It’s impossible to escape the grim finance articles online. Credit crunch this, recession that! There are so many articles which list ways to save a few quid that you would think we’d all have piggy banks crammed with cash by now.

Still, real people are trying to save money and that is worrying some affiliates who are looking for ‘recession proof’ products. A few readers have commented on products which we might have thought were luxuries in the past but are now considered essentials (think Satellite TV and similar services.)

Mobile phones are one of these products. In surveys, most people say they couldn’t live without their mobile phone, yet mobiles can offer some good commissions to savvy Affiliates. So, with that in mind let’s take a look at the top networks and what they’re offering us right now.

3 Mobile
The company which seems to be offering us the most at first glance is 3 Mobile. However, they are being a little bit cheeky. Their Affiliate Marketing spiel offers us a direct program with no ‘Network Middleman’ and boasts ‘up to £125 per net sale.’ But ‘net sale’ means that if your customer buys everything 3 would like them to, you’ll get that amount. More likely however, a customer will opt for less and could even choose a pay-as-you go handset. With 3, you’ll get just £5 per pay-as-you-go handset sale. Take a good look at what mobile networks are offering both customers and affiliates before you decide which mobile phone network to push the hardest.

Orange
Orange run their affiliate program through DGM and Buy.at and they offer great big commissions of £60 for every new customer who orders a pay monthly contract. That’s unusually high for the industry. Every new customer who orders a pay monthly Sim Card (on its own) earns the Affiliate £20. Again there’s just £5 commission paid on pay-as-you-go handset sales. If you think outside the box and also sell Orange Mobile Broadband you can earn £70 per sale! This lot could really add up.

O2
O2 are excellent in terms of their transparency. They seem honest and to the point. When you visit their affiliate site they tell you exactly what you stand to earn right off the bat. If you make 1 to 10 sales, you’ll earn £40 for each one. Make between 11 and 30 sales and you’ll earn £48 for each and if you make over 51 sales per month you’ll earn £56 for each sale. They give you the option of using the Buy.at Network or Commission Junction, too. These guys are definitely up there with Orange.

T-Mobile
T-Mobile are offering a simple and unimpressive £16 commission per contract, T-Mobile run their affiliate program through the Buy.at network and their marketing material hints that the higher your volume of sales the more you earn. But they don’t offer any specifics. They seem to want people to sign up before they tell them how much they can really earn.

Vodafone
Vodafone have definitely put a lot of thought into their commission structure. Like O2 you’ll get higher bonuses on bigger sale volumes and commissions start at £17 for a phone contract application. They’re pushing their broadband offering too and as such, you’ll get £45 for every Mobile Broadband Application. ‘Sim Only’ mobile contract applications earn you £45 too. Then, if you push some extras, you’ll earn between £1 and £5 for accessories and pay-as-you-go handsets. Vodafone use the Affiliate Window and DGM Networks.

Virgin
I’m not sure that Virgin is keeping up with the competition because they only offer 5% commission on sales. When you do the math that doesn’t add up to much. They run their affiliate services through Tradedoubler. Their marketing material is very positive about their offering and it says that with: “5% commissions – on a phone worth £219.99, you could earn £11.” But really this pales in comparison to some of the competitors offers. They might benefit from an Affiliate restructure? They’re the only mobile phone company in the same league as these other guys who have percentage-based commission.

BT Mobile
Finally, BT Mobile is willing to give us £27 per application on high volume sales and £21 commission on low ones. This is reasonable but not as great as the £60 from Orange! They’re with the Affili.net Network.

A Few Thoughts
It’s worth looking at the products. This is really important because a good product deal will always sell better than a less competitive one. Avoid a false economy by making sure you invest plenty of energy in promoting the best deals, rather than just pushing the product with the highest headline commission earnings. Weigh up the customer’s benefits with your own and you’ll end up making the best choices.

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