Interview With DarkBlue Affiliate Network - 10/19/03

How long has DarkBlue been online?
DarkBlue was launched in February 2002. In February we only had three advertisers in our Network, BattleTrolls.com, Unrealracing.com and roar.com. All three products are owned and operated by DarkBlueSea.com, which is also the company that owns DarkBlue.com.

What makes DarkBlue different than other Affiliate networks?
The conceptual difference between DarkBlue and most other Affiliate networks is that we are focused on the Affiliates. At DarkBlue we consider the Affiliates to be the most important asset to our business not the advertisers.
Physically, DarkBlue follows the standard structure and features that are associated with Affiliate networks. Where we are completely different is how we generate revenue and how we pay our Affiliates.

Why is your approach to Affiliate marketing better than the traditional business model of most Affiliate networks?
Our approach is better because we are focused on making money for the Affiliates. DarkBlue’s business leverages Affiliate traffic to its fullest potential creating the best possible out come for Affiliate and advertiser alike.

How does DarkBlue turn a profit without taking a cut of their Affiliate’s commissions?
When and Affiliate sends a “click” through DarkBlue to an advertiser, a few things occur. DarkBlue begins to track the surfer. DarkBlue redirects the surfer to the appropriate landing page on the Advertiser’s site and DarkBlue loads a Roar.com page behind the Advertiser site.

You can see a working example here.
http://www.DarkBlue.com/advertisers/example/

The first two steps are like most other Networks. The Roar.com pop under is where we make our revenue. Because the surfer only sees the Roar.com pop under as they leave the advertiser’s site the pop does not affect the Affiliate or Advertiser’s revenue.

In fact we believe the pop under actually increases the revenue for both Advertiser and Affiliate. With Affiliates getting paid 100% of the Advertiser commission Affiliate earnings will increase by as much as 40% and with this incentive Affiliates generally respond by sending more traffic to the Advertiser. As a result the Advertisers also make more revenue so as you can see we have a classic win/win situation.

Is there a minimum traffic level needed to join the Dark Blue Affiliate network?
Generally DarkBlue specifies that sites much receive a minimum of 100 visitors per day. Also programs within DarkBlue may have additional terms that could specify a higher requirement.

What are some of your best converting programs (please quote specific conversion rates, EPC, CTR, etc?)
DarkBlue performs particularly well for Online Dating and Casinos as well as a range of business and Health advertisers.

Here is a selection of our consistent performers.

Is there any other information that you would like to tell potential Affiliates about your network?
As well as having some of the Best Affiliate commission on the Net, DarkBlue also offers Net14 payment terms, not the standard Net45 terms.
DarkBlue also offers check, Paypal and wire payment options where applicable and with a low $25 minimum payout balance (excluding wires).
If Affiliates have any questions they should feel free to contact our 24/7 customer care team at support@DarkBlue.com. Our Customer Care team is highly trained and usually send replies within one hour of receiving an email.

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