AlstraSoft ® Full Review

  • Approximate Price:
    Starting from $198 for a license.

 

 

 

Online businesses and web stores rely on constant flow of new visitors to their websites, in order to make profit and drive new sales. The problem is that staying competitive online is not easy. Competitors launch new websites daily, selling similar or even the same products. In order for a merchant to stay competitive in this online world, he needs to use different online marketing strategies to improve reach, traffic and conversions on his websites. One of these strategies is surely affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing program can help you generate additional sales and reach new customers, otherwise not reachable by traditional marketing methods.

AlstraSoft brings us innovative software that helps you setup your own affiliate marketing program to drive new sales. This software also allows merchants to set up their own affiliate marketing network too, this is an advanced feature that other affiliate software companies usually do not offer. It means that you can start a completely new business of running an affiliate network, by using this software as an infrastructure.

 

 

So How Does it Work?

The idea behind affiliate marketing is really simple and it is based on the most effective type of marketing ever: the word of mouth. People are more inclined to make a purchase if they hear good things about the product from the people they trust. Bring this approach to internet, and you have got the essence of affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing functions in such a way that it connects merchants and affiliates with a mutual goal of generating more sales. Affiliates are people who decide to join the affiliate program and share the word of mouth about the products they like. They do it via their own personal websites, social network accounts, forums, and email lists. When an affiliate shares a special link to the product found on merchant’s website, and there is a website visitor who used that special link to get to the site and make a purchase, then we consider this sale to be an “affiliate sale”. This makes the responsible affiliate eligible for a share in the commission earned. Merchants set up the commissions payable to affiliates and they usually present a certain percentage of the product price.

Affiliate marketing is a form of online marketing that can be very lucrative to business owners. This is because affiliate marketing has low financial risks in comparison to other means of marketing such as Facebook ads, Google AdWords etc. Affiliate marketing is based on the actual sales. If there are no sales, there are no costs for the merchant. Other forms of marketing generate costs based on impressions or clicks on the ads, both of which do not guarantee any sales at all. Having this in mind, starting an affiliate program can be an interesting option to try out, as it does not present a significant financial investment, yet it can bring very positive results and increase profit. If you are running an online store, there is really no excuse not to try out affiliate marketing model.

1. The Admin Center

Merchant interface – AlstraSoft Affiliate Network Pro software has an online interface that allows merchants to setup and manage their affiliate program.

Home tab

When you login you are presented with a home screen that shows the basic statistics of your affiliate program such as number of impressions, clicks, leads and sales.

Accounts tab

This is where you set your merchant login information, contact information as well as get a sign up link for affiliates. Affiliates use this sign up link (page) to register for taking part in your affiliate program.

 

Programs tab

Merchants use this tab to create their affiliate program. There is a “create program” link at the top of the page, which opens up a new menu where merchant can set the program title, description as well as commissions structure based on impressions, clicks, leads or sales. Merchant can also set flexible commissions and affiliate approval preferences such as automatic or manual approval of new affiliates, IP banning and/or geographic targeting. Programs tab also allows us to monitor and manage each of our affiliate programs, by uploading new products, editing program and monitoring stats.

 

Affiliates tab

This is where you can monitor all the affiliates who have joined your program. You can search for individuals, view commissions stats and profiles. You can also use this menu to approve or reject new affiliates who are interested in joining your program.

 

Emails tab

You can set email templates and customize automatic emails here.

 

Reports tab

Use this page to monitor the performance of your affiliate program. You can browse and customize reports with all sorts of different metrics here. Reports are downloadable for further analysis of the performance of your affiliate program.

Groups tab

This menu offers functionality to create different groups of users. You can crate different groups for different affiliate programs and add or remove affiliates and members in each group.

Quit tab

As the name implies, this is the “logout” button.

Admin interface

Now this is something that makes AlstraSoft Affiliate Network Pro software unique. This feature allows merchants to actually setup an affiliate network which other merchants will be able to join, in order to manage their own affiliate programs. We have not stumbled upon any other affiliate software on the market that allows merchants to set up affiliate networks.

This feature might not be useful to those merchants who are just looking to setup and manage their affiliate program, but it opens up a world of opportunities for a new business venture. Affiliate networks charge merchants a fee for joining the network and this can be a lucrative business. The goal of the affiliate network is to bring together merchants and potential affiliates for instant exposure. This software does have the functionality for making this happen, so if you were looking for a software solution that mimics other famous affiliate network, then Affiliate Network Pro software might be interesting for you to check out. Also, if you are running a big business with multiple sub-merchants and branches, then you can use this software to manage all of your retailers under a single interface and solution.

 

2. The Affiliate Control Panel:

Affiliate interface – This interface looks almost the same as merchant interface and it is used by affiliates to track their performance and obtain all the tracking links and product information. The home screen shows statistics. There is also an accounts menu, where affiliate can setup his profile data as well as payment method. Next, there is a programs menu where affiliate can view all the affiliate programs he is a part of, as well as obtain trackable affiliate links and product files. Finally there are Rotator, GetLinks and Reports header menu items. GetLinks is a summary of all the affiliate links and banners with custom embed codes.

 

 

Plans and Pricing

Affiliate Network Pro software is available for a one-time purchase. The single license costs $190. Once the software is purchased, there are no recurring or any other fees involved with software usage. The license comes with free 1-year-worth of updates and free copyright removal.

The software is also available in several bundles offered by AlstraSoft company. These bundles include many other products from AlstraSoft on huge discounts. So if you are looking to purchase additional software products from this company, it would be worth checking out some of the bundles included on the site.

 

How To Get Started?

Affiliate Network Pro software requires you to install it on your own server. This is great as it saves costs (in comparison to cloud-based solutions) on the long run, but you do need technical expertise or a dedicated web developer to perform the installation. Software installation service can be purchased separately. Once the software is installed, it needs to be integrated with your website shopping cart.

This software requires the following server capability:

  • MySQL (version 4 or higher)
  • PHP (version 4.2.3 or higher)
  • SSL (optional)

There is an online demo of the software available on AlstraSoft website, where you can test and tryout the software before deciding to make a purchase. This is great for getting familiar with the interface and all the features software provides. You can see firsthand if it has all the functionality you would need for your website and business.

 

The Benefits

Full control over the costs as the software is available as a one-time purchase. There are no additional costs related to individual transactions towards affiliates and this is a major benefit of using affiliate software over choosing an affiliate network platform.
Functionality that allows merchant sign up, affiliate network setup and management
Flexibility and customization
Online demo available for testing the software before purchase

 

Down-Sides

Merchant needs to invest into marketing of his affiliate program in order to attract potential affiliates. It can take a while until an affiliate program starts to grow. If you are looking for instant exposure to thousands of potential affiliates, consider joining one of the affiliate networks instead.
No support materials or videos available on the website
Although software offers some unique features, the set of features available and design feels slightly outdated.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

“Can I setup an affiliate network using this software?”

Yes, you can setup an affiliate network, like the Commission Junction, by using this software.

“Is Affiliate Network Pro software compatible with my shopping cart?”

This software is compatible with all the major shopping cart solutions, and there is a complete compatibility list available on the website.

“Can I manage multiple affiliate programs using this software?”

A single merchant can setup multiple affiliate programs and upload products information for each if he joins the network as an “advanced” type of merchant.

“Do I need my own server for installation?”

The software is not cloud-based, so you do need to provide a server for installation. The installation must be done by the customer. Alternatively, the installation service can be purchased at an additional cost.

“Are sales tracked in real-time?”

All sales, clicks, impressions and leads are tracked in real-time as they happen.

“Can I charge merchants a fee for joining my network?”

Yes, you can charge one-time or recurring fee for merchant accounts on the network.

“Does this software support multiple languages?”

Affiliate Network Pro software supports different languages, which are added through language files. This way, the software can be fully localized for international users.

“Is it safe?”

Yes, this software has built-in fraud controls as well as admin account security options.

 

 

About The Company

Affiliate Network Pro by AlstraSoft is pretty unique software on the market. It provides both a functionality of setting up your own affiliate program, as well as setting up the whole affiliate network such as Commission Junction and others. This means that this software is useful both to business owners looking for an affiliate program management solution as well as to those merchants looking to get into the business of managing an affiliate network.

 

 

The Bottom Line

Affiliate Network Pro by AlstraSoft is pretty unique software on the market. It provides both a functionality of setting up your own affiliate program, as well as setting up the whole affiliate network such as Commission Junction and others. This means that this software is useful both to business owners looking for an affiliate program management solution as well as to those merchants looking to get into the business of managing an affiliate network.

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