Thalasar Ventures

AC Lens is web based contact lens retailer. They have requested a review of their affiliate program. I often review affiliate programs for my readers since the first way they often get into ecommerce and making money online. I review their health affiliate program in this post.

Before I review the program, let’s talk about the market opportunity here for affiliate marketers. Contact lenses (specifically disposable contact lenses) are a solid opportunity for any affiliate marketer worth his salt. They have a high selling price and relatively high conversion rates. AC Lens notes that their health affiliate program converts at 3.2% – 4.9% which is higher than the typical 2% conversion rate you see on comparison shopping sites. They are also items in high demand with their users and because of their very nature, they need to be replaced often. AC Lens offers a tiered commission structure which is pretty common in most affiliate programs.

While the highest commission rates and sales are going to be out of the reach of most affiliates – one thing does stand out about the AC Lens Affiliate program. Repeat orders are paid 5% per sale! This allows an affiliate marketer to build a small residual income for their troubles. Remember contact lenses are frequently replaced items. Most affiliate programs don’t provide a residual income in the same way and I think that’s a great differentiator right there.
As I am a big believer in comparison shopping, AC Lens also provides the tools to integrate their affiliate feed into a comparison shopping engine. In fact they support multiple data feed providers including Golden Can which preps your affiliate feeds from multiple merchants. They also have an feed generator for generating their product database for Commission Junction links.
For affiliates one crucial thing is for a solid relationship is a third part reporting tool. Too many times I have had a direct affiliate relationship with a merchant only to find out later the merchant was skimming. AC Lens supports two separate affiliate networks – Commission Junction and Share A Sale. I prefer the richer reporting tools that you find in Commission Junction but that certainly offers you a choice.
It’s also apparent based on the reviews of their customer service at BizRate, that AC Lens takes customer service seriously. This is important since as an affiliate marketer you have no control over that part of the transaction. There’s nothing more frustrating than sending a qualified lead over to a merchant, have it convert and then have the merchant drop the ball when he is unable to fulfill. AC Lens sports a 94% positive rating for the last three months (The only complaint that I find is from someone complaining that their order shipped on April 21, 2007 (10 days in the future) which is hardly a reliable complaint.
A couple of other things stand out about the AC Lens program. They have a data feed of their coupons which are a perfect match for any coupon site. They also pretty consistently have cool giveaways which help drive conversions. Freebies which provide real value always help drive conversions.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.