March of Dimes

Lesson Learned

An Affiliate Program is a good option when your target audience is highly fragmented, because it extends your reach to hundreds or thousands of websites rather than just an influential few.

Even the largest Internet portal websites will accept Public Service Ads, particularly if your nonprofit organization is a "household name" or promotes a popular (i.e., relatively uncontroversial) cause. Securing PSA partnerships with large
Internet portals and highly influential niche websites should not be outsourced to Affiliates.
Hundreds of smaller websites, when managed and measured collectively, can deliver millions of banner ad impressions.
The "80 : 20 rule" applies: Approximately 80% of your banner ad impressions will be generated by just 20% of your Affiliates; so offer your highest performers extra attention and incentives (even if that's just leftover mugs and T-shirts).
While it's fair that Affiliate Networks will want to charge you for their front-end loaded costs of setting up an Affiliate Program, try nevertheless to use your nonprofit status and good cause as the reason to negotiate-away commitments to large upfront charges or long-term management fees.
Get your Affiliate Network's administrators excited about your efforts; make them team members, so that they will promote your Affiliate Program to their network of members.
To keep Affiliates motivated, provide frequently updated online reports that show the impact of their Public Service Advertising. Consider translating raw data (e.g., banner impressions and click-thrus) into measures that are more closely related to the ultimate goal of your outreach.