Kontera Launches $25 Referral Program
April 22, 2008 Posted by Tyler CruzPublishers have been waiting a long time for Kontera to implement some form of referral program, but will have to wait no more. Recently, Kontera launched their “Invite a Friend” program.
The program pays out $25 for each active publisher that is referred to Kontera. An active publisher is defined as somebody who reaches 50,000 impressions within 60 days of signing up to Kontera’s network. This may sound like a lot, but is only around 800 impressions per day which isn’t too difficult to meet.
The “Invite a Friend” section is performed through an email template located in Kontera’s Publisher Center and can be accessed through the following steps:
- Log into Kontera’s Publisher Center using your user name and password.
- Select My Account tab and click on Invite a Friend.
- Type in your friends’ names and send away. Your friends will sign up through the link on your email.
- Make sure your friends sign up using the same email address to which you sent the message.
If you look carefully, you might notice that there are no referral URLs and that the e-mail template is using the URL: http://www.kontera.com/ads-for-site/become-a-kontera-publisher.
So, you might think: if all publishers are using that URL, how can Kontera track the publishers you sign up?
Mika Tal, Kontera’s Publisher Services Manager responded to this question:
“Regarding tracking, all the data is saved in your account as you send the emails to your friends. We monitor this data as it is being crossed with data of newly registered publishers.
This is why it is important that “invite a friend” email is sent through your account in the publisher center and does not get passed along with a referral link.”
While I think it’s great that Kontera has finally implemented a form of referral program for its publishers, I think that they could definitely improve on it as the current set-up is very limiting.
The main issue is that since there are no tracking/referral URLs, publishers are not able to put links on their sites or blogs. I’m sure many bloggers would have loved to make a post promoting Kontera with their referral link, but are limited to using the built-in e-mail system.
Another possible issue I thought of was the problem of cross-promotion. According to the way Kontera is currently monitoring the referrals, it seems that there might be an issue when more than one advertiser e-mails the same person. For example, if both John and Bill send out the Invite a Friend e-mail to their friend Suzy and she signs up through one of them, how will Kontera know which friend she signed up under since there is no form of tracking involved?
Kontera should strongly consider revising their program to implement referral URLs – it’s a win-win situation for everyone.
While Kontera’s program could use some improvement, it is still brand new and I’m sure they will consider my suggestions for future improvements. In the end, it’s still a referral solution that was previously unavailable for Kontera publishers, and is still $25 in your pocket for each active publisher you send in.
I dont like their policy about referral program.
They say you must be an active kontera user before you market affiliate program.
That suchs.
They’re just applying the Pareto 80/20 law. Why use affiliates who have low traffic?
I like a referral link to track who signs up. The referral email is a way to get clients without having to pay commissions. Kontera needs to revamp their tracking method.
Cool, been meaning to try Kontera for a while. You got a referral link Tyler?
Chris – read the post.
I quit Kontera as readers complained about the distracting nature of the ads.
You may want to try using different colors so that the ads are obviously not regular links, and also get more clear on whether it is just a few belly-achers that are complaining or if it’s the majority of your readers.
Unless you don’t care about monetizing your site, you’ll have to put SOME form of ad on your site. Kontera can be good because it is usually highly relevant to the content.
Just a thought.
I have Kontera. But I’m making peanuts from it. Is anyone making any significant income from Kontera?
Hello Tyler,
Great reading this post. I wanted to mention that Kontera does have an affiliate program. However, publishers have to meet certain requirements in order to qualify for it. We launched the Invite a Friend program so that every single one of our publishers will have the opportunity to enjoy additional benefits.
The problem you described of multiple invitations that go out to the same person occurs in all affiliate and referral programs. We treat it in the same manner in which it is usually treated- first come first served basis.
Thanks!
Mika
Publisher Services Manager
http://www.kontera.com
Good info Tyler. Knotera will sure benefit from referral program as many more advertising programs had. But I still prefer Google for ad network. 😀
Fail.
Whats stopping people spamming everyone with a blog?
That way some of them will bite.
Stupid idea for referring people.
Tell me tyler does Kontera supports Portuguese blogs????so far they didnt and now????
Its been a good idea, Kontera still a sleepy baby. Must come up with some more interesting offers i guess.
Looks like I will be implementing this as well. I just bough OIOPublisher yesterday. I love it, so much that I wrote a review on it. Read my post and get a coupon code to take $17 dollars off.
Shudogg Dot Com – Make Money Online Blogging
I just tried Kontera as an alternative.
$25 bucks isnt bad. I stopped kontera because the extra $1 a day i was earning just wasnt worth it.
I wonder how kontera would do on a site on its own. With no other advert or monetization at all. It has been difficult to generate any income whatsovever with kontera. At most 1 dollar in a day. But thats it. Has anyone achieved any level of success with it?
Good comment by soares – I have some sites that won’t list me because I occasionally publish in French and Russian
Eight Hundred impressions per day is a lot for most bloggers I think. I haven’t ever been able to reach that high yet.