PinkCherry’s affiliate program is quite capable because it uses a powerful piece of affiliate software. In fact, PinkCherry is not the only store to decide on that software; it’s also in use by Adam & Eve. There is a slight difference between those uses. The folks at PinkCherry haven’t spent quite as much time customizing the layout of their affiliate program which, in the end, means very little. It’s still extremely usable. Adam & Eve have simply have a leg up when it comes to branding; although, this makes the site a little less safe for work, if you follow.
It’s important to note that their program is located on its own domain: PinkCherryAffiliates.com I don’t mind this and the URL is easy to remember as well. Of course, affiliate systems which are built right into the site are always nice to see but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
It’s been some time some time since I original signed up but I did take a look at the TOS and saw no mention of age requirements. Folks who are over 18 but under 21 will probably find this reassuring.
For current affiliates, the dashboard is easy to use. The homepage outlines transactions and earnings. The same information seems to be repeated in another location (on the home page) alone with visitors and ratio stats. There’s an interesting little pie chart to illustrate those stats but I don’t usually remember to look at it. Toward the top is a copyable “standard linking code” which points to the PinkCherry home page with your affiliate ID. I appreciate its availability.
From this page, users can easily see pending or paid commissions, the traffic log and payment history. The traffic log is interesting because it shows the IP address of visitors and the referring URL; except, this doesn’t work so well in reality. All of my referring URLs show up as N/A – Possible Bookmark or Email Link. There is also an easy to find link to edit all personal information, including selecting PayPal as your mode of payment.
If you’re curious, there is a $100 payout requirement and you earn 15% per sale. However, this information is only displayed on the front page as far as I can tell. There is a FAQ link under the “account” menu but the page itself is blank which isn’t quite helpful.
This specific software includes “Training materials” which, I’ll be honest, I haven’t spent any time with. There is a page exclusively for training videos but there is only one video provided and.. I can’t even watch it on Firefox. Maybe it’s a good thing that no other videos are provided. There is also a PDF which explains how to make custom tracking URLs. This would be useful, for instance, if I wanted to link to a specific product and include the product name in the URL. Folks who are more hardcore about making money can use this to see which keywords/links are most successful. In addition to this, users can use “Sub IDs” in their URLs if they want to create an affiliate network. I do find the manual to be a bit confusing. It doesn’t actually explain how to “attach” said keywords to your affiliate URL.
The marketing materials include banners and text links. The current banner count is limited to 4 – which only represent 3 sizes – and I hate to say it, but none of the designs jump right out at you. PinkCherry has long needed a logo refresher. The colour pink is also used predominantly. I get it but it’s a bit limiting. A larger variety of banners would be welcome.
There is only one text link provided, which goes to the homepage. The setup is different from the “Standard linking code” but I’m not even sure why. This section is totally underutilized. Affiliates can create these links by themselves but this is an opportunity to make it easier for affiliates to use links and highlight sections of the site.
The “Email Links” section contains similar text links; although, one is formatted in HTML. I’m not even sure why this software thinks users are dumb enough not to understand copy+paste. Users can actually send their affiliate link to users from from “Email Friends & Associates” page, if they want to enter different addresses. This message includes the standard link by default and users can edit the message.
The Keyword Tracking Links page finally explains how to create custom links with your affiliate URL; although these links will only point to the index and there is no generator. I see no reason why this needs a page for itself.
Alternatively, users can create incoming links which direct to unique pages, other than the index. This is done via generator into which users copy the default link (to a product or section) and a unique link is created. The generated link does not give any indication what the destination is, however. Users can add tracking information to these links by appending a keyword. All of the generated links are listed on this page, below the input field, as well as the original links. It’s a bit messy if you frequently use this method; although, links can be removed from the list without breaking the functionality.
It does not seem like you can refer affiliates beneath you (ie, link to the affiliate program itself) but you can set up a “network” via tracking URLs and Sub IDs. Kind of lame, in my opinion.
Ultimately, the methods provided by this software work but they’re not pretty. Plus, the dashboard just isn’t as intuitive as I’d like to see. In addition to this, the lack of customization from PinkCherry isn’t a deal breaker but it doesn’t make the deal quite as sweet as it could be, either. Lastly, I’d love to see a referral program worked into the affiliate program because it is an alluring incentive.
Having to “generate” links myself really grates on my nerves. I think that is a HUGE downfall of this particular program. I’m also not fond of the URL.
I don’t mind generating them and having them listed but there is something strangely.. irritating about it.
Also, when you say the URL do you mean how it shows up or of the affiliate program?