.
• Web Services use HTTP with XML for communication. These are ubiquitous technologies and any device capable of using these technologies is able to both host and consume Web Services.
• Web Services concepts are simple to understand for most developers and with the addition of various tool-kits provide a low barrier to entry and easy software development.
• Industry support by major content providers and vendors ensure that the Web Services model continues to be the standard file communication protocol.

RSS – Real Simple Syndication

RSS or Really Simple Syndication is an XML-based format for content distribution. It was developed to provide a means of accessing and organizing vast amounts of information that now exists on the web in one place for the user. Instead of the user browsing websites for information of interest, the information is pushed directly to the user on demand.

An RSS feed is made up of summaries, headlines, links and has historically been used by news sites or blogs so a user will know when content has been updated. A user can subscribe to (or bookmark) numerous feeds and access them from single place such as an RSS reader or the RSS area of your favorites area in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Link many publishers, you may be looking for ways to present your customers with easy to understand information about your advertisers products and services. Plus you need an easy way to keep that infromation up to date. RSS feeds could be the answer to these challenges. More and more advertisers in the LinkShare Affiliate Marketing Network are using RSS feeds and making them available to publishers to help drive higher conversion rates.

 

Using RSS with LinkShare Affiliate Marketing

LinkShare has created an RSS tool that allows advertisers to syndicate RSS content to publishers. By using this tool you can help your target audience focus on the specific products you want to feature. When your advertisers make RSS feeds available you can leverage segmented product feeds that can be published directly to your site. For example Top 10, Hot Products, or Special Deals and other categories.

When advertisers make RSS links available in their programs you can copy and paste them onto your site just like any other type of link.

RSS DealFeed WordPress Plug-In

Have a WordPress blog? Use the LinkShare WordPress Plug-in to earn commissions from your blog. The LinkShare RSS DealFeed WordPress plug-in uses RSS feeds from LinkShare Advertisers that automatically populate your WordPress blog with deals and promotional content.

You can earn commissions on every sale that your blog refers. Just set up the plug-in once, and then your WordPress site will automatically display the latest promotional information provided by the Advertiser. Please note that you’ll need to have a relationship with the Advertiser in order to display their feed. You also must input your Web Services token in the WordPress interface. You can find your token here.

Your blog with LinkShare RSS DealFeed:
 

If you are a current WordPress user, download the LinkShare plug-in to add to your blog and start earning even more commissions today!

 

LinkShare Signature Reporting

LinkShare Signature allows you to track and generate detailed reports on the commerce activity generated on your site down to the transaction level of each individual member, organization, or sub-site. Using Signature makes tracking, managing, and optimizing internal programs efficient and cost-effective for Publishers.

LinkShare Signature is ideal for Loyalty Publishers and a variety of other business models as there are a number of ways publishers can use LinkShare Signature technology including:

• Reward and Cash Back Sites – Publishers may offer points/cash back to visitors for purchases made through their sites.
• Fundraising and Charity Sites – Publishers allow visitors to donate a portion of a purchase to specific organizations.
• Tracking Campaigns, Ad Placement and Sub-Sites - Both publishers and advertisers can use Signature to track the success of various online campaigns or multiple sites.

Signature Reporting

Once you are enabled with LinkShare Signature, you will have access to two additional reports in the LinkShare Publisher Dashboard:

• The Signature Activity Report, which records all of the clicks generated from the publisher’s site to the advertiser partner sites.
• The Signature Orders Report, which itemizes transactions made by each member, organization, or subsite.

 

Join the LinkShare Network!
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