How LinkShare Affiliate Marketing and Lead Advantage Differ
| Features | LinkShare Affiliate Network | LinkShare Lead Advantage Network |
| Affiliate Marketing vs. Lead Generation | Publishers are paid a commission by advertisers when they refer a customer who buys from that advertisers’ site. | Publishers are paid a commission for leads/new customers they send to LinkShare offer sites. |
| Logging into Your Account | You are automatically logged into the LinkShare Network. | Select LinkShare Lead Advantage from dropdown menu below the Home tab. |
| Interface Home Page | Includes navigation to: create links, reports, join programs and update your account. |
Includes navigation to: get offers, reports and update your account. New offers are also featured on the home page. |
| Find New Programs | Select the Join Programs tab, search for specific advertisers or by product category. | Use the Offer Central page to find new offers based on your distribution model, offer timeframe and CPA. |
| Join Programs (Affiliate Marketing) vs. Offers (Lead Advantage) | Read and accept the terms and conditions, apply to the program, and then wait for the advertiser to approve you into their program. | You can pick up links for an Offer as soon as you accept the terms & conditions for that offer. |
| Marketing Channels | Not applicable. | You can use several distribution methods to promote advertisers including: website, email, search, incentivized, and downloads. To update your Channel Type, go to Update Profile from the Your Account tab, select the appropriate ‘channel’ from the Channel Manager (icon that look like a website), select the Lead Advantage channel types you plan to use, and then hit Update. At that time LinkShare will review your request to distribute links via that channel type. |
| Getting Links | After being approved into a program, visit the advertisers' Create Links page, select a link type you wish to use, search for your links, and then copy and paste the code onto your site. | Go to Participating Offers, click on the Offer Name, select the Link Types Available, choose the link type you want to use, and then copy and paste the code. There is no Create Links page. |
| Reporting | Check your program's results by clicking on the Run Reports tab in the interface. LinkShare offers two different reporting systems; the Interface Reporting System gives basic statistics, while SynergyAnalytics provides deeper analysis.< | Lead Advantage only offers Synergy Analytics for your reports. This still provides the traditional reports, including: Individual Item Report, Link Type Report, Non Commissionable Sales Report, Offer Activity Report. The Offer Activity Report would replace the Sales & Activity Report found in the Affiliate Network. All the current payment reports are also available. |
| Signature U1 Reporting | To access your Signature U1 reports, go to the Run Report tab and select the MemberID Click or MemberID Field report from the report menu. | Through the online reports in the Lead Advantage interface, there is a link where you will be able to access Signature U1 reports. If you receive your Signature U1 reports through the automated download, you will need to specify the network id (NID) for Lead Generation is 54. |
| Payments | Payments are issued twice per month by LinkShare on or around the 8th and 22nd. You will receive one check or direct deposit that includes all your advertisers payments that are owed to you. | Lead Advantage payments will be sent separately from your LinkShare Network payments. This payment is issued twice per month about one day after LinkShare Network payments are issued. You will receive one check or direct deposit that includes all advertiser payments owed to you. |