Affiliate Marketing Network

Hi Y’all! The name is Dane Leary and I am a bran spankin new intern here at the headquarters of Ascend Alliance by way of the Hinckley Institute of Politics. I’m here to get a better understanding of how a non-profit organization works. It’s really great to see a system that is productive. Also, the staff and other interns are great to work with. It is very professional and works gets done; but what’s really refreshing is how fun and casual the environment is to work in.

This is my 3rd week here and boy have they put me to work! Aside from cranking out binders for the folks going on expeditions, my work has been mostly on finding an Affiliate Marketing Network for Ascend.

First I had to learn what in the world an Affiliate Network was. The gist of it is; In Affiliate Marketing there are 4 players, Web User, Publisher, Affiliate and the Network.

The web user visits the publisher site, which then directs the user to an affiliate where a purchase or donation is made. A percentage or a flat commission from the purchase or donation is then transferred from the affiliate to publisher. This transaction is facilitated by the network, which tracks the user from site to site amongst its member sites.

So all those ads you see on MySpace, Facebook and other sites are actually part of an affiliated network. It is a multi-million dollar industry now! Some of the adds are Pay-Per-Click, where the affiliate pays the publisher every time someone clicks the add. But that’s not what we are looking for here at Ascend.

The thing is that very few of these Affiliate Networks have worked with a non-profit before, it almost seems like NONE have worked with non-profits! So it’s a new innovative field that Ascend Alliance is trying to open up. Just as everything cutting edge, it isn’t easy, nor is it at all clear, what will happen. What is clear is that if successful, Ascend stands to really increase its donation pool and range. Ascend could even increase the funds it has to work with by advertising for other companies products that are humanitarian, socially and environmentally friendly. In effect promoting a wide range of items that create a better world.

Well, till next time have a good one.

Written by: Dane Leary
ASCEND Alliance Intern